Your Farm Finances & Whether You’re Wise to Buy Farmland Now

Thursday, June 24
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Central Standard Time

Free Online Workshop

How do you know whether you’re in a good position to buy your first farm or whether you’d be better off leasing a little longer?

This is a pivotal question that we are hearing more and more. The dream of owning one’s own land and having the security to make improvements and plant perennials has a powerful, emotional pull. But leasing has advantages, too, and can give you the financial margin you need to weather difficult times and grow your business more quickly.

To help answer those questions, Paul Dietmann of Compeer Financial will be introducing you to the basic tools of farm business finance – your balance sheet, cash flow analysis, and business plan – and then explaining how those tools can help you think through what your best approach would be. He’ll also share the financial pros and cons of buying vs. leasing so you have a good general framework for making your decision. You’ll learn, too, about different farm purchase mortgage options, like FSA loans, and their advantages and disadvantages. There will be plenty of time to ask questions of Paul as well. 

QUESTIONS?

Nathan Aaberg (Liberty Prairie Foundation) – nathan@libertyprairie.org or 847-507-5989

Presenter

Paul Dietmann, Compeer Financial

Paul Dietmann is Senior Lending Specialist on the Diversified Markets team at Compeer Financial, a member-owned rural lending cooperative and Farm Credit System institution serving Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  Paul and his colleague, Sai Thao, are responsible for Compeer’s Emerging Markets Loan Program, which provides loans and technical assistance to farmers who market their products through local food systems.

Prior to joining the staff at Compeer, Paul spent 16 years with the State of Wisconsin; eleven years as a county agriculture agent with the University of Wisconsin-Extension and five years as director of the Wisconsin Farm Center, which is the farmers’ assistance program in the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).  He served as Wisconsin’s Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in 2010. 

Dietmann holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, and a Master’s Degree from UW-Madison.  He is co-author of the books Fearless Farm Finances: Farm Financial Management Demystified and Financial Risk Management for Specialty Crop Farmers, and author of Turning Grain Into Dough: Farm Financial Management for Organic Grain and Crop Rotation.