Your Most Under-Utilized Farm Asset May very well be sitting across from you at the dinner table

As a farm management instructor, I see many under-utilized assets on a farm.  You might have a corn header in the grove, even though you haven’t raised corn for five years. You might have an extra sprayer in the back of shed, just in case your primary sprayer breaks down.  You have five augers behind the grain bins, but you only use one to fill the bin, one to empty, and the other three sit idle.  Despite all the excess steel on your balance sheet, the most under-utilized asset could be the person who sits across from you at the dinner table.

Many spouses have off farm jobs so they do not have the ability to work on the farm full time, but they can help contribute to management decisions.  Grain marketing, balancing the checkbook and becoming involved in capital purchasing decisions are just some of the ways to work on the farm “part-time.” 

I work with a few women farmers and women marketers, and I don’t believe they hold any magical powers that help them make better decisions, but they sure do a good job. It’s not an issue of who is smarter; men or women, but it’s the importance of getting another opinion, and another perspective on financial decisions that ultimately affect both spouses.

Most of the farmers I work with hate farm management.  They hate developing a marketing plan, they don’t balance their checkbook until the last minute, and the financial health of their operation doesn’t seem to be the first priority (unless it relates to what is often their key financial question – “can I buy the new tractor/combine/land?” For most farmers, the priority is 1) production, 2) production, and then 3) production. 

There’s nothing wrong with that. If that’s what you love to do most, then it’s understandable why you would want to focus on this. But if you don’t care for the non-production related decisions, maybe it’s time to delegate that to someone else. A number of producers are well aware of their “management challenges” and enroll in the farm management program to help compensate. But you may need/want someone to handle more of the non-production stuff altogether, and that’s where your under-utilized asset may come in.  

It took me a while to change my mindset from “His and Hers” to “Ours,” but I eventually came around.  Those land payments are not for “his retirement” but “our retirement.”  It’s not my husband who makes or loses money farming, it’s us. 

Your farm is a business, so let’s be frank about it. Mars, you’re not the only one who matters here, your non-production related decisions (and indecisions) affect the significant other in your life. Involve her in those decisions, or have her make them altogether. Don’t worry, she’ll consult with you on the questions that matter. Venus, you cannot afford to be a passive member of the farming operation when so much of your financial future depends on decisions made by someone else.  Make it a point to get more involved in the non-production related management of your farm if you both realize that such help is needed.

Mars often has more trouble giving up control of commodity marketing than the books, even when he is the first to admit that he doesn’t care for marketing or isn’t good at it. However, women marketers seem to be a little more disciplined, and better able to pull the trigger. The best crop marketers can accept their earlier mistake, and stick with the original plan, instead of being blinded by greed and frustrated by the early sales at lower prices.  It can be intimidating to get started, but the rewards are worth the effort, and may lead to less stress, better management, and ultimately a healthier financial balance sheet.

There is no excuse for not getting started.  There are marketing groups and marketing meetings all across the Northern Plains. I have an on-line course titled “Introduction to Commodity Marketing” (details online at (www.mgt.org/fbm/curriculum/index2.htm ). The Minneapolis Grain Exchange has educational resources online. Try to enroll in an “Annie’s Project” course for women (details on page 14).  There are so many resources available to help women get started in commodity marketing including women, perhaps in your neighborhood, who already handle the marketing, and handle it successfully.  It’s never too late to turn an under-utilized asset into a valuable asset in the farming operation. 

Jensen puts her marketing strategies to work farming with husband Brian near Stephen, Minn.  Her market education activities including this column are supported in part by the Minnesota wheat checkoff, directed by the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council. If you have a question or topic related to marketing that you’d like to see addressed in this feature, call 1-800-242-6118, or email Jensen: betsy.jensen@northlandcollege.edu