In a room filled with dairy producers, processors and customers, farmer Mitch Breunig looked around and announced, “I’m really impressed with how many people care about sustainability. … Everyone is this room is here because of the dairy cow, and improving the dairy cow is going to be the path to make this sustainability journey come together.” 

The current business climate of high interest rates and ongoing inflation is challenging. It requires business owners to be proactive and strategic with cash management, debt management and requires an overall increased focus on every aspect of the business.

What’s the value of cropland in your state? Progressive Dairy provides its annual look at state cropland values, ranked by value per acre, as well as cropland rent per acre and annual rent as a percentage of average value.

While I could go with the ordinary list of things like global events, market volatility, geopolitical issues, global economics and poor financial records, the things that really keep me awake at night fall more into the symptoms or characteristics of what leads to financial issues on a farm. Let’s take a look at a few that top my list.

In the realm of capital and collateral, the appraised value of dairy real estate, including specialized facilities, takes on great importance.

When evaluating new loan requests or reviewing existing credit, various factors come into play, each holding significance. These factors are commonly referred to as the 5 C's of finance: character, capital, capacity, conditions and collateral. Meeting the standards set for these factors is essential for obtaining approval.

The underlying factor when trying to make big decisions on whether to build a freestall barn, heifer shed, new parlor or that new robot barn is what it will be worth once it is erected and operational.