Legacy Farmer The Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jace D. Young
Join your host, Jace D. Young, as he leads you through the truth about being a Modern Day Farmer, Rancher, Entrepreneur, Married Spouse, and Parent.
For Den Hoed Dairy, perfect management wasn't enough to stop a hidden, invisible force from silently bleeding their family dairy dry.
When the Den Hoed family transitioned their operation from Washington state to Wisconsin, they expected a deeper land base—but they walked straight into a multi-million dollar production trap. Despite harvesting their own feed, running their own logistics, and keeping iron costs low, their dairy herd was hit with a devastating 44% cull rate and calf losses exceeding 50%.
The culprit wasn't their work ethic; it was stray voltage—up to 7 volts of earth current pulsing through the facility, shocking their cows every time they tried to drink. In this episode of Legacy Farmer Live, Colton Den Hoed reveals how standard utility tests failed to see a $1.5 million annual drain, the dangers of 100% loan-to-value equipment financing, and how they used data-backed pro-formas to secure a miracle bank approval to build on completely clean ground
"The average producer is being completely priced out of modern equipment—and the balance sheet is taking the hit." Sitting down with Phil Peabody, Chief Lending Officer at Capital Farm Credit, we peel back the curtain on what a portfolio wide look at the 2026 ag credit crisis actually looks like. Margins are tighter than they've been in decades, and lenders are noticing that over-expanded intermediate equipment debt is quietly chewing out the middle of the American farm balance sheet.
"We signed the lease because they told us we were pre-approved... and then they just dropped us right on our butt."
Imagine doing everything right: running a farm for nine years, finally securing the lease, and getting the "green light" from your lender—only to have them pull the rug out from under you months later with a "straight-up no." In this episode of Legacy Farmer Live, we sit down with an alfalfa producer facing the brutal reality of high-altitude farming and a banking system that doesn't understand the dirt.
Stop hoping for a better year. Start building a better business.
🎙️Want FREE High Level Strategy For Your Operation? Apply for Legacy Farmer Live, our new series where farmers across North America can call in & get free advice from our Director of Coaching, Lance Weaver, for their operations. Secure your spot today → https://share.hsforms.com/2jyvetB3VRtePB08Pc8N6Twpxxq6?comet_source=YT&comet_custom=LFL-Bank-Dropped-Farm
The biggest threat to your farm's survival isn't the weather—it's the financial Debt Cycle. Hear the story of Ava, who left her career as a top ag loan underwriter because she was handcuffed from truly helping farm families. This is a powerful wake-up call for every Producer, Dairyman, and Rancher. We expose the Ag Banking Crisis, why young loan officers are unqualified, and why the bank may be devaluing your assets, like a multi-million dollar Dairy Barn.
Ready to take control of your farm's financial future? Let's make it happen. FREE Proven System Training That Has Helped 400+ Family Farms Eliminate Stress, Increase Profitability, Decrease Debt, And... Protect Their Family's Financial Future! → https://start.legacyfarmer.com/proven-system-1?comet_source=POD&comet_custom=Ava-Podcast
Join our Free Legacy Farmer Facebook Community → https://www.facebook.com/groups/legacyfarmerboardroom?comet_source=POD&comet_custom=Ava-Podcast
From growing up on a Michigan family farm to navigating the highs and lows of ag banking, Matt shares his journey of tough moral decisions, financial lessons, and why he ultimately joined Legacy Farmer. In this conversation, you’ll hear the raw truth about banking red flags, farm financial struggles, and how farmers can take back control of their operations.
What happens when farmers finally take back control of their operation — and their future? In this powerful episode, former ag banker turned business coach Jen Erickson shares the hard truths, overlooked red flags, and critical lessons she’s learned from working with hundreds of farm families across the country.
We dive into what most farmers are never taught about numbers, legacy, and leadership — and why waiting for the bank to “bless” your operation could be the biggest mistake you make. Whether you're stuck, scaling, or starting over, this conversation is a must-watch if you're serious about protecting your farm, your family, and your future.
