View all past Braintrust Ag newsletters here.

Edition #44

October 12, 2024

Good morning and welcome to the Braintrust Ag newsletter. Where we give you, dear reader, a boost to get up on that horse and ride it to farm & ranch business success…

A couple notes to begin:

• You can now get a free 7-day trial membership to the community

  • 🔗 www.braintrustag.com/join

• Hey, we hit 350 members this past week! Incredibly grateful for everyone joining and contributing to this growing community.

Alright, let’s get to the topics that will help you build & transition a strong, sustainable ag operation.

-Clint

Here’s what we have this week:

• 🟰 18 Financial Ratios

• 🌱 Seeds

• 💡 Urban Sprawl Opportunity

• 📅 Happenings

• 🚨 Contingency Planning

• 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ Side Hustle Direction

• and more…

THE BIG IDEA

BA Pro Manager Series

#11: 18 Farm Financial Ratios Every Ag Operator Ought To Know

As a farmer or rancher, managing your operation’s finances can often feel overwhelming. But the cliche business saying - “what gets measured gets managed” - rings true for us in agriculture as well. So, understanding key financial ratios can help you assess your farm’s financial health and make informed decisions to ensure long-term success.

In our latest installment of this series, we break down 18 essential financial ratios that can help you track your farm’s profitability, manage risks, and plan for future growth.

Discover how measuring these financial metrics can empower you to better manage your farm or ranch.

Click the link below to read the full breakdown ⤵️

Don’t want to read the post but still want to download the eBook & Calculator? Click the buttons below.

SAYING “THANKS”

I spent a couple years working for a small COOP elevator. When I say small, I mean the town census was taken Saturday nights at the bar... not “a” bar; “the” bar.

Results: between 25-50 residents.

The town has 1 church, 1 bar, 1 legion hall, 1 auto shop/gas station, 1 grain elevator, no school, zero traffic lights, and not even a Dollar General.

So, when folks say they come from a “small town” and reference chain restaurants and multiple gas stations I take that with a grain of salt.

But, that’s not the point of this post. The point is that these rural, very small towns rely on community support for their existence.

So, thank you to every resident, farmer, rancher, and human who supports these towns and villages.

Also, small town elevator employees are working their tails off to support harvest.

I’ve been there. I was hired to manage the feed department: balance rations & sell feed. What I didn’t know going into it was that if you’re on the the small town elevator payroll, you’re gonna be working 16 hr+ days, 7 days a week during harvest. Some of these guys & gals are salaried so they don’t benefit from more hours. Yet they’re dumping trucks, elevating grain, and spending overnights to watch the grain dryer… All in an effort to keep that small town alive.

The COOP elevator I worked for has now merged with a bigger regional COOP, but the humans dumping trucks remain the same.

They’re the backbone of many of these tiny ag communities, and I think we ought to give them credit where credit is due.

A “thank you” spoken to these people when you see them goes a long way.

SEEDS

• 💻 Modernized Auctions: A new auction platform, Tractor Tuesday, is revolutionizing equipment auctions by allowing farmers and dealerships to auction their machinery themselves, eliminating seller commissions and having a low, capped buyer's premium. They’re launching with a $22 listing fee and 2% buyer’s premium promo for their inaugural auction Nov. 11 - Dec. 17.

• 💲 Land Purchase: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka the Mormon Church, is buying over 40K acres of farmland in 7 states for $289 million. They intend to lease that ground out to local producers and this adds to their ~$2 billion worth of ag land holdings.

• 🚨 Hurricane Losses: The past couple weeks have been rocked by hurricanes in the Southeast. This report estimates in Georgia alone, over $6 billion in crop and other ag support businesses were sustained. Here’s the USDA page on disaster assistance programs and it’s highly encouraged to alert with and meet with your crop insurance agent ASAP.

• 👰 Side Gig: This dairy goat farmer was struggling to make ends meet and started a crazy profitable side-hustle… reselling last year’s outdated wedding dresses for a discount.

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Next Gen: A Canadian dairy farm diversified into poultry in order to facilitate a succession plan to bring the next generation onto the operation. Sometimes thinking outside the box is a way to preserve family farming operations.

URBAN SPRAWL… A Short-term benefit?

