Why do you farm? Some of you may say it’s because of the life style, the freedom, the independence and the opportunity to work outdoors. Others will say they farm because it’s a good place to raise a family and teach children about nature. But along with those important reasons most of our 21st century AgVenture customers will add that they farm to make money. It’s a business for them and they want it to be as successful as possible.
Farming is one of the only industries that has made a sudden, about face in the past few years when it comes to the potential to make money. Growers finally have the opportunity to get paid for their hard work and make more money than they ever thought possible. A paradigm shift has occurred in all of agriculture, at least for those who are serious about the farming business. Production agriculture has changed from hoping for good yields as the only source of income, to integrating a system for creating yields with grain marketing strategies, crop insurance programs and financial goals. The result is a whole new way of “on farm” thinking called Return On Investment, ROI, not bushels per acre. Profits from this new way of managing a farm will greatly enhance farm life as we know it.
21st century farmers will have more opportunity than almost anyone before them to rent or buy more land, bring a family member into the operation, pay down debt or simply retire early, debt free. That’s because AgVenture customers will have more opportunity than ever to put their ROI system into play. If there was ever a time in crop production to focus on ROI, it is the current growing season. Convincing some growers they needed to re-nitrify their crop or apply fungicides after considerable crop devastation was often not an easy task. But with record high farm prices and the ability to produce a better crop than other growers through the use of MPS, farmers are learning how to better Maximize ROI.
If farmers are actually doing things different in their corn production programs to force record yields, even when the crop seems lost, then top corn yields become synonymous with top ROI for that year.
Make ROI, Return On Investment your focus and the new language you speak for the next few years. When you do, you will notice a huge change in how you manage your business. You will focus less on costs and more on a system for raising higher yields and marketing your grain while protecting your revenue with the right kind of Crop Insurance. But best of all, you WILL be the one retiring early, debt free.