Category: Grain Marketing

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Alan Strom, left, and his son Nick, started using Cash Cow Farmer in the 2015 season and say reviewing budgets and inputs on their fields is crucial to determining the health of their operation in Brown County, S.D.
Scott Anderson brought a Wall Street education back to the farm and used his experience with corporate finance and money management to create the Cash Cow Farmer program designed for simplicity and utility. Cash Cow Farmer is a user-friendly financial program that calculates field by field production costs and manages inventory and grain marketing strategies.
During college, Anderson heard Warren Buffett and Bill Gates speak at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He didn’t identify with the world of Gates, but was inspired by Buffett’s common sense approach to business. “If a guy like Buffett, who came from Omaha, could make it on Wall Street, maybe I had a chance.”
Leaving his family farm behind in Andover, S.D., Anderson seized opportunity and spent two years in corporate finance on Wall Street after college. There were other traders from small towns, but Anderson was the only farm boy on Wall Street. He soaked in the marketing knowledge, and following his father’s retirement, returned to his family’s 7,500-acre corn and soybean operation. “When I came back to the farm, my goal was to get the financial side of the farm under control. If you’re an executive making decisions, then you must know the ins and outs of your operation,” Anderson says.

[/vc_column_text][ult_buttons btn_title=”SCHEDULE A FREE GRAIN MARKETING STRATEGY SESSION” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2Fmarketing-strategy||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-small” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][vc_column_text]He brought home the nascent pieces of a spreadsheet accounting for everything in a farming operation. Every row was a separated field and included all economic factors: overhead, labor, insurance, repairs, purchases, tillage passes, inputs from seed to chemicals, and much more. At a startup weekend event for technology entrepreneurs, he didn’t think anyone would care about financial software by a farmer from a town of 99 people. He was wrong and Cash Cow Farmer was born.
Cash Cow calculates the costs to produce a bushel of grain by field, and allows a grower to manage each field as a separate business. The results are streamlined toward the bare truth – which fields are making profit, which are mired in loss — and why.
Growers punch in what they pay for inputs and get access 24-7 via smartphone, tablet, or computer. According to Anderson, tight margins have gained Cash Cow attention for one primary reason: Growers want landlords to see raw numbers to bolster rent negotiations. Backed by hard data, they want to show landlords past rental rates aren’t necessarily affordable. “Rent can really get a farmer, especially if he’s paying $300 per acre and losing $50 to $200 per acre,” Anderson says. “He can put his economics into the Cash Cow program and show the landlord that ‘First, this is what I’m making on land I own. Second, this is what I’m losing on land that I rent.’ Rent negotiations have been a significant reason for some producers to use Cash Cow.”[/vc_column_text][ult_buttons btn_title=”TRY CASHCOW FARMER FREE FOR 30 DAYS” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2F30daytrial||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-small” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][vc_column_text]

Alan and Nick Strom grow corn and soybeans in Brown County, S.D., and rely on Cash Cow to track inputs for individual fields. “We’re making better decisions and gaining extra profit with accurate numbers as a guide,” Nick says. “Reviewing budgets and inputs on all of our fields is crucial to knowing the strengths and weakness of our entire operation. We’re using the spreadsheet to change how we apply fertilizer to specific fields to get the maximum out of them.”
Anderson has tremendous confidence in his program and offers a 30-day free trial. Cash Cow launched in December 2014 and is available at two purchase levels. Basic costs $750 per year and includes 25 fields; Pro Plus costs $1,500 per year and includes an unlimited number of fields. Crops currently available for the program include corn, cotton, rice, canola, edible beans, flax seed, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, potatoes, sorghum, sugar beets, confectionery sunflowers, oil sunflowers, winter wheat, spring wheat and soybeans.
“When I help a farmer get started, they often show me a bunch of papers with scribbled notes. Any look backwards requires digging through paperwork.” With Cash Cow, the risk of reliance on a pile of papers is over, according to Anderson. “Once you’ve used Cash Cow even one time, you can show someone else how to use it,” he says. “It’s made by a farmer for farmers.”

