The agriculture industry is constantly changing and advancing. Every day, farmers are presented with new technologies, marketing choices and fluctuating margins. Throughout all the changes, there is one thing that remains constant: basic farm management. Farming comes with its unique challenges and requires support from many parties to be successful. Being able to make knowledgeable decisions for the farm involves input from multiple parties. An advisory team can help farms make strategic business decisions to keep the farm successful.

An advisory team is a group of industry experts that help to identify opportunities and address challenges on your farm for greater profitability. Using an advisory team on your farm allows you to stay proactive and in charge of your farm’s performance. Advisory teams will give careful consideration to your values, objectives and opportunities while helping you make decisions. Effective advisory teams will divide and conquer, tackling different parts of the farm, making all team members more effective and efficient.

An advisory team usually consists of a group of confidential and trusted advisors, and may be made up of farm owner(s),farm managers (herdsperson, crop person, etc.), a lender, an agronomist, nutritionist, veterinarian, an extension educator (can act as a facilitator to keep the meeting on track) and any other experts that may be needed (i.e., someone trained in succession planning if that is needed for the next generation). Advisory teams generally meet once every few months, but you may decide your needs are different and choose a different interval.

This advisory team of trained professionals can help you gain insight into your farm’s operation and can develop a team approach for better decision making. The team can address issues such as cow comfort, feed and/or crop issues, employee training, financial planning, farm expansion, succession planning and/or any other issues on the farm. The advisory team can also assist in developing a business plan to reach the goals of your operation. This group can help you put together a farm budget that includes future capital expenditures. The advisory team will meet regularly to monitor targeted goals and address any issues that may arise.

Having a team of trained professionals who have expertise in each area of the farm allows them to see potential problems and solutions from different perspectives because each member of the team brings different experiences to the table. An advisory team can also help bring peace of mind to you when making decisions for your operation.

Please feel free to make contact with the DFA Financing Loan Officer covering your area if you have questions about advisory teams.