JB Ranch in Immokalee, Florida, comprises roughly 10,000 acres in south Florida’s humid, subtropical climate. Russell and Liesa Priddy manage roughly 600 Brangus and Beefmaster cattle on the ranch, with calves being sold to operations in the Western part of the U.S. once a year.

When it comes to farm versus household accounts, separate checking, savings and other accounts can safeguard business funds from personal ones, allow farms to monitor farm spending more easily and assist with recordkeeping of the farm’s finances.

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.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a producer in possession of any type of farm or ranch must be in want of updated machinery. So what considerations should play into a producer’s decision to custom hire versus purchasing, maintaining and operating their own equipment?

As the market for dairy robots has increased, so has the availability of used equipment. For producers interested in making a switch to automation, considerations around buying used or new do not differ greatly from traditional equipment.

While drought and other economic challenges tightened the U.S. cattle herd in recent years, the constriction eventually created a significant – and welcomed – upswing in profitability for many beef cattle producers.

J Schanbacher has milked in his fair share of milking systems, but there is one design that has met all his expectations as a dairy producer.  

For your operation to survive the lean times and grow in the good times, you need a quality relationship with your lender – not a transactional one.

For ranching families, it is common for their household expenditures to be included in their operating budget and loan. With that, household budgets need to be managed differently for ranch families than for families who don’t utilize operating loans.