Ready to take control of your farm’s financial future?
Let’s make it happen. FREE Proven System Training That Has Helped 300+ Family Farms Eliminate Stress, Increase Profitability, Decrease Debt, And... Protect Their Family's Financial Future! → https://start.legacyfarmer.com/proven-system-1?comet_source=YT&comet_custom=Jen-pod
In this episode, we sit down with Tork Whisler — co-host of Barn Talk to talk about the weight of legacy, lessons from failure, and what it really means to lead the next generation of farmers. From family dynamics and business recovery to social media and the future of agriculture, this conversation covers it all. Whether you’re navigating farm transitions, building something of your own, or just here for a raw and honest story — this one’s for you.
Ready to take control of your farm’s financial future? Let’s make it happen.
FREE Proven System Training That Has Helped 300+ Family Farms Eliminate Stress, Increase Profitability, Decrease Debt, And... Protect Their Family's Financial Future! → https://start.legacyfarmer.com/proven-system-1?comet_source=pod&comet_custom=BarnTalk2
Most family farm operations are run on emotion—and that’s exactly why so many are collapsing. In this episode, Jace Young sits down with Legacy Farmer Business Coach Katie Taylor to talk about the mindset shifts, strategic moves, and leadership skills farm families must embrace if they want to survive and thrive in today's ag economy.
Ready to take control of your farm’s financial future? Let’s make it happen.
FREE Proven System Training That Has Helped 300+ Family Farms Eliminate Stress, Increase Profitability, Decrease Debt, And... Protect Their Family's Financial Future! → https://start.legacyfarmer.com/proven-system-1?comet_source=Pod&comet_custom=Katie-Podcast
Most farmers trust their banker to guide them on the health of their operation.
That’s the first mistake.
In this episode, Jace sits down with Lance—Legacy Farmer’s Director of Coaching and a former ag loan officer with over a decade of experience—to expose what’s really going on inside the banking system… and why so many farmers don’t see the collapse coming until it’s too late.
This is the hard truth every farm family needs to hear—before they lose control of their finances, their land, and their legacy.
Protect your farm today with our FREE training --> https://start.legacyfarmer.com/proven-system-1?comet_source=Pod&comet_custom=Former-Ag-Banker
Today’s episode hits on a tough truth: nobody is coming to save you.
In this episode, I share a recent conversation with a farm owner feeling the pressure of tough decisions and past mistakes. We dig into why ego, fear of being exposed, and avoiding tough conversations hold people back—and how those same issues can sink a family operation.
I also talk about my own experiences, the lessons I learned from my granddad’s mistakes, and how I hit rock bottom before finally realizing it’s on me to change. At Legacy Farmer, we’re not here to save anyone. We’re here to lead those ready to transform their business and their life.
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Let’s get into it.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://www.legacyfarmer.com/?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=No-One-Is-Coming-to-Save-You&comet_source=Pod
In this episode, I’m sharing a personal story that hits close to home. One of our family friends is facing the tough reality of closing her business, and it got me reflecting on my own journey. From the struggles I faced in my early entrepreneurial days to hitting rock bottom and feeling like a failure, I’ve been there.
Here’s the thing—sometimes, to figure out what we do want, we first have to go through the pain of learning what we don’t want. God uses those tough moments to shape us, teach us, and prepare us for what’s next. Whether you’re walking through your own valley of challenges or just need a reminder that it’s all part of the process, this episode is for you.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://www.legacyfarmer.com/?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=How-to-get-what-you-want&comet_source=Pod
The holidays can be a challenging time, filled with pressure, expectations, and emotional weight that can feel overwhelming. In this episode, we dive deep into the ways we often try to escape—whether it’s through alcohol, drugs, or other numbing distractions—and the toll it takes on our lives and relationships.
