Business Plannning

Hello everyone. It is a cold morning here in Keota. I think it is close to 0 degrees. It is that time of year and many of us don't like getting out into the cold.

Many peolpe think that it is also the time of year that seed people are coming out of the woodwork. This is also very true. I realize it gets very overwhelming facing each of us. Along with getting orders on the books, your seed advisor is also busy planning for this next year. At least I am. I have to have a plan and goals or I personally will not know which direction to go. Lewis Hybrids also knows what I have to do to make their year profitable. That is how business works. Is that how your business works?

I ask many growers the same question. Of the following three factors, which do you do the best: 1. Business planning 2. Marketing grain 3. Growing the best crop possible with the given environment? I get the same answer almost every time. I can grow a crop. The second most popular answer is marketing grain. Business planning always is the last and most feel they can improve their planning. I want to talk about business planning.

When I start planning for next year, I always begin with the number of bags of product I want to sell. Of course, this always will be an increase over last year. With inflation and other factors, Lewis Hybrids needs to grow each year. Do you need to grow? Of course. You may have added expenses next year. What is your yield goal for next year? Is it measured by bu/ac or total bushels? Should it be an increase over this past year? These are important questions to ask yourself. Only you know the answers and those answers will help you purchase inputs to reach the yield goals. How do you know how much fertilizer to buy if you have no idea on a yield goal?

Given your yield goal it is easy to calculate your breakeven either by bu/ac or $/bu you expenses require. This is where Al Kluis comes in. If you have your breakevens, now you can start your marketing process. I heard the comment the other day from a recipient of Al's morning updates, "Boy he sure hit the soybean market right last week". That is his job and you all know how I feel about Al. There is no doubt in my mind that he is very very good at what he does and you can make additional dollars by listening to him.

I want to talk to you now about seed purchases. This is the most important input purchase you will make. There is a difference in products. The highest prices will be the newest genetics and the lower prices will be the older genetics. Seed is not a commodity like NH3 or MAP. There are a lot of factors that affect the final product and they produce different products that demand different prices. When you go to the doctor, do you settle for the cheapest?

I will continue the rest of this week with business planning. I want to brag a bit about the year that Lewis products had this past fall. 910VT3 and 1013VT3 showed really well in the F.I.R.S.T. Trial in east central Iowa. I will post the link and you can check them out. Business planning is a very important tool for growers. I am sure all of you do plannning in your head. I think it is important to write these down to constantly remind yourself where you are going. I will continue this week with more important aspects of planning and if I can help you out with planning, feel free to ask.

Be safe and stay warm. Don't forget the webinar on Thursday in my basement. Click on the F.I.R.S.T. Trials to view Lewis Hybrid's results.

Perri

319-929-7851