Over time, the strength and size of unified family assets create a competitive advantage over the farms that fragment their assets with each generation. I don’t believe many people set out to erode family assets, but it often happens by falling into some of these transition planning traps.

According to the USDA’s Land Values 2023 Summary, farm real estate value – a measurement of value for all land and buildings on farms – averaged $4,080 per acre in 2023. This was a 7.4% (about $280) increase from 2022.

Every day, farmers deal with variables out of their control, from weather to mechanical issues to weed pressure. In recent weeks, a new variable has affected many U.S. growers.

The NRCS, the USDA’s primary private lands conservation agency, supports producers by providing one-on-one, personalized assistance to help them address the specific needs of their operations through financial and free technical assistance.

A few months ago, I received a call from a dairyman who was having issues with his somatic cell count (SCC). He asked me to look over his feeding program and see if I saw anything that they might be overlooking or that stood out as a problem that might affect somatic cell, mastitis levels, etc.

Every farm manager must make decisions about equipment. When to buy, when to sell and when to hire out the work are common questions. All of these decisions start from the same place: understanding your costs.

Today, drones have the ability to spray herbicides, pesticides and fungicides at 8 feet off the ground. They also can spread solids like seeds, bugs and compost. They do it quietly, quickly and precisely.

Have you ever considered adding a forage calculator to your toolbox? Integrating this method of measuring forage carrying capacity and stocking rate can help with the improvement of production management practices on pastures and rangelands.

Our ability to keep good records (now data) varies tremendously – sometimes a fair bit from one day to the next.