I open up about my own struggles during a difficult period and share the lessons I learned about breaking free from the cycle of sedation. If you're feeling the heaviness of the season or worried about slipping into unhealthy habits, this episode is for you.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://www.legacyfarmer.com/?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Sedating-The-Holidays&
In this episode, I’m sharing what it’s like to finally wake up and see the truth about the path I was on. For years, I followed the script society handed me, but it wasn’t until I stepped back that I saw the lies holding me back. If you’ve ever questioned the direction of your life or business, this one’s for you. Let’s talk about breaking free and building something real.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://www.legacyfarmer.com/?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Wake-Up-Call&
In this episode, I dive into the difference between reacting and responding. Often, when we react, it’s out of pure emotion—something triggers us, and we fire back without thinking, often leading to regrets and outcomes we don’t want. But God doesn’t react; He responds. Today, I’m breaking down how this principle applies in business, relationships, and life in general.
By creating space and choosing to respond thoughtfully, we can make better decisions that align with our goals and values. Join me as I share personal stories and practical ways to shift from reaction to response in your everyday life.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=God-Does-Not-React-He-Responds
In this episode, I dive into the powerful lesson of turning bad decisions into wisdom. Reflecting on my own journey, I share how past mistakes don’t have to be life sentences—they can actually help us grow. Join me as I talk about the importance of letting go, embracing God’s purpose, and shifting our focus to the positive steps that move us forward.
This is a lesson every farmer—and anyone who’s ready to grow—needs to hear.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Bad-Decisions-vs-Good-Decisions
It’s no secret that American farmers are facing unprecedented challenges. With high interest rates, low grain prices, and many farms across the country going bankrupt, the struggle is extremely real. Today, I want to explore the gifts hidden beneath these life challenges. This topic has been weighing heavily on my mind, and if you’re an American farmer who is currently feeling the strain—like many others—then this topic may resonate with you.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Finding-Gifts-Life-Challenges
In this episode of the Legacy Farmer Podcast, I dive into a tough but important topic: Forgiving Your Spouse. Over the years, we’ve had countless farm families join Legacy Farmer, each dealing with their own set of challenges—financial, operational, and personal. Unfortunately, divorce has been a reality for some of them. Today, I’m sharing my own reflections after 11 years of marriage, the struggles Rachel and I faced, and the importance of forgiveness in making it through those hard times.
If you’re trying to juggle the chaos of running a farm, raising kids, and keeping your marriage strong, this one’s for you. I’ll talk about my own mistakes, how easy it is to compete with your spouse when things get tough, and why learning to forgive—both yourself and your partner—is key to not just surviving, but thriving together.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Save-Your-Marriage
In this episode, I share my journey of connecting with God daily, reflecting on past mistakes, and exploring themes from A Course in Miracles. I discuss how our ego can create fear and hold us back from pursuing our true desires, often steering us away from God's guidance.
I’ll share personal experiences where listening to my ego led to tough decisions, and how embracing God's whispers has brought meaningful change in my life. Join me as we explore how to recognize when the ego is in control and how to trust in God's plan amidst uncertainty.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Following-Ego-Or-God
In this episode of Legacy Farmer The Podcast, I want to talk about the guilt that blinds so many of us. I’ve seen it in our Legacy Farmer members, and I’ve lived it myself. After leaving banking, I carried guilt that nearly wrecked my marriage and mental health. It kept me from seeing the opportunities God had for me.
