Posts
Planning to Succeed - An Agriculture Finance and Business Curriculum for High School
August 26, 2019
We’ve all been there, sitting in a classroom and the teacher has that day’s lesson or an introduction to a new unit and you inwardly, or out loud, groan because you know it is the beginning of the end. The end of your attention, the end of your active learning and maybe even the end of your attendance in the class. As a former educator who has spent over 12 years in a high school classroom I can relate to those feelings. I can just about guarantee that if the students are dreading the topic that much the teacher is equally as reluctant to begin the lesson. During my time in the agriculture classroom I taught everything from welding, natural resources, animal science, plant science to agriculture business. The last subject was one of my favorites but one of the hardest to teach, there was a general lack of interesting applicable curriculum available and what was available was hard to piece together with limited planning time. Also, let’s be honest, it involves a lot of math and your average student does not rush to the guidance office and sign up for a math based class on their own free will so you HAVE to make it interesting, fun and thought provoking...
Cash Flows, Budgets, Income Statements - Oh My!
February 04, 2019
Has a lender or investor ever asked you for your financial sheets and made you pause, search your memory, and really wished you had paid better attention in your business or finance class in college or high school, because you have no recollection on how to get those together? Or have you ever looked through your receipts from the last year, quarter or few months and wonder why you’re not making more money but struggle to correctly fill out a cash flow statement or balance sheet (or may not even be sure what those are)?
Read More
Congratulations Graduates!
January 14, 2019
Countless hours.
Dozens of pages and multiple versions of a business plan.
10 Modules.
5 Months.
2 days.
1 major accomplishment.
These sum up the activities of our most recent Ag Biz Planner Program graduates in a nutshell, but do not touch the actual value and accomplishments of this program.
Read More
Tying Up Loose Ends
December 10, 2018
As New Year’s Day approaches, hopefully you are facing a slow-down in your typical hectic work schedule on the farm. There’s not as much work to do with your crops; you’re probably between breeding and calving/lambing seasons; and, okay, you dairy farmers just keep on keeping on. Bless all of you for providing the rest of us with food, fiber, energy, and entertainment!
While there’s no argument that you deserve a break this time of year, I would like to give you a few pieces of advice that will make your life easier (and hopefully better) in the upcoming year:
Read More
Three Business Planning Tips to Start the New Year Right
December 03, 2018
As the New Year draws closer, it is a perfect time to start planning for what is to come. For many agricultural businesses, harvest has passed and winter provides some time to spend indoors working on plans for the next growing season. Here are three areas to think about as you make your business plans for next year...
Read More