Farm Progress

Quick break offers chance to network and improve farm business skills

Kyle Stackhouse 2

January 14, 2015

2 Min Read

Thursday evening, Rachael and I returned from St Louis where we attended the Farm Futures Business Summit. It was a long journey home through cold, snow, and wind, but worth the trip.

We were enticed by spending a short time away from home. While there, we enjoyed meeting many people and having the opportunity to network. By design, this conference is held while students are on break. That definitely paid off as many from the younger generation were in attendance.

farm_futures_business_summit_was_worth_trip_1_635568269317404749.jpg

In addition to college-age attendees, there were many more families who represented the under-40 age group. (Some at the meeting surmised that maybe the older were wiser, as many reported their parents were somewhere warmer!) I would estimate that 40% of the participants were in those groups. There was also a nice balance of male and female attendees.

While at the two-day summit we attended many informative and entertaining sessions. Topics ranged from economics to technology to management and more.

This was my second summit, but Rachael found added value as a first time attendee who did not come from a farm background. I'm sure she would recommend all farm wives attend regardless of their involvement in the operation. She gained additional perspectives on the business of agriculture. On the trip home, we identified several "action areas" for our farm. I will share the next few months as we walk through those.

On the farm, grain has finally started flowing. Due to the weather, we have been cooped up and left the trucks sit for the first dozen days of the year. The weather isn't getting much better, but being cooped up also has advantages. Presumably stir-crazy, dad did quite a bit of shop cleaning while I was away.

This week, we were visited by the crop insurance adjusters and signed the last of the claim forms for revenue losses on the 2014 crop. Tomorrow dad and I are hoping to make our annual trip to the Fort Wayne farm show.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like