I want to share how I finally let go of that guilt, trusted God’s plan, and rebuilt my life. If you’re feeling trapped by guilt, I hope this episode shows you there’s always a way to rise above it.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Overcoming-Guilt-Shame
In this episode of the Legacy Farmer Podcast, I dive into a message that’s been hitting me hard lately: God created you to create. I've been intentional about connecting with God daily, and today, He reminded me that He put us here to act on the things He’s calling us to do. I’ll be sharing how fear, doubt, and ego can keep us stuck, and how trusting that small, quiet voice can lead to powerful changes not only in our lives but in the lives of those we love. If you’ve been feeling like you’re meant for more but haven’t taken that leap yet, this episode is for you.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=God-Created-You-To-Create
In this episode of the Legacy Farmer Podcast, I dive into a topic that hits home for so many of us—impatience. As a business owner, I get it. We all want things to happen fast. But over the years, I’ve learned that chasing short-term wins can come at a big cost later on. I share my personal journey, from leaving the banking industry with nothing but uncertainty, to building Legacy Farmer, and the mistakes I made along the way by focusing on immediate results. Ultimately, there's only one game that matters—God's long game. If you’re feeling the pressure to make things happen quickly, this episode will help you see the bigger picture and trust the process.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Gods-Long-Game
In this episode, I dive into something that's become a cornerstone in my life—building a daily connection with God. Every morning, I take time to read, reflect, and journal, and it's made a huge impact on how I handle life's challenges. I talk about how being intentional with this practice has helped me find peace, especially during tough times, and how reframing struggles as rewards from God can bring a sense of clarity and calm. If you're looking for a way to reduce stress and find more purpose, this episode is for you.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Rewards-of-God
Ever felt like everything in your life was falling apart? I’ve definitely been there. In 2017, my family and I took a big leap, moving from Kansas to St. George, Utah, for what seemed like a promising opportunity. But just five months in, that opportunity disappeared, and we found ourselves back in Kansas, facing disappointment and uncertainty.
During that tough time, I questioned everything—my choices, my path, my purpose. It felt like everything was crumbling around me. But it was in that dark moment that the idea for Legacy Farmer was born.
In this episode, I’m sharing the story of how that painful experience sparked something transformative and led to the creation of Legacy Farmer. We’ll talk about how life’s challenges can sometimes be exactly what you need to find your true path. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one.
Click to listen now!
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Gods-Leadership
In this episode of Legacy From The Podcast, I’m diving into something personal and powerful—what it really means to awaken in life. I’m sharing my own journey of questioning everything I was taught growing up, challenging those beliefs, and waking up to my true purpose. If you’ve ever felt stuck, like you’re just going through the motions, this one’s for you. I’m talking about the courage it takes to confront the “enemies” within—your ego, those outdated beliefs, and fears that hold you back. I want you to start asking the tough questions and see how it can lead to real change in your life. So, let’s dive in and start living with intention and purpose together.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at
https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Finally-Awaken
As business owners, we're constantly faced with challenges, but how often do we take action versus just complaining? In this episode, I dive into my personal journey from being stuck in a victim mentality to taking ownership of my life, business, and finances. I share how shifting my mindset led to real change and why many of the problems we face today are often the very things we once prayed for.
Tune in to hear about the shift from victim to victor, and how to roll with the punches that come with being in charge of your own success.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at https://legacyfarmer.com/apply?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Problems-We-Prayed-For
The stories we tell ourselves can shape our reality. In a recent Legacy Farmer live event, we uncovered a deep-rooted 35-year-old story about body image that was a major barrier for one member. In this episode, we dive into how these internal narratives affect not just personal confidence but also business success. If you’re feeling stuck or unfulfilled, this episode offers practical advice on how to rewrite your story and transform your life. Tune in to discover how changing your internal dialogue can lead to real, lasting results.
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at https://meetings.hubspot.com/legacyfarmer/discovery-call?utm-source=Pod&utm-medium=Organic&utm-content=Stories-drive-reality
In our latest podcast episode, I share a personal story about my family's experience when our farm operation went under almost 20 years ago. Financial instability shook my grandad’s $10 million operation, and in the blink of an eye, everything he worked his entire life to build was gone. This tragedy is all too common, with many farms facing a similar fate every year.
We explore the emotional stages, starting with denial, where my grandad lived in denial about the impending collapse, protecting his ego rather than facing the hard truth. The reality hit when the bank cut him off, and the impact on my dad is something I’ll never forget. Tune in to hear about the challenges and emotional toll when a family farm goes under.
When Is Enough, Enough?
Owning up to our actions, understanding the results we've created, and deciding where we want to go next can be incredibly challenging. This struggle is evident in many areas of life, including our body and fitness.
