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Navigate the right path forward for your farm

Finance First: Having a plan like having GPS for your farm operation’s future.

Darren Frye, CEO

October 14, 2024

3 Min Read
GPS pinpoint with hand
Getty Images/CoreDesignKEY

No matter how long you’ve been farming, ten days or fifty years, you’ve probably realized that you always need to know where you’re trying to go. Without a specific plan of where you want to go – whether it’s an actual physical location or one in terms of business goals – you could end up anywhere.

Imagine this: Have you ever had someone new to your operation – maybe a new employee or someone else – who needed to get to one of your fields all on their own? On the first time needing to find a field, especially if it’s a remote one, they will likely want and need very specific directions from you on exactly how to get there.

People with less experience finding their way to remote fields and locations are probably going to need very clear directions. I’ve heard of new farm employees or even family members who didn’t grow up on a farm getting quite lost while trying to find a field, especially before the days of GPS and navigation systems.

The right stuff

The key – whether you’re talking about directions to a farm field or a figurative navigation system for your farm’s path forward into the future – is to have the right tools in your toolbox and the right people to help provide the right guidance. That is what will help give you the confidence to move your farm forward to where you want it to be.

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Otherwise, without a clear idea of the path forward, you could end up like someone searching for a very remote field without GPS – almost anywhere. In the current ag operating environment, that’s not going to cut it.

The top farms that will thrive into the future are those that know with laser focus exactly where they are heading. The leaders have crafted clear business, marketing, and financial plans to provide a path forward into the unknown of the years ahead.

People plans

As I mentioned, you also want the right people on your side to help you get to your destination. Of course, this means the other people involved directly in your operation – your spouse, business partners, employees, and other family members.

This also includes the trusted advisors and partners that you choose to work with your operation. This group can include your lenders, landlords, advisors, suppliers, peer group members, and others with the right expertise to help you navigate your farm into the future and achieve the success you want.

The top farm leaders of the future are building a clear path forward for their operation right now through clear marketing, financial, and business plans. They’re making sure they’re working with the right advisors who have the expertise that’s needed in today’s ag operating environment. The work these leaders are choosing to put in now is what can bring about the success they want and the legacy they want to create.

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Farmers have found that getting some third-party perspective from our market advisors has helped ease their minds. The advisors help farmer clients with planning and execution around marketing decisions and help keep them up to speed on the rapidly-changing grain market situation – and how it impacts their operation.

Get a free two-week trial of our marketing information service (MarketView Basic). Your free trial includes regular audio and video updates, technical analysis, recommendations and more. Learn more about our market advisor programs and offerings at www.waterstreetag.com.

About the Author

Darren Frye

CEO, Water Street Solutions

Darren Frye grew up on an innovative, integrated Illinois farm. He began trading commodities in 1982 and started his first business in 1987, specializing in fertilizer distribution and crop consulting. In 1994 he started a consulting business, Water Street Solutions to help Midwest farmers become more successful through financial analysis, crop insurance, marketing consulting and legacy planning. The mission of Finance First is to get you to look at spreadsheets and see opportunity, to see your business for what it can be, and to help you build your agricultural legacy.

Visit Water Street Solutions

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