See the original article by Chris Bennett here[/vc_column_text][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”40″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”40″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”30″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”20″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row dfd_row_config=”full_width_content” dfd_row_parallax=”off” dfd_row_responsive_enable=”off” dfd_enable_overlay=”off” css=”.vc_custom_1470889834038{background-color: #2d2d2d !important;}”][vc_column width=”3/4″][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”0″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”0″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”0″][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”25″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”15″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”10″][ultimate_heading heading_type=”customizable” heading_tag=”h3″ heading_content=”FREE GRAIN MARKETING STRATEGY SESSION!” main_heading_default_weight=”400″ main_heading_color=”#ffffff” subheading_type=”customizable” subheading_tag=”h5″ sub_heading_default_weight=”400″]DON’T LET THE MARKETS WIN…SCHEDULE YOUR FREE SESSION TODAY![/ultimate_heading][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”25″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”15″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”10″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″ column_responsive_mobile_classes=”dfd-remove-right-padding” column_responsive_mobile_resolutions=”dfd-apply-mobile” css=”.vc_custom_1470810100672{padding-right: 2% !important;}”][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”15″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”0″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”0″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”0″][bt_animation animation_type=”_flipX” duration=”2″ repeat=”2″ allow_margins=”yes” scroll_offset=”5px” no_hide=”yes”][ult_buttons btn_title=” FREE STRATEGY SESSION” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2Fmarketing-strategy||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-large” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][/bt_animation][vc_column_text]

SCHEDULE YOUR FREE SESSION TODAY!

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The founder of Cash Cow Farmer, Scott Anderson, was the keynote speaker at 1 Million Cups in Brookings, SD.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

The founder of Cash Cow Farmer, Scott Anderson, was the keynote speaker at 1 Million Cups in Brookings, SD.  Scott talked about how he founded Cash Cow at a entrepreneurial event called Startup Weekend in Minneapoilis, MN about a year earlier. The farm accounting program was developed because Scott noticed that farmers were having a hard time making money with the recent correction in commodity prices.  The Cash Cow Farmer Program, according to Scott, helps farmers identify their strengths and weaknesses in their operation to help them make better management and grain marketing decisions.

Scott was able to tie his financial background from working on Wall Street to his farming experience to create the Cash Cow program that would make sense for a farmer.[/vc_column_text][ult_buttons btn_title=”SCHEDULE A FREE GRAIN MARKETING STRATEGY SESSION” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2Fmarketing-strategy||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-small” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][vc_column_text]
One Million Cups is an entrepreneurial event developed by the Kauffman foundation. 1MC is designed to help educate, engage and connect entrepreneurs to their local community.

The events start out by going over upcoming local events to make sure people know about them.  After the announcements, the keynote speaker is introduced and is usually a local rising entrepreneur.  The entrepreneur talks about how they started their business and where they are at in growing their business. After about 6 minutes the community asks a series of questions usually starting with asking how the community can help the entrepreneur with their business.[/vc_column_text][ult_buttons btn_title=”TRY CASHCOW FARMER FREE FOR 30 DAYS” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2F30daytrial||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-small” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][vc_column_text]

The audience usually consists of local business people, entrepreneurs, students, city council and everything in between.

[/vc_column_text][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”40″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”40″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”30″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”20″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row dfd_row_config=”full_width_content” dfd_row_parallax=”off” dfd_row_responsive_enable=”off” dfd_enable_overlay=”off” css=”.vc_custom_1470889834038{background-color: #2d2d2d !important;}”][vc_column width=”3/4″][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”0″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”0″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”0″][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”25″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”15″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”10″][ultimate_heading heading_type=”customizable” heading_tag=”h3″ heading_content=”FREE GRAIN MARKETING STRATEGY SESSION!” main_heading_default_weight=”400″ main_heading_color=”#ffffff” subheading_type=”customizable” subheading_tag=”h5″ sub_heading_default_weight=”400″]DON’T LET THE MARKETS WIN…SCHEDULE YOUR FREE SESSION TODAY![/ultimate_heading][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”25″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”15″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”10″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″ column_responsive_mobile_classes=”dfd-remove-right-padding” column_responsive_mobile_resolutions=”dfd-apply-mobile” css=”.vc_custom_1470810100672{padding-right: 2% !important;}”][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”15″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”0″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”0″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”0″][bt_animation animation_type=”_flipX” duration=”2″ repeat=”2″ allow_margins=”yes” scroll_offset=”5px” no_hide=”yes”][ult_buttons btn_title=” FREE STRATEGY SESSION” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2Fmarketing-strategy||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-large” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][/bt_animation][vc_column_text]

SCHEDULE YOUR FREE SESSION TODAY!