Most people aren't satisfied with how they look and often postpone necessary changes, returning to their comfort zones. This pattern isn't unique to fitness—it's a common theme in various aspects of life.
Reaching a breaking point or hitting rock bottom can be the catalyst for new action. So, where are you in your journey?
Chances are, deep down, you know there are changes you need to make. You probably also understand the direction your current path will lead if you don’t take action.
In our latest podcast episode, we dive into the question: When is enough, enough? And when is it time to make a change?
If you’re ready to make a change and need guidance on where to start, we’re here to help. Book a call with our team to discuss how we can support you at www.legacyfarmer.com.
Whenever someone starts a business, and assumes all the risk, the very first thing they focus on acquiring is money. You can’t be drowning and build an impactful business at the same time. The whole process is hard and unrelenting. Each new phase the business enters as it grows has its own set of challenges for the owner. If you are doing $1 million in revenue right now, you are not the same person you have to be to do $10 million. Eventually once the business becomes more stable you begin to see money as a tool.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We all have different perceptions around things in our lives, at different points in our lives. You think different things about your parents as a teenager than you do when you are a parent yourself. The key to perception is challenging it. Is what you are seeing the truth, or, is your brain telling you a story, and influencing what you are seeing? Don’t let false stories stop you from confronting the truth at the root of a situation.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
The ego misleads, the numbers don’t. Once you know your starting point and the decisions that got you there, you can start to build your way out. Only getting out of your comfort zone and making hard decisions will get you back to stability. The ego is what blocks the reality of the truth of knowing your numbers. Are you running your operation based off your ego or off the facts?
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Many of the older generation of farmers are set in their ways and reluctant to change. The members of the younger generation have to be willing to adapt and change with the world around them if they want their operation to survive. Once you have gotten an operation up and running and, most importantly, stable, you figure out your own way of doing things that works best for you. This makes the process personal and leads to the reluctance to give it up or embrace change when needed. Doing things our own way has a shelf life and won’t last forever.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
This time of year can be extremely scary and stressful for people in the Ag Industry. It’s a time with high bills and low income, which can cause people to panic and start to tell themselves stories that they aren't financially stable, when they really are. Knowing your numbers is the best way to alleviate all of that stress and worry. Without knowing your numbers, the stories will control you for the majority of the year. If you are listening to those stories, and living in scarcity, it is affecting all other aspects of your life, not just business.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
The farming and ranching industry has a very high suicide rate, and it’s only gotten worse over the last decade or so. Many times we think that if we just had money it would solve our problems. What we don’t realize is that the problems run far deeper than that and once the surface-level problem of money is gone, all we are left with is the deep, festering, real issues below it.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
All business owners go through pits and peaks when starting and growing a business. It’s very important to be able to recognize when you are in a bit and to not let yourself get stuck there. Our lives can be broken up into the 4 categories of body, being, balance, and business. Many times when the business is struggling it is one, or multiple, of the other categories pulling it down. Focusing on those other areas first can solve a lot of your problems without even touching the business. Taking action is key.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We all get into what we are doing to build something better for the next generation. We all have a vision on how we get to that point, and if things don’t go exactly as planned, we can start to feel like a failure. Sometimes, we also have to reevaluate the path we are taking to make sure it’s the most sustainable. Holding the goal of handing down a legacy is the most important, but you have to be flexible on how you get there. You also might have to be flexible on how exactly you hand down the legacy. What you have in mind might not be the best solution. If you know there are problems in the business, just take actions and get them fixed.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
A lot of people like to tell themselves that once they fix their financial problems, everything will come together in their life. The issue is, once you fix the financial problems, all you are left with is the real problems. When it comes to solving financial problems, for some people it’s quick, for others, it can take years. When you are trying to build something great with your life, it will come at the expense of those you hold closest. Be it your time, or energy spent with those people. It is a heavy price to pay. You are constantly sacrificing time WITH the people you love most, FOR the people you love most, even though it can feel wrong in the moment. As a father and husband, this will weigh on you. You should recognize the pain on both sides and understand what your family is going through as well.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
