The Early Bird Keeps Farming & Generational Wealth!
- Grant Wiese
- May 12
- 5 min read
NW Call to Action
Big News: Estate Content Now Coming to Farm640 Readers
We’ve got exciting news for the Farm640 community!
Starting soon, you’ll begin receiving insights and educational content from Clint Fischer—a trusted voice in the farm estate planning world. Why? Because no matter how strong your operation’s cash flow or balance sheet is, a solid estate plan is what protects everything you’ve built.
As you know, Farm640 is focused on helping farmers buy land, grow equity, and build real wealth. But that growth only matters if it lasts beyond your lifetime. That’s where Clint comes in.
Clint, a farm-focused attorney, has been publishing smart, down-to-earth estate planning content for farm families for years. As he shifts focus toward his law practice and growing family, we’re teaming up to make sure his best insights continue reaching the people who need them most—farmers like you.
Here’s what you can expect:
No-fluff strategies to secure your family’s legacy
Farm estate planning topics made practical and clear
Occasional crossover content that ties estate and financial planning together
If estate planning isn’t something you’re ready to think about yet, no problem—just hit ‘unsubscribe’ when the first email arrives. But we think you’ll find a lot of value in what’s ahead.
We’re excited for this partnership to continue helping farm families not just build wealth—but keep it for the next generation.
SW Financial Literacy
The Early Bird Keeps Farming
I spent last weekend in Paradise Valley, which is a suburb of Phoenix, AZ. My wife was attending a medical conference which meant I had some time to kill each morning. With the conference being held one mile away from Camelback Mountain, I decided it presented a fun opportunity to try something new.
Up The Mountain
It was around 90° in Phoenix each day but with very little shade cover, so it's ideal to start up the mountain early. I made the quick hike to the trailhead, then started up the Mountain.
Last year my wife and I did some hiking in Utah over the summer. That week there were excessive heat warnings every single day, with temperatures reaching 115°. We did our research and learned a few valuable lessons during that trip which I was able to implement for my Camelback Mountain hike:
1. Start early! You need to complete the hardest part of the hike early to avoid heat stroke.
2. Keep the sun off your body. Either through excessive sunscreen or a long sleeve sun shirt and hat.
3. Use a backpack. Bring extra water and food. If you use up half your water before you reach the half-way point, you should turn around.
4. Have the right shoes. I failed on this one in Phoenix as I didn’t pack my hiking shoes and paid the price by slipping off a rock and landing hard on my tailbone.
With those lessons learned (minus the shoes), it was a great hike with tremendous views. It was very much worth the time and energy!
Down The Mountain
On the way down the mountain is when things got interesting.
I saw and heard a lot of things that were pretty concerning, they happened in this order.
1. An elderly man was trying to make the hike in heavy sweatpants, suspenders, and a heavy long sleeve cotton shirt. The young man with him was in cowboy boots.
2. A lady who fell 30 minutes behind her group approached the top. Her face is tomato red with sunburn. No hat and no sunglasses.
3. Flip-flops on a group of three.
4. A mom with her 8-year-old son begins ascending rocks the size of the 8-year-old.
5. A group of 5 stare up at the steepest part of the mountain continuously saying “we’ve got this” as they ‘don’t got it’.
6. A bachelorette party of 20 in mini skirts press forward on the trail…
It was very hot by this point.
The people who were up the mountain first were fit, properly equipped, and had a great time. Those who didn’t know better had a terrible time, probably got heat stroke (or at least sun burn) and would leave disappointed without reaching the top.
Your First Rodeo
And this is what I see with farm financials all the time.
We are in a period of tight/negative margins and lower profitability. Most operations have lost $400-600/Working Capital per farmable acre of the past two years. These farms are in greater peril than they may realize.
If this is your first time working through a downturn, what should you do? What can you even do? What options are there?
The Early Bird
1. The first thing is to get a firm grasp on your financial position. You need to know exactly where your balance sheet is positioned, how much equity and cash you have lost, and how much equity and cash is required to keep your operation going. If you haven’t discussed this with your lender, get an appointment with them right now or find a new lender.
2. The next step is to identify where the losses came from. Look through previous projections and cash flow actuals to see where expenses got high or income came in low. Did you have yield issues that insurance didn’t cover? Did you decide to build a house that ran over budget? Were there large, unexpected repairs? Were inputs just higher than you expected and your crop marketing stunk (my money is on those last two)?
3. Make a plan and act right now. This is the Early Bird part. The best operations I work with financially have already addressed the problem and are set to have a profitable 2025. They have found ways to get cheaper inputs, have put off equipment purchases, and made adjustments to their debt position. They also adjusted insurance coverage and have probably forward contracted some $4.80 new crop grain. Some sold equipment or even land to pay off debt. If you had losses each of the past two years, your bank could already have 1 foot out the door with your operation. You must make changes RIGHT NOW for the 2025 year.
If you want to keep farming and stay in business, you need to get in front of your operation’s cash flow problems right away. Don’t wait to see how 2025 turns out, because those types of people will just use the hope tactic that things turn around in 2026. Hope is not a plan.
Take action, change out of your flip-flops, and get in front of your problems now so you can enjoy the financial success at the top of the mountain.
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Have a great week!
Grant
