Changing The Way You Farm

Farm Financial Crisis Educational Program

The educational plan that follows is the summary section from a greatly expanded educational plan that is being drafted. In the essence of time, this summary draft is being posted to the Web for Extension review and reaction while the expanded educational plan is being finalized.

Summary

NDSU Extension Service's Farm Financial Crisis Educational Program

A nine-component Farm Financial Crisis Educational Program is being proposed as NDSU Extension Service's response to the Farm Financial Crisis (FFC). These educational components are listed below in priority order. Components 1 through 7 are designed for the immediate financial crisis. Components 8 and 9 are designed to combat financial stress in 1999 and beyond.

We believe that educational components 1 through 6 can be accomplished with existing resources. Components 7 through 9, on-the-other-hand, will require additional grant dollars. As grant dollars become available, we recommend that the NDSU Extension Service move down through the program components.

The proposed nine priority educational program components targeted towards the Farm Financial Crisis are:

1. Priority One: Farm Financial Crisis Programming should be integrated into existing county and multi-county educational programs.

• The "Changing The Way You Farm" educational series for agents, agricultural lenders, and producers has now been completed. This series and the educational material served as the formal kick-off of NDSU's Farm Financial Crisis (FFC) Educational Program.
• The primary goal of this first FFC educational component was designed to stimulate state-wide thinking about the changes needed in North Dakota to stay economically viable in these current tough times (See "Change" by George Flaskerud available at: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/change/gchange.htm).
• Long-run commodity outlook and planning prices, conducting a business assessment, preparing the recommended farm business financial measures, identifying value added potentials, identifying alternative farming strategies, integrating family/business relationships (see Sean Brotherson's paper at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/change/famfeel.htm ), and reviewing the family support services available in North Dakota are some of the resources developed for the "Changing The Way You Farm" program.
• These educational concepts and materials should now be integrated into as many other existing North Dakota's educational experiences as possible. Efforts are currently underway to put the "Changing The Way You Farm" educational materials on the Web. Stay tuned.
• NDSU Ag Communications should launch a Farm Financial Crisis publicity program disseminating crisis educational concepts to as many North Dakota farm and ranch families as possible.
• "A Changing The Way You Farm" Web page needs to be developed where all FFC related materials are stored on the Web. The title of this Web Page should be "Changing The Way You Farm." You can check out this web page at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/change/change.htm
• Teaching packages on a variety of farm financial crisis topics covering the farm and ranch business, the family, and family economic topics should be developed and made available to all North Dakota educational professionals via NDSU's Web Pages. Educational packages, as they are developed, should be posted to the Web. A variety of current producer handouts targeted to beef producers are available at: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/handouts/handout.htm
• Three examples are listed below:
• Summary of 1997 North Dakota Integrated Resource Management (IRM) beef cow herds comparing low profit and high profit herds to the average of all herds analyzed. Available at: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/handouts/hh120998.htm
• "Conducting A Comparative Analysis Of Your Herd" Production Facts With Other Herds' Production Facts." Available at: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/handouts/hdsprdfc.pdf.
• "Conducting A Comparative Analysis Of Your Herd's Economic Facts With Other Herds's Production Facts." Available at: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/handouts/hdsecfct.htm .
• "Potential Changes In Agriculture." a slide set available at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/handouts/megatrends.htm.
• Some teaching packet currently being proposed are:
• Managing Change And Transition For Farm/Ranch Families. (Brotherson)
• Building Family Strengths To Cope With Change (Brotherson)
• Making Family Decisions In Farming/Ranching (Brotherson)
• Stress Management For Rural Families (Brotherson)
• Children's Issues Related To Farm/Ranch Stress (Brotherson)
• Anger Management: Learning to RETHINK (Brotherson)

E. Harlan Hughes and George Flaskerud should publish some of their winter issues of their Market Advisors on Farm Financial Crisis topics. The Market Advisor is carried by most North Dakota weekly newspapers and farm magazines.

1. Each farm family worked with under NDSU's Farm Financial Crisis Program should be added to the market advisor mailing list starting with the "Changing The Way You Farm" participants (lenders and producers).

