MANAGEMENT

In this internet age, it seems you can learn to do just about anything online.

Starting and growing a business is part of the American dream. Farm and ranch business expansion is often motivated by the need to increase profitability and improve production efficiency. Businesses experience growing pains just as teenagers do. Growth tends to magnify the weaknesses in a business. Setting things in order when your business is small is much wiser than waiting until you have a big business and a mess to clean up. Here are four things you can do to improve the profitability of your business as it grows.

If you’ve been producing in any aspect of agriculture for a while, it is not a surprise that input costs can fluctuate from year to year. Knowing what to expect annually and budgeting correctly can be a challenge for all producers, no matter how many years they’ve been in the industry.

Winter is a great time to review forage plans for the upcoming growing season and to fine-tune any areas that might have changed since you first developed your plan.

It always pays to plan ahead for the next crop season. Steven Hines, University of Idaho extension educator for Jerome County, says things a producer needs to think about during winter include maintaining machinery, such as the corn planter.

Insurance is one of the top expenses for any person – and especially for farm owners. Paying for coverage seems redundant when a claim is filed and the conclusion is: The situation is not covered by insurance.