Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s no surprise that as farms get larger and more complicated, they need more working capital. There must be money available to handle large expenses, and to manage your way through cash-flow swings brought about by volatile commodity prices. Besides, in an era when it is so costly to grow or expand, it’s prudent to […] Read more
How much money is enough?
It’s happening on more farms. Is your working capital reserve dangerously low?
Bounce back, don’t break
What makes some farms so resilient in tough economic times? Finally, this New Zealand research finds some answers
Reading Time: 6 minutes Australia and New Zealand have had their fair share of agricultural challenges. They’ve known fires, tsunamis and cyclones, to name a natural few, and they have suffered from the politics of export markets, not to mention supply-demand crashes in world prices for wool, beef and milk. And that’s without mentioning droughts which, according to Australia’s […] Read more
Resilience in the Midwest
Reading Time: 3 minutes Over his career as a professor at Virginia Tech University and as a farm economic guru, David Kohl has seen some epic farm failures. But he has also admired farmers who have survived and even thrived during tough times. With the recent drop in grain and oilseed prices, some midwestern farmers are once again treading […] Read more
Six habits of highly resilient farmers
In 2010 David Gray, a development officer with the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), did a small study of four farms that were consistently more profitable and better at dealing with climate change. He found six common characteristics within these resilient farms.
Top financial tools for farmers
January is a great time to review the financial tools that help you make the best decisions
Reading Time: 4 minutes For many of us, the new year is a time of reflection. It’s an opportunity to take stock of where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going, both personally and professionally. This is certainly important for farmers, as January is a good month for a detailed review of the administrative side of the[...]
Read more
Read more
NH gets a tillage implement line
The blue brand follows the recent industry trend of growing through acquisitions
Reading Time: 3 minutes The race for major manufacturers to broaden their product lineup by buying short-line brands is picking up even more steam. Mid-autumn, CNH Industrial announced that it was about to bring the Danish Kongskilde implement brand, owned by DLG Group, into its fold under the New Holland brand. “The acquisition of the tillage and hay and[...]
Read more
Read more
Finding hope in 2017 corn markets
It’s easy to be pessimistic due to global corn stocks, but demand is setting new records too. So consider posting some standing market orders, and watch prices daily
Reading Time: 5 minutes Every year farmers go to the field hoping for something better than last year, and even though now is the dead of winter, plans are being made to raise a successful corn crop in 2017. For eastern Canadian farmers, corn has earned its status as the “go-to” crop for the region. A few years ago,[...]
Read more
Read more
AGCO bets big on China
While the war of words heats up between Beijing and Washington, AGCO is becoming a major player in the Chinese economy
Reading Time: 6 minutes One of the world’s largest farm equipment manufacturers is predicting a bright future in China, and it is putting its money behind that belief. AGCO, parent company of well-known brands Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Valtra, GSI, and Challenger, has opened a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Changzhou to serve both its international needs and what it[...]
Read more
Read more
What bankers want to see when you go to the bank
Getting these documents ready before you meet the bank rep may mean more available financing with better terms
Reading Time: 4 minutes Typically banks review their clients’ financial statements annually as part of a credit review process. The goal is to understand the client’s ability to service debt and how this may have changed over the past year. “We want to help you manage your cash flow,” says plain speaking Tara Conway, BMO vice-president of commercial banking[...]
Read more
Read more
Selling your grain at an optional price
Don’t know how (or when) to sell your grain using options? You aren’t the only one, so this advice may help
Reading Time: 3 minutes Maybe your primary marketing plan has always been to consider forward-pricing and delivery contracts that are offered by local elevators, even though you know it doesn’t always work out as well as you’d like. Tyler Welygan-Reiling of Agra Risk Solutions suggests the following basic strategy that uses some of the marketing tools available in the[...]
Read more
Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