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listen here
[smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/cashcowfarmer/EP_001-_Buying_Farmland-_A_Farmers_3_Part_Strategy.mp3″ social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” ]

Farmers are always interested in what’s going on in farmland sales, for good reason. It’s a competitive realm: you’re not only competing with the people who farm around you, you’re competing with investors. There are doctors in my area who don’t farm, but they sure are interested in renting it out.
Since it’s an eternally hot topic, I wanted to go over a three-part strategy to buying farmland that I believe can be very useful for anyone looking to make the best land purchase possible.

1) Farm Strategy
Your farm strategy is your business strategy. Farmers usually form their strategy alone—but that’s never the path of the wise.
All good businesses have a board of directors.  You need to get at least four people involved anytime you’re thinking about a big equipment or a land purchase:

1. Your banker or bankers, (hopefully, you have more than one.)

2. Your accountant, (the person most familiar with your finances)

3. Your tax advisor,

4. Your estate planner, (It’s not always the best idea to purchase the farm yourself; you may want your son or daughter to purchase it with you.)

Some of these may overlap; your tax advisor may be your accountant, and so on. The point remains: it’s always best to consult the people in all four of these roles before major purchases. They’ll keep you from going broke.
But there is an even more important part of a farm strategy: knowing the purpose of the purchase. How does that piece of land fit into your operation?

Let’s say, for example, that the quarter of land is contiguous with your own is for sale. You could probably pay a little more for it than most people because of how conveniently it will fit into your operation. It could be a matter of just knocking a fence down, leaving you with a full mile run for field operations. The longer you can drive without turning around, the more you can get done.
Farm strategy is about evaluating how the land you’re considering is going to add value and synergy to your operation. If there isn’t a clear reason you should buy it, you shouldn’t. In fact, you should have multiple good reasons before you purchase.
And again, your four advisors should all give their approval before you pull the trigger. This is classic “checks and balances.” You’re the President of your operation—but those advisors are your Congress or board of directors.

[/vc_column_text][ult_buttons btn_title=”SCHEDULE A FREE GRAIN MARKETING STRATEGY SESSION” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2Fmarketing-strategy||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-small” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][vc_column_text]

2) Income Projections
You need to figure out what your income is going to be—which is tricky.
A lot of farmers bought land back around 2012 thinking they’d make $800 an acre in income and pay off the land in 12.5 years, no problem. But that’s not the case anymore.
Realistically, you need your income statement to project a land’s income over the last 10 years—the good, the bad, and the cringe-worthy.
You should also take into account what land is renting for, but realize that even rental prices can be misleading.
Likely, if you’re a good farmer who’s financially forced to rent, you’re not alone. Many others will be renting too, driving down the price of rent. The price you thought you’d get renting your land may not be very good.

So when doing an income projection, you can’t just base your forecast off the “golden years.” Remember that farming is cyclical: golden years are surrounded by a lot of mediocre and hair-graying years.
Your advisors will help you with this, too. Your tax person in particular will know your farm’s income for the last 10 years. Lean on that estimate.

[/vc_column_text][ult_buttons btn_title=”TRY CASHCOW FARMER FREE FOR 30 DAYS” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2F30daytrial||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-small” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][vc_column_text]3) Pricing & Financing Strategy
What should I pay for a piece of land? What can I afford to pay?
These questions are really at the center of buying farmland, aren’t they? Yet, there’s no simple formula for answering them. So what should you do?
For starters, talk to your advisors; it should be clear by now that they are essential to every part of your buying strategy.
Beyond that, you need to look at your cash flow and balance sheet. The balance sheet will tell you how much cash you have and if you can pay for a given property.
Keep in mind that paying in cash is never a good idea for farmland; cash is worth more than the land, and it always will be. Cash is always king.
If you buy land for a million dollars in cash, you just lost a quarter of a million dollars. Yes, that land will appreciate, but it’s only valued at 70% of the market value, as far as your net worth goes.