On the farm there is usually a massive disconnect between leadership, and just telling people what to do. When you are telling people what to do you are just managing them, you aren’t teaching, building them, or growing them, like you would if you were leading. Leadership means leading people to become better versions of themselves. It’s important to lead your team members because they will come up against things they weren’t trained for and that you, yourself may not have come up against. Without your leadership, and helping them grow, they’ll just come to you for every issue rather than coming up with a solution themselves. You don’t want every small decision going through you.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
There are times in our lives where we do take risks, but on the flip side, we must understand when to hold fast and protect what we have. Seekers take on unmanaged risk and always swing for the fences. Which is fine as long as you are considering all the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order consequences that come with failure. Hiders are risk averse and avoid it at all costs. This is also fine as long as it’s managed and not all consuming. When you are the one that has built up the assets, you are much less likely to risk them. Risk is much more a young man's game, and with age comes the hiding and preservation. Balance is key.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Right now, because of the economy, both people in the Ag industry and banks are getting apprehensive about taking out, and loaning out, money. Many people are trying to figure out how to recover from poor financial decisions they made back during the pandemic because borrowing money was easy. Greed drove both the banks and farmers to make poor decisions over the last few years. Our Farmer Metrics software is a great pattern interrupter to get you making decisions based on your numbers and not just on the feelings of what you want. Each year that you go through the cycle of making uninformed decisions it gets harder and harder.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Everyone hates hearing the truth when it’s something they don’t want to hear. We hate feeling exposed and having our faults pointed out. This is especially true when talking about finances. We don't want to fail our business financially, and we especially don’t want to fail our family financially. But, we live in a world of reality and ignoring the truth won’t help us improve ourselves or fix our problems. The longer you avoid the truth, the more you are prolonging the inevitable, and the more painful those lessons will be to learn.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Sometimes it can feel like all your neighbors in the Ag industry are constantly growing and expanding their operations. It may look good from the outside but the majority of them do not know their numbers and are guessing with each decision they make. Even if you put together an annual cash flow projection, neither you nor your banker are looking at that again after you create it. In Legacy Farmer, we update those projections every month. When times are uncertain, like they are right now, your goal should be to hit singles, not home runs. Just hit a single and survive.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Zero percent financing is very enticing, it makes you think you’ll save a ton of money, but it’s injecting the opportunity to fail for the year. It lulls you into a false sense of security, feeling like the bank account is full and you don’t need to be as careful with your spending. If you aren’t religiously tracking your numbers you wouldn’t even see the dangers coming until it is too late. It is often best to keep things simple and remove all the complexity to keep things running smoothly.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you have a son or daughter come back to the family operation, are you setting them up for success, or failure? Are you dropping them in the deep-end with oppressive amounts of debt and no knowledge of how the business works? Or are you giving them space to make small mistakes and learn what they need to know to be successful later down the road? Wanting to help your kids is a great thing, but saddling them with $500K to $1M debt, and no understanding of the significance of that money, isn’t the way to help.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So many of our members in the Ag industry share the same problems, no matter where they are in the country. One issue that arises most often is dealing with bankers. There are issues with farmers not knowing their numbers, but there are equal and opposite issues with bankers not fully understanding the Ag business. You have to be on top of your numbers so you can give your banker the information they need to not question you, and know you are a great customer.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you have a safe job, you get comfortable. This is stagnation, and you can use manufactured pressure to motivate and push yourself. The most successful people can generate the discomfort they need to stay motivated and get themselves moving. Once your business becomes stable you can unnecessarily and accidentally revert back to this mindset and make things harder than they need to be, this is called the “build and burn.” The key to this is finding a balance.
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Everyone wants to sit in the leadership position and reap all the benefits that come with it, but no one wants the price of making hard decisions that come with weight, backlash, and impact on others. These decisions also raise your awareness. You can now see the impact of not only your decisions but the impact of all the decisions of your team members. This awareness is most sensitive when their decisions affect you.
