There’s always a lot happening on the farm in the summer – it’s growing season, after all. And right now, there’s also a lot happening in terms of the farm’s financial outlook as weather forecasts and markets continue to shift.

Due to weather conditions in many parts of the Midwest this summer, there’s been quite a bit of shifting already when it comes to the markets and expectations. That can feel like a lot to stay on top of while the growing season is underway, but it’s going to be key to stay in close communication about it with your market and financial advisors in the coming weeks and months.

There’s one more person you’ll want to stay in close communication with this summer: your lender or lenders. Proactively keeping them in the loop will be smart – and essential.

Hearing it from you

Think about it this way. If you don’t hear from someone – let’s say, one of your employees – about what their plan is when something major changes, then what would you think? Would you believe they had a plan in place to navigate changing conditions?

Or would you assume the opposite – that they weren’t being proactive in planning and adjusting to the twists and turns of the situation because you hadn’t heard anything from them?

I think many people – when they don’t receive regular, proactive communication and updates – might begin to at least question whether there’s a plan in place or not. Some might even go a little further and assume things aren’t going well if they don’t hear anything from the other person.

3 proactive strategies

Here are three ways you can help keep your lender in the know this growing season.

How are you navigating this market?

This summer, 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 current 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.