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Farm Horizons • April 3 , 2017 • Page 13
Photo by Starrla Cray
The 25th annual Carver County Dairy Expo in Norwood Young America Feb . 20 was an opportunity for people in ag-related businesses to network and learn .
things on their farms – not everything – and they get some really good deals this way ,” Bewley said .
Another part of being adaptable is resilience , which Bewley defined as “ the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change .”
Bewley said farmers are usually resilient by nature , as “ something goes wrong on a farm every day .”
A few tips for becoming more resilient include learning from crises , remaining flexible , expecting the unexpected , using existing buildings and equipment in creative ways , doing things oneself instead of hiring to have them done , and diversifying crops / animals / products / informational sources .
Knowing when to invest Small farms have a smaller margin for error than larger operations , and farmers need to be careful how they invest their resources .
Bewley said he ’ s seen operations with “ high cost , low output ,” which doesn ’ t work . Sometimes , farmers will overinvest in things like parlors , land , and “ toys ” ( equipment and technology ), and under invest in important things like cow comfort ( including cow cooling ) and preventative health care measures .
He advised farmers to have a CFO / CEO mentality , and encouraged them to become familiar with their return on assets , operation expense ratio , and other financial and economic details .
In the ups and downs of farming , Bewley encouraged small farmers to stick to their business model , and to spend their energy on things within their control . •
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