The hard-learned lessons of thin margins and financial potholes are worth heeding. Skip Klinefelter has absorbed years of uninvited turbulence and kept moving forward. He offers six tips for surviving tough times.
Since Lance Dobson’s return to the family farm, he’s added cattle, cereal rye for forage and a seed dealership. “Whether it’s exercising or farming, hopefully diversification in our day will yield results that improve our longevity,” he says.
These days Keith Vodrazka works for an entrepreneurial startup with big plans and different leadership challenges than he experienced during his time in big agribusiness.
What was supposed to be an 8-min. job ended up nearly costing Doug Omer his life. Now he uses the ordeal as a warning to others who need to slow down and think before they act.
Pride is deeply seeded in Nolan Parker and Matthew Brown. They hail from multigenerational farm families, but decided to set out on their own in 2022. The pair of Louisiana farmers are excited about their future.
There’s a serious lack of communication between generations, and procrastination and conflict avoidance are killing agriculture, says Elaine Froese, a farm family transition expert.
From understanding breakeven price per bushel to finding a mentor who persevered through the 1980s, Alan Hoskins with American Farm Mortgage and Financial Service shares pointers for a long, financially sound career.
From switching to 100% strip-till this past fall to learning to build seed scripts and planting her first crop as a full-time farmer this spring, Sarah Tweeten is making her mark on her family’s Iowa operation.
