Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is farmers and ranchers within each partnerships area. Changes/Problems:Not a problem, rather, great stories information about the importance of the program as viewed by folks in the industry. Three letters Letter 1: To Whom it may concern, I have been asked to write a letter on how the MTC program has benefited Farm Credit customers and others I may know. Between Blaine Carey and myself, we have quite a few of the same customers. These customers tend to be the younger generation just getting a start in Ag but there are also some that are of the older generation that are just starting to take a bigger dive into agriculture. These customers truly see their operations and what they can and can't do. Because ofthis program these customers fully understand the financials of their operations and that is uncommon among agricultural producers across the state of SD. Not only does this program benefit agricultural producers but it also benefits agricultural financial officers like myself. When producers in your program want to apply for a loan, it is very clear what they're wanting to apply for, and they have the financial information put together to apply for it. These producers want to know exactly what is going on in their operation and know that nothing negative will come from it because Blaine and his colleagues aren't tied to a certain institution. I am certain that this has saved multiple operations from taking the wrong tum. I love what it does for our younger producers and other operations who want to work at implementing a strong financial system that helps them make short term and long term management decisions. Sincerely, Jeremiah Johnson Financial Officer Farm Credit Services of America 81 33rd St SW Huron, SD 57350 Office: 605-352-2842 Cell: 605-352-5179 Letter 2. To Whom It May Concern, My husband and I have been using this program for four years. We started with the goal of wrapping our hands around the ranch financials as a precursor to transition planning. Previously, there were lots of arguments between generations over what was expensive and what was not without any actual facts to work off of. Lori and the program allowed us to have a functional conversation around the financial status of the operation. As we have moved forward with the family transition, we have used the program to plan and for our personal ag finances. We could not have successfully made this work without this program and the knowledge of Lori and her coworkers. The way that the tools are set up make it easy to track cash flow and inventory. The software paired with the counseling makes tracking and forecasting more meaningful and helpful. Our lenders have been more confident in our new relationship because of the information the program puts at their fingertips. In a business where we can't control many things, this combination has given us control over our financial present and future. Overall, we recommend this program to any producer looking to be a better operator. Sincerely, Cody and Ty Littau Letter 3. Andfrom a participant who went through foreclosure and survived. Dear Mr. Hofer, I am writing to convey a genuine gratitude for the Farm Business Management Program at Michell Technical College. My husband Doug and I farm and ranch in north central South Dakota near Onaka. Through this program we have found not only a robust software for our farm/ranch business needs but also the education, guided practice and support necessary to navigate bringing a new program on board successfully. Initially, I had purchased the Easy Farm Program, attempted to initiate multiple times, made unnecessary hardware purchases and mistakes, only to find the process cumbersome and complicated. The process of setting up software records for a farm business with several enterprises into a robust software program without my having training nor troubleshooting support, was not feasible. Farm/ranch responsibilities were demanding and I was at a stalemate with the software whereby the program was essentially unusable. I set it aside. A couple of years following, as we were considering financing alternatives, we learned of the Farm Business Management Program with Michell Tech through Blaine Carey. Blaine recommended a steady approach for implementing the software, provided instruction and guided practice, then too, follow-up support toward setting up the program to meet the specific needs of our farm/ranch enterprises. In April of 2020, our loans with our former lender were sent to foreclosure. Through the Farm Business Management Program, we were better able to present our portfolio to potential lenders and secure a realistic lending arrangement. Currently, with greater agility and confidence, we have the means to communicate our position and proposals to lenders. This also means we are more effectively able to dedicate time to caring for livestock and crops, and make improvements such as expanding our cattle feeding capacity and a building a cattleworking facility of oil field pipe. Today, the ease of generating business document and running various scenarios in decision making has now allowed us to be more agile in decision making, analysis of trends, tax planning and preparations, and in communicating financial snapshots and projections with lenders. I see the Farm Business Management Program as a great asset to our family farm/ranch business in providing a much-needed service for agriculture on farms, ranches and communities across South Dakota. Thank you for filling a great need, a need in developing a service to work with producers in implementing a robust, agriculture specific management software in agriculture production businesses across South Dakota. Sincerely, Deborah Trefz What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The associations participated in FINPAC training throughout the year. Additionally - South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management Over the past two years, the South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management has continued to see positive increase to participating farm numbers.We had an instructor leave the program and in the process of filling this position, we were excited to have multiple qualified candidates and we made the decision to expend the program and add a 3rd full-time instructor position along with a retired instructor who works with clients as a consultant to the program. Because of the instructor transition and the number of program completers, our enrollment did take a step backwards in the spring but bounced back in the fall as we are again fully staffed and growing. Another partnership that has created many participant referrals to the program is with a group that works specifically with farmers and ranchers on transition planning from one generation to the next. We have found that our services are very complementary, and they have had clients that they said the only way they would take them on is if they enroll in the program at Mitchell Tech. Nebraska Farm Business, Inc. The only way we can continue to serve the needs of the growing number of farmers is to have consultants who are well-educated, well-trained, and consistent so they can know the operations and build a trusted relationship. This grant funding has allowed us to complete the first two years of training for three assistants (Consultants in training) and hire two new assistants to keep our pipeline of trained consultants strong. We did see turnover of three consultants in the past three years and that is the biggest hit to momentum that we can see to the growth of the analysis program. Our hope is that continued funding will allow us to continue training consultants so we can keep meeting the needs of Nebraska's farms. Without this funding we would have been forced back into the "old model" of limited training and increased stress for everyone. This process allows future consultants to learn without the responsibility of being the only person a farm operator is relying on for this important information since the need for help is not limited to just completing an analysis once a year. It will include major purchases, selling, farm transition, and liquidation. North Dakota Farm Business Management Education Program NDFMEA has held trainings for new and experienced instructors twice per year. We also participate in trainings offered by the Center for Farm Financial Management. In the future, new instructors are being encouraged to participate in other training courses outside of North Dakota. Early-career instructors are eligible to have their costs reimbursed. One instructor also participated in a week-long training with new ag lenders to receive additional training on evaluating borrowers' credit worthiness and how to work with borrowers on a personal level. Ohio State University A weekly Farm Business Analysis team meeting held every Thursday from 10 to noon to continue training on FINAN and farm accounting, check progress on farms, recognize successes, develop and implement ideas for program promotion and farmer recruitment and address any issues or concerns. Meetings started early January and continued through May. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management Our instructors have continued to see the greatest success in their promotional efforts by marketing to ag lenders. Each year, our instructors attend the South Dakota Ag Lenders Conference, and this audience appreciates the value that Mitchell Tech's program provides for their clients and the lenders themselves are also users of the data from our South Dakota Annual Report. Beyond this, our instructors have created relationships with many of the financial institutions in their areas and these lenders have even gone as far as making donations to the program as well as sponsoring students by covering a portion of the program cost. Because of partnerships like these, in addition to the scholarships that we are able to offer through this benchmarking grant, we can ensure that cost is not a major burden to program participation. The program at Mitchell Tech continues to offer the FSA Beginner Farmer/Rancher borrower training. Enrollment in this program has remained consistent with approximately 20-25 operations enrolled each year. Nebraska Farm Business, Inc. For many years it has been evident that stability in our consultant role is the most important thing to sustaining participation in our analysis program. 2020 and the following year were hard on our consultants and as a result our three new assistants found different jobs. We have replaced them and finally feel the momentum of having experienced staff working with producers. Having experienced consultants help producers make good management decisions leads to reports such as: Jared started the analysis in 2019. When we met with Jared to do benchmarking, one thing that stood out as a problem was his repairs and maintenance expenses. After verifying that everything was categorized right, Jared made the statement that he had to quit his "Chrome Addiction". He had been spending money on non-essential updates to his trucks and he saw what it was costing him.Since then, Jared has reduced his repair expenses and is controlling his other costs. His financial ratios, and net farm income have continued to improve. These sorts of accounts can be made from so many producers who have done the work and have generated the reports to make good decisions instead of just what looks good. As we move into the next few months, we have forged a partnership with the Nebraska Farm Bureau to increase the analysis participation. We hope to see a significant boost, potentially even doubling the participation, in the next two years. The potential increase in numbers not only gives us access to help more farms, but it significantly boosts the data