You take a big hit when you buy an illiquid asset; liquidity gives assets huge value. Cash probably has 1.5 times its borrowing value. One million dollars in cash translates to a one and a half million dollar loan.
But if you have one million dollars in farmland, the bank might lend you $600,000-700,000. That’s it.
Pricing and financing strategy go hand in hand.

A note on interest rates
Interest rates are an important part of the price of land. If you’re buying a lot of land and you don’t have a fixed interest rate, a rising interest rate can balloon your payments in the future.
Looking at your financing strategy, let’s say your interest rate is at 4.25% for 20 years. You purchase land for $1,000,000.
Payment will be around $75,000. You have to plan to pay that every year when you’re forecasting. You have to show that your profit will far exceed that payment in order to buy that piece of land. That’s how you figure out what you can afford to pay.
Again, don’t use your cash; you’re going to need it if interest rates go up and you have to pay off loans overnight. The cash is a safety net for the unexpected.

Conclusion
Every farmer’s situation is personal. Some work with multiple operators, and others run the whole enterprise alone. Some are exclusively renting, while others own a fair amount of land. There are dozens of variables involved.
But if you follow our advice and consider these three main factors—farm strategy, income projections, and financing strategy—you can go into an auction sale with your top price in mind and your confidence running high.
Add the blessing of your four advisors, and you’ll be about as safe as a farmer can be buying farmland. Notice the wordadvisors popping up and in blue a lot???  That was intentional…
Do you already own land that won’t seem to yield a profit? Learn how to make every field profitable here.

Please leave a comment of some helpful things you have experienced in purchasing land.[/vc_column_text][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”40″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”40″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”30″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”20″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row dfd_row_config=”full_width_content” dfd_row_parallax=”off” dfd_row_responsive_enable=”off” dfd_enable_overlay=”off” css=”.vc_custom_1470889834038{background-color: #2d2d2d !important;}”][vc_column width=”3/4″][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”0″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”0″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”0″][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”25″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”15″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”10″][ultimate_heading heading_type=”customizable” heading_tag=”h3″ heading_content=”FREE GRAIN MARKETING STRATEGY SESSION!” main_heading_default_weight=”400″ main_heading_color=”#ffffff” subheading_type=”customizable” subheading_tag=”h5″ sub_heading_default_weight=”400″]DON’T LET THE MARKETS WIN…SCHEDULE YOUR FREE SESSION TODAY![/ultimate_heading][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”25″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”25″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”15″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”10″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″ column_responsive_mobile_classes=”dfd-remove-right-padding” column_responsive_mobile_resolutions=”dfd-apply-mobile” css=”.vc_custom_1470810100672{padding-right: 2% !important;}”][dfd_spacer screen_wide_resolution=”1280″ screen_wide_spacer_size=”15″ screen_normal_resolution=”1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=”800″ screen_mobile_resolution=”480″ screen_normal_spacer_size=”0″ screen_tablet_spacer_size=”0″ screen_mobile_spacer_size=”0″][bt_animation animation_type=”_flipX” duration=”2″ repeat=”2″ allow_margins=”yes” scroll_offset=”5px” no_hide=”yes”][ult_buttons btn_title=” FREE STRATEGY SESSION” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcashcowfarmer.clickfunnels.com%2Fmarketing-strategy||target:%20_blank” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-large” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#00ab61″ btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_bg_color_hover=”#ffffff” btn_title_color_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left” btn_border_style=”solid” btn_color_border=”#ffffff” btn_color_border_hover=”#00ab61″ btn_border_size=”2″ btn_font_size=”18″][/bt_animation][vc_column_text]

SCHEDULE YOUR FREE SESSION TODAY!

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Planting is the most important part of the farming process.