2, Some published Market Advisors already targeted to the current FFC are:

• "It Is Time Again To Analyze Your Beef Cow Profit Center" by " by Harlan Hughes, Dec 10, 1998. Available at: http:// www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/12-10-98.htm
• "This Is The Year For Beef Cow Producers To Pencil Out Their Marketing Alternatives" by Harlan Hughes, Oct 15, 1998. Available at: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/lsmanews/10-15-98.htm
• "Agriculture Is Requiring More and More Business Management Skills" by Harlan Hughes, Oct 29, 1998. Available at: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/lsmanews/10-29-98.htm
• "In 1999 and Beyond, Integrated Business Planning Is The Key To Your Financial Survival" by Harlan Hughes, Nov 12, 1998. Available at: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/lsmanews/11-12-98.htm
• "Financially Speaking, Where Am I?" By Harlan Hughes, Nov 26, 1998. Available at" http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow/lsmanews/11-26-98.htm
• "Farm Planning For 1999" Market Advisor by George Flaskerud, December 1998.
• "Sixty Percent Of The Business Accounts Needed To Manage Are Found On Balance Sheets." Available at: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cow.htm under the "past market advisor" button.

2. Priority two: Several professional improvement programs should be developed and offered to interested county and area faculty. Every effort should be made to put these training programs on the Web. Consideration should also be given to making video tapes on these training topics. Travel and material development expenses associated with this training can be paid out of State Extension Grant funds.

A. FINPACK Training:

• All Agriculture and Home Economics Agents should be trained to read a FINPACK output as a means of gaining a fundamental understanding and exposure to the critical financial measures needed to manage the business and a family through 1999 and beyond. Family living draw is a integral part of most farm and ranch businesses.
• Selected agents (agricultural and home economics) should learn how to conduct a FINPACK analysis for farmers and ranchers.

B. FARMPLAN Training: Nine training dates have been selected.

• Adams county in Hettinger January 13, 1999.
• Divide county in Crosby January 19, 1999.
• Wells county in Fessenden January 26, 1999.
• Grigs county in Cooperstown February 9, 1999.
• Grand Forks county in Grand Forks February 10, 1999.
• Cass county in Buffalo February 16, 1999.
• Logan county in Napoleon February 23, 1999.
• Emmons county in Linton February 24, 1999.
• McIntosh county in Ashley February 25, 1999.

C. Quicken Workshops For 1999: Fifteen training dates have been scheduled.

• Emmons county In Linton January 7, 1999.
• Ransom county In Lisbon January 8, 1999.
• Adams county in Hettinger January 14, 1999.
• McKenzie county in Watford City January 15, 1999.
• Williams county in Ray January 16, 1999.
• Divide county in Crosby January 18, 1999.
• Mountrail county in New Town January 20, 1999.
• Renville county in Mohall January 21, 1999.
• Sheridan county in McClusky January 27, 1999.
• Mercer county in Beulah January 28, 1999.
• Morton county in Glen Ullin January 29, 1999.
• Cavalier county in Langdon February 2, 1999.
• Walsh county in Park River February 3, 1999.
• Sargent county in Forman February 6, 1999.
• Richland county in Mooreton February 9, 1999.

D. Analyzing A Farm or Ranch Business Training: A paper on this subject is now available at: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/conferen/change/hughes.htm A computerized slide set has been developed and is scheduled to be loaded to the Web after the first of the year.

E. Family Science Training

F. Family Economics Training

G. Using Diagnostic Teams Effectively

3. Priority Three: Pilot A Farm Financial Crisis Response Program In Southwestern North Dakota. Erin Brown has been hired as a financial analyst and a mentor to a Farm Business Management Fieldman. The short-term goal is to provide one-on-one financial assistance to farmers and ranchers in Southwestern North Dakota. The longer-run goal is to develop a 3-year pilot farm business management association with the Farm Business Management Instructor housed at the Hettinger Research Station. After the 3 year pilot program, the goal is to turn this association over to the State's Farm Business Management Program administered by the State Vocational Technical Program.

A. Cole Gustafson, Experiment Station Director, has agreed to fund Dan Nudell for approximately 6 months to initially coordinate this Southwestern Farm Financial Crisis Educational Program. We are proposing to have NDSU's Experiment Station and Extension Service fully involved in this Southwestern Farm Financial Crisis Educational Program.

B. The pilot Farm Financial Crisis Program is proposed for Southwestern North Dakota as this is one of the several areas of the state not currently covered by the State's Farm Business Management Program.