in the National Database for all producers to use as benchmark. Another producer wrote this about finally finding the analysis program: "We have been working with NFBI for past the 18 months. We wish it had been for the past 18 years! Our farm has always had solid bookkeeping and accounting procedures but what we lacked was the real understanding of our farm numbers that only deep financial analysis can provide. NFBI's financial analysis allows our numbers speak to us in terms of what changes we need to make to drive efficiencies into the farm as well as what we can do to propel our farm forward in terms of generating more revenue. For the first time in 24 years, our farm, along with Tina and Michelle, has been able to put together an exceedingly accurate break-even projection for the coming year. Our banker is thrilled! NFBI financial analysis has brought an unprecedented clarity into the financial health of our farm. The working relationship we have with NFBI is indispensable and is helping us make the tough decisions allowing us to farm for generations to come." Paul & Deb Gangwish North Dakota Farm Business Management Education Program In January and February 2023, NDFMEA instructors staffed booths at farm shows in Minot and Grand Forks, ND, respectively, to promote the program and encourage farmers to enroll. Instructors also staffed a booth at the Big Iron Farm Show in West Fargo, ND in September. Both displays have been updated to reflect the changes in program locations across North Dakota. NDFMEA mailed packets of the 2022 state farm averages to over 300 stakeholders, producer groups, state legislators, and extension educators to promote the work we do with farmers across North Dakota. The packets included a brochure with highlights from the year, as well as a book showing financial characteristics of the average farm in the state and enterprise-level data on crop and livestock profitability. Printing these publications and the covering costs to mail them are provided by this grant funding. Producers also receive these books and pamphlets to help them improve their farms by benchmarking against other producers enrolled in Farm Management Education programs. In all, over 500 books are printed that show averages for four regions across the state, as well as the whole state average book. We print over 2,500 tri-fold brochures to share with stakeholders, lenders, policy makers, Extension agents, and other interested parties across the state to share with them a snapshot of farm finances in North Dakota. Ohio State University Bruce Clevenger, Extension Field Specialist, Farm Management and OSU's expert on Quicken for farm use provided the training and continues to provide support. Conducted two (2), county-based, five-hour, Farm Record Keeping with Quicken workshops in target areas of Ohio. Sixteen farms improved their farm financial record keeping skills and were recruited to consider annual farm business analysis. Clevenger has also taught 14 farm financial management sessions reaching 406 farm clientele and included Farm Business Analysis and Benchmarking opportunities for awareness and recruitment. A weekly Farm Business Analysis team meeting held every Thursday from 10 to noon to continue training on FINAN and farm accounting, check progress on farms, recognize successes, develop and implement ideas for program promotion and farmer recruitment and address any issues or concerns. Meetings started early January and continued through May. David Marrison, Extension Field Specialist, Farm Management and OSU's expert on farm business transition planning taught 13 sessions reaching 604 clientele. He consistently incorporated the essential need for farm business analysis before, during and after farm business transition planning. Each series had dedicated presentation slides and discussion time on Farm Business Analysis and Benchmarking. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management Over the past two years, the South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management has continued to see positive increase to participating farm numbers.We had an instructor leave the program and in the process of filling this position, we were excited to have multiple qualified candidates and we made the decision to expend the program and add a 3rd full-time instructor position along with a retired instructor who works with clients as a consultant to the program. Because of the instructor transition and the number of program completers, our enrollment did take a step backwards in the spring but bounced back in the fall as we are again fully staffed and growing. Another partnership that has created many participant referrals to the program is with a group that works specifically with farmers and ranchers on transition planning from one generation to the next. Nebraska Farm Business, Inc. For many years it has been evident that stability in our consultant role is the most important thing to sustaining participation in our analysis program. 2020 and the following year were hard on our consultants and as a result our three new assistants found different jobs. We have replaced them and finally feel the momentum of having experienced staff working with producers. Having experienced consultants help producers make good management decisions leads to reports such as: In the past 3 years we have added 9 new farms to the analysis program while replacing 3 of our staff members. The only way we can continue to serve the needs of the growing number of farmers is to have consultants who are well-educated, well-trained, and consistent so they can know the operations and build a trusted relationship. North Dakota Farm Business Management Education Program North Dakota Farm Management Education has worked hard to maintain the number of farmers using educational services throughout the state. The number of analyses fell for 2022 due to instructor turnover and producers