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Planting is the most important part of the farming process.
And with the passing of June 10, planting season is now over for much of the Corn Belt. It was a brutal time, battling Mother Nature. In my area, we even went from drought warnings to flood warnings in a week’s time.
All that pushing—it’s temporarily over. But now you’re looking back to figure out what just happened. Which seeds did you plant where? How do you make sense of it all?
You have a heap of data from planting season: from your tractor, field notes, and so on.
But most farmers only use that data to track the plant date and planted acres of each field. You might not know that what you do with your data makes a tremendous impact on your entire operation.
Follow the three steps below and turn your planting data into valuable insights that will make you more efficient (and profitable) during your next planting season.

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1) Measure Your Efficiencies
How many acres did you plant every day, on average? What was the most (and the least) you achieved in a day?
When you look at these metrics, you can start to identify what caused your low-production days.
For example: On a day that you only planted 200 acres (when your average is 500 acres), it might have been because you were scrambling around for seeds or parts you didn’t have on hand. If that’s the case, then you weren’t adequately prepared for planting season.
So when the next planting season rolls around, you’ve made a mental note to stock up on the resources that you scrambled for last season. Without measuring your data, you’d never know to make this adjustment for the next season.
People may think it’s a waste to go back through all their data from planting season and draw conclusions. But in this day and age, the “Wal-Mart” farmers, meaning the low-cost farmers, are the ones that survive.
Think about it: Wal-Mart moves into town and drives down all the prices, putting local stores out of business. It’s the same in farming: the farmers who track and measure everything produce at a lower cost than old-fashioned farmers who don’t.
Measure your efficiencies, and you won’t have to worry about getting shoved out of the way.

Production costs = time it takes to farm the field + used inputs

2) Record Your Actual Planting Production Cost
If you’re like me, you have an estimate of what you’re going to plant on every field.
But estimates only go so far. Your actual production costs will help you make key decisions.

1: Time it takes to farm the field
When it comes to time spent, the size of a field means very little; the shape is much more important.
To measure efficiency, look at your planting coverage map. Are you planting in a perfect square or does your field look like swiss cheese because of all the wet spots?
It’s like mowing the lawn: when you’ve got a bunch of trees in your yard, you have to put a headland around each tree which can take a lot of extra time to mow. Productivity is extremely important!
After looking at your data, if you see that one field took an entire day to farm…you may be better off custom hiring someone to farm it. They’re going to charge you by the acre, not by time.
If hiring someone isn’t an option, then find another source of production: if you rent it, stop renting. If you own it, make it a pasture or square it with CRP.

2: Used inputs
If that field that looks like swiss cheese, there’s a good chance you’re planting seed on ground that you’ve already planted. You’re putting valuable inputs on top of other seed, and it’s a major inefficiency.
But there’s a solution: invest in sectional control.
Technology like Precision Planting’s RowFlow will map the ground you’ve already planted. RowFlow keeps your tractor from spreading inputs on ground that’s already been planted, ultimately saving you a lot of money on seed and fertilizer.
Put #1 and #2 together, and you’ll have your actual production cost.
Cash Cow Farmer makes it easy to input your planting data. The tool allows you to easily see the entire season’s production costs (down to the penny) at a glance on each individual field, each crop and the whole farm.

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3) Determine Your Harvest Plan
Every seed has a maturity date. There are long-season and short-season corn varieties. Since they’re so different, you can’t harvest them effectively without a plan.
Most farmers will plant 3-6 varieties. So it’s important that they harvest the shorter date corn first.
Let’s look at the farmer who hires out his labor. If his workers don’t know the seeds’ maturity dates, they may harvest one crop that’s ready and move on to another that isn’t. All the while, they may miss another crop that’s now over-dry because it passed maturity.
Farmers need to explain the harvest plan to every worker; and to explain a harvest plan, you have to have one. (Click to Tweet)
Cash Cow stores data for the farmer, so the farmer can see what seeds they planted on every field and when. With this data at your fingertips, you can easily create a harvest plan.

Conclusion
Planting season is like taking the SAT standardized test. It’s tempting to pay all your attention to the grade, but if you don’t look at the questions you got wrong, how will you improve?
Take time to measure your efficiency, and adjust your operation accordingly. We love Benjamin Franklin’s quote: “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” (Click to Tweet)
You invested a lot of your time during planting season, so why not learn from it?
Start your free trial of Cash Cow Farmer today, and start using your planting data to make your farming operation more efficient.

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