A common frustration for those living near urban areas is, “I can’t buy farmland—it’s too expensive near the city.” The price of land near urban areas is often sky-high, making it seem impossible for new or expanding farmers to secure affordable acres. But what if there’s a way to lease that land at a fraction of the cost?

Here’s a creative strategy: Network with a real estate developer. Developers often purchase large plots of land for future projects, but those projects take years to come to fruition. The timeline for permits, financing, appraisals, and design can stretch on for quite some time. Meanwhile, they still need someone to manage and maintain the property.

This is where you come in.

By establishing a relationship with a developer, you can become their go-to renter for the land in the interim. While the developer waits for all the pieces to fall into place, they care less about how much you pay in rent and more about having the land properly maintained. For them, the rent is just a drop in the bucket compared to the overall $$ of the development project.

As a result, you can potentially secure cheap rental opportunities, allowing you to grow your operation without the huge upfront cost of buying farmland. Just keep in mind that these leases are usually short-term, as the land will eventually transition into its intended use.

For ambitious farmers, this is a great way to gain access to affordable land, build your network, and grow your farm business while staying near the city. Don’t overlook these creative opportunities!

Become an Exclusive Member today for access to everything. It’s a small cost and you can even try it out FREE for 7 days!

PEER GROUP HAPPENINGS

A few mentions on what Braintrust Ag members are up to:

1) Member Meet-Up

Tuesday, Oct. 15 @ noon CST

Looking forward to discussing all the varying aspects of equipment considerations & opportunities that are ever-present on farm & ranch operations with members.

2) Download the Pro Manager tools/resources

We’ve got the first 12 Pro Manager tools uploaded to the platform for easy download here:

Access The Pro Manager Tools

3) A generous member is offering exclusive access to their new advanced production & weather modeling service

If you get value from these newsletters, consider joining 350+ other ag people and become a member of Braintrust Ag. Your support makes this content possible.

A Sad Reminder To Have A Contingency Plan

A month before needing to harvest 3,000 acres of corn & soybeans, a farm family suffered a tragic accident.

The mid 30’s son, and key man, sustained a head injury in an ATV accident. It’s still unclear how much of his previous abilities he’ll recover.

The (semi-retired) 67 yr old dad is scrambling to manage harvest without the benefit of all the knowledge Son had.

He said, “I sure wish we had a contingency plan, or at least notes on what is where & what needs to be done.” Thankful for all the neighbors & extended family members chipping in w/ labor & equipment, but the bottle-neck is not being able to access all the knowledge the Son has stored in his mind.

It’s a sad story to highlight the importance of documenting things & having a contingency plan.

Business management books call it the “key person risk” and it’s present in every industry.

What happens when the go-to manager, who has all the crucial info stored in their head, quits, becomes injured, or passes away?

→ The answer to that can be a startling reminder to put things in writing…just in case.

AG-ADJACENT SIDE HUSTLE HELP

When a good friend came to me looking for ways to earn some extra cash, I was eager to help. He knew I’m always diving deep into side hustles and business ideas, so we sat down with a quick worksheet I threw together to brainstorm ideas. The results? Let’s just say he’s now as busy as a frog on a freeway, giving virtual guitar lessons.

That got me thinking—what if this simple framework/worksheet could be applied to one of my true passion areas: ag-adjacent side hustles? Whether you’re already working in agriculture or just dreaming of breaking into it, there are smart ways to build a side business that accomplishes two main goals:

1. Puts you in proximity to other ag people & landowners, and

2. Complements your current or future farming operation.

Curious to learn more? In my latest article, I break down exactly what an ag-adjacent side hustle is, why it’s a game changer for folks in the ag world, and how you can get started.

I’ve also refined the worksheet that helped my friend, and now you can download it to kickstart your own side hustle. If you're ready to explore new opportunities, check out the full post or just skip the read & download the worksheet below!

MEME OF THE WEEK

That’s a wrap, folks.

Until next time, thank you to everyone involved in ag.

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DISCLAIMER: All content, communications, and resources provided by Braintrust Ag, its principals, operators, or members is intended to merely be educational and entertaining. Nothing published by Braintrust Ag should be relied on as legal, financial, investment, or other professional advice. Investments and legal matters involve substantial risk and are not suitable for all individuals. It is recommended to enter into a client relationship with a Pro Provider for obtaining professional advice.