exiting the program for a variety of reasons. We still work with about 400 farms, but not all complete an analysis. The number of analyses submitted for 2023 is not known yet, but likely will be higher at about 250. New instructors are working to add students to their programs and grow program awareness. Instructors have resigned in two locations, Wahpeton and Dickinson, but one has been added in northwestern North Dakota, an area that has been underserved for several years. Ohio State University Twenty-nine (29) farms completed a 2022 analysis. Balance sheets and other work completed on an additional 6 farms. Two technicians, two consultants, program manager and one Extension educator completed the work in 2023 on the 2022 analysis year. Objective 2. South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management Each year, our instructors attend the South Dakota Ag Lenders Conference, and this audience appreciates the value that Mitchell Tech's program provides for their clients and the lenders themselves are also users of the data from our South Dakota Annual Report. Beyond this, our instructors have created relationships with many of the financial institutions in their areas and these lenders have even gone as far as making donations to the program as well as sponsoring students by covering a portion of the program cost. North Dakota Farm Business Management Education Program In January and February 2023, NDFMEA instructors staffed booths at farm shows in Minot and Grand Forks, ND, respectively, to promote the program and encourage farmers to enroll. Instructors also staffed a booth at the Big Iron Farm Show in West Fargo, ND in September. Both displays have been updated to reflect the changes in program locations across North Dakota. Nebraska Farm Business, Inc. As we move into the next few months, we have forged a partnership with the Nebraska Farm Bureau to increase the analysis participation. We hope to see a significant boost, potentially even doubling the participation, in the next two years. Ohio State University Bruce Clevenger, Extension Field Specialist, Farm Management and OSU's expert on Quicken for farm use provided the training and continues to provide support. Conducted two (2), county-based, five-hour, Farm Record Keeping with Quicken workshops in target areas of Ohio. Sixteen farms improved their farm financial record keeping skills and were recruited to consider annual farm business analysis. Objective 3 South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management The program at Mitchell Tech continues to offer the FSA Beginner Farmer/Rancher borrower training. Enrollment in this program has remained consistent with approximately 20-25 operations enrolled each year. North Dakota Farm Business Management Education Program About 46% of the farmers in the program have been in the program for less than ten years with the remaining 54% participating for ten or more years. So, while student recruitment and retention has been a challenge, we are pleased with the progress we have made on both fronts considering several farms have dropped the program due to ownership changes, retirements, or other reasons. Farms entering the program consist of beginning, small- and medium-sized operations. Nebraska Farm Business, Inc. We continue to work hard in increasing the number of small- and medium-sized operations that we can work with to improve their knowledge and management skills. Besides the vast benefits to analysis and benchmarking, producers will find their operation so much more sustainable with good recordkeeping, so they have solid information to make sound management decisions. Ohio State University OSU's expert on farm business transition planning taught 13 sessions reaching 604 clientele. He consistently incorporated the essential need for farm business analysis before, during and after farm business transition planning. Each series had dedicated presentation slides and discussion time on Farm Business Analysis and Benchmarking. Objectives 4 and 5) South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management In recent years, we have expanded our offerings from the original 3-year (6-semester) curriculum to 2 additional 3 year offerings, for a total of 9 years. We have also seen success in continuing to work with producers completing the program, in more of a consultative role. Long-term participants appreciate still being able to get assistance with recordkeeping throughout the year and especially appreciate that we can still complete an analysis of their operation at the end of the year. Our program continues to share this data through the FINBIN database as well as publishing the South Dakota Annual Report. Nebraska Farm Business, Inc. We continue to work hard in increasing the number of small- and medium-sized operations that we can work with to improve their knowledge and management skills. The Farm Bureau partnership will assist in increasing profitability and viability of beginning and small- and medium-sized operations. Besides the vast benefits to analysis and benchmarking, producers will find their operation so much more sustainable with good recordkeeping, so they have solid information to make sound management decisions. The Farm Bureau partnership is exciting for the individual producers we will be helping as well as for those professionals who use the data collected for research, benchmarking, and improvement of the individual producer's profitability. Ohio State University Included Farm Financial Analysis (Module 10) into the Farm On: OSU Farm Financial Management Course that is a certificate course that satisfies both Ohio's Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program Certification and USDA-FSA's Borrower Training Requirements reaching 44 enrollees in 2023 with financial literacy and analysis opportunities for the farm business.
Publications
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