C. Southwestern North Dakota county agents will be offered the opportunity to be trained in FINPACK. These trained agents will be encouraged to work with local producers needing special financial management assistance.

D. The Montana WIRE (Western Integrated Resource Education) program developed by Wyoming and Montana should be brought into this Southwestern Region. A year or so ago, Eastern Montana Agents have expressed a willingness to teach a pilot program in North Dakota. The plan is to take them up on their offer.

4. Priority four: A special education program should be developed to focus on "Should I Exit From Farming?" Anyone interested in developing this educational program should contact Harlan, Sean, or Julie.

5. Priority five: County Agriculture and Home Economic Extension Agents should serve as the initial contact point for farm and ranch families looking to NDSU Extension Service for specialized financial management help in these troubled times. A farm visit "check list" should be developed to document the producer's initial situation (business, family, and family economics) that should be used to initiate NDSU's Farm Financial Crisis Response tailored to the needs of that individual farm or ranch family. A special check list has been obtained from Vermont Extension Service and is being reviewed for adoption in North Dakota.

6. Priority six: NDSU Extension Service should refer the financially stressed farmers and ranchers (group 3) to North Dakota's Farm Mediation Service. A formal referral process should be developed and implemented for NDSU Extension faculty.

7. Priority seven: A special educational program should be focused on those producers that are currently financially vulnerable and, if things do not go well, could slip into the financially stressed category. Grant funded Financial Analysts (assigned as mentors to North Dakota's Farm Business Management Instructors) should be identified, trained in FINPACK, and time-slipped to conduct one-on-one FINPACK analyses with these financially vulnerable farm and ranch families. Agricultural and Home Economics Extension agents should be trained on the input needed for FINPACK and how to interpret the FINPACK output. The financial analysts/mentors should be expected to collect the input, enter the data, and do the computer processing needed to evaluate farming and ranching business alternatives being considered by participating farmers and ranchers. Farm Business Management Fieldmen should supervise the FINPACK analyses. County agents should supervise the presentation back to the farm or ranch family of the financial alternatives evaluated for the participating farm or ranch families (see next educational component for more details).

8. Priority eight: Managing a financially vulnerable farm or ranch business through 1999 and beyond is going to take some added financial attention. While financial analysis mentors should be made available to do the computer processing, county agents (agriculture and home economics) should still facilitate the initial farm family contact and also the final presentation back to the farm or ranch family. The focus of this 1999 and beyond family education program will be on the production, financial, and family changes that these farm or ranch family could make to ensure that they do not slip into the financially stressed category (group 3). In summary, local extension agents should coordinate the preparations and implementation of the farm or ranch business and family's action plans and the financial analysts should provide the computerized background support.

• Priority nine: "Financial And Production Diagnostic Teams" should be established to help farmers and ranchers identify long-term course corrections designed to remove financial and family stress beyond 1999. The single biggest challenge in this FFC is to bring about long-term business course corrections designed to reduce the source of financial and family stress.⁽¹⁾ These Diagnostic Focus Teams should concentrate on helping individual farmers or ranchers develop their own long-term production, financial, and family action plans designed to reduce their financial stress beyond 1999.

A. A Diagnostic Team Coordinator, in cooperation with the local agent, will assemble the Diagnostic Teams. Local community professionals will be involved in conjunctions with extension faculty to ensure an "enhanced course-correction capability at the local level.

• These Teams will typically be assembled at a producer's kitchen table to identify and integrate production, financial and family solutions tailored to that individual family's unique financial situation and goals. Special emphasis should be placed on comprehending the family's unique problems brought on by that family's potential financial stress.

C. State specialists should conduct special agent training on how to launch long-term "course changes" designed to reduce financial business stress and the accompanying family stress. North Dakota's experience with IRM Learning Teams and Dairy Diagnostic Teams will be used in this beyond 1999 educational program. These Financial and diagnostic teams will be made up of existing county, area, and state extension faculty and local agricultural professionals.

1. Provide a hungry person with a fish and you have fed that person once. Teach him how to fish and he will feed himself for a life time. In this same light, we need to teach farmers and ranchers "how to" do financial management.

CRISIS
When written in Chineese,
the word "crisis" is composed of two characters.
One represents danger,
and the other represents opportunity.
John F. Kennedy