SDCGA to offer two business planning classes for producers

The South Dakota Corn Growers Association (SDCGA) wants to assist ag producers in taking their operations to the next level by offering two in-depth farm business planning classes.

The two separate course offerings will be held Sept. 11-12 and Sept. 13-14 at the Ramkota Hotel in Sioux Falls.

The SDCGA, Risk Management Agency and AgriSolutions, Inc., have teamed up to help producers make positive improvements in their financial future. Studies indicate that successful farms are the result of planning, execution and follow through. To stay competitive and meet the needs of a rapidly changing agricultural industry, individual producers need to regularly evaluate their operations and the classes will help producers do just that.

“Understanding your farm business outlook is a key to thinking strategically and achieving success,” said Reid Jensen, president of the SDCGA. “This learning opportunity will allow producers the ability to update their business plan and position themselves for the future.”

Presented by Allen Lash of AgriSolutions, the two courses are the following:

Sept. 11-12, 2007: AS 104 – “Growth and Funding Options”

Learn how to rank assets for asset management and growth purposes and identify those that are productive and non-productive. Discover the amount of debt appropriate for your assets and recognize when to use debt for growth and when to use equity. Highlights include:

• Asset Management
• Debt Control & Lender Communications
• Total Debt Analysis
• Equity Management

Sept. 13-14: AS 103 – “Taking Action to Improve Performance”

Create a historical farm financial performance report based on your own financial data from your operation. From that report learn:

• Revenue-generating capacity of your operation
• Efficiency of the operation
• Potential financial opportunities
• Areas in need of improvement
• To build an action plan to accomplish objectives

Call the SDCGA at 605-334-0100 to register for either or both classes.