Making more money doesn’t always fix financial problems – by Terry Betker
There are a couple of principles that apply to many situations on farms. The first is that you can’t borrow yourself out of a problem and can’t borrow yourself to profitability. The second being that focusing on driving revenue growth alone, without attending to all...
Crop price cycles have a habit of repeating themselves – by Terry Betker
My sister sent me a few things recently. She was going through some stuff and figured I would appreciate the “treasures” she had found more than she did. Is that recycling? Perhaps. Anyway, one thing she sent me was a copy she had of the Souris Plaindealer, the local...
Asking ‘what if’ is a valuable farm management process – by Terry Betker
Do you find yourself daydreaming sometimes? I do. I spend quite a bit of time driving, which provides opportunities for scheming and dreaming. When I was farming and tired of listening to the radio, what else was there to do but think and plan and dream? I don’t buy...
Understanding farmland values – by Terry Betker
The illustration, taken from the recent Farmland Values Report issued by FCC, doesn’t tell us anything we don’t know in general. Farms are getting bigger. Have been for quite some time now. The Report is interesting to say the least. Trying to put perspective to...