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The number of hills you should be willing to die on in business shouldn’t be that many. So many things we think we need to fight to the death for, just really aren't worth it. When we run up against a challenge, it’s important to ask ourselves if it’s a hill worth dying on, or if it wont even matter in a few hours, days, or weeks. Asking yourself this question also stops meaningless issues from stealing your time and energy.
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When you go out on your own and start your own business you completely remove any safety net and you are completely responsible for yourself and your family. There are farmers in their 50’s and 60’s that are still expecting their fathers in their 80’s and 90’s to save them. If you are still looking for someone to save you, you need to recognize that all the power and growth is found when you accept that no one is coming to save you.
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It’s common to hear farmers say that it’s hard to find good help. The truth of the matter is that they don’t have the correct incentives set up to draw in the right people. If you do have a solid team in place, it is important to ask them what incentives they want to help drive up their productivity and efficiency. Incentives completely depend on the person. Some people want money, some want shorter working hours, the list is endless.
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Not knowing your numbers, poor leadership, deterioration of relationships at home, are all great ways to rot your operation to the core. You can’t kick the big issues down the road and hope that they’ll just go away. They won’t, and the longer you do, the more painful it’ll be when you finally face reality. These issues and rot can even be seen in the banking industry, and it’s important for you to understand that when going in for a loan.
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You need to make a decision or the universe will decide for you. The longer you avoid handling problems or challenges, the more you’ll pay for them later on when you finally decide to take care of them. The consequences later will always outweigh the price of taking action today.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
As we approach the 7 year anniversary of my decision to leave the banking industry and go out on my own, I reflect on the greatest lesson I have learned. Have patience and trust God’s process. When things don’t go the way we expect, it is very easy to get sucked into the worry spiral. Every time things get rough, God always opens another door that we didn’t even know was there. We are all impatient and try to rush things when God just wants us to slow down and trust his timing.
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Sometimes, in business and life, there are doors we need to walk through that require a massive amount of courage. Some people get stuck behind those doors for decades, out of fear of stepping through them. When we attach all of those feelings to a driving force, it becomes much easier to generate the courage needed to do what needs to be done.
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There are 2 kinds of people in this world, one that makes decisions only based on price, and one that decides based on value. Those that decide only on price are stuck in a world of scarcity and will never be able to move beyond it. Those that focus on value can see the dividends paid out over years and even decades.
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Hope is not a strategy, knowing your numbers is all that matters. This will give you confidence in all your decision making. When working with our accounting arm of the business one of our members was ecstatic to find out that he would have his numbers available to him this year rather than next year, which allows for a level of planning that he has never had before. It allows you to be proactive rather than reactive.
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When you look at your business do you see chaos, or do you see a well-oiled machine? Chances are it’s chaos, and chaos leads to burn out. Business structure, clean books, loan management, tax strategy, and cash-flow management all counter the chaos and burn out. If you have chaos in your business life, chances are it has spread throughout all areas of your life.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Some bankers want to control every single transaction happening on their line of credit. I once witnessed a banker decline money for an air conditioner in the middle of summer in Kansas, and it shook me to my core. As a customer, you need to be ready to fight those battles and justify any spending you see fit. You must always be armed with the right information to challenge them and push back.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It is so important to know how the decisions you make today will affect your operation later on, down the road, and the only way to know that is by knowing your numbers. Our Farmer Metrics software has given our members a level of understanding and confidence in their numbers that they have never had before. We need to be looking at our numbers far more often than once a year.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Most of us in the Ag community were raised to be kind, giving, helpful, and that you shouldn’t expect anything in return. This is great until you end up spending a ton of time working for free on the family farm to help family out. They have created the problems that they need help with, but it is not your problem to solve them. It’s hard to say “no” but you need to protect the time you have on this planet to accomplish what you want.
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We can all learn from other people’s mistakes without having to make them ourselves. We have had so many members have one bad year that they end up paying for over the next 3, 7, or even 20 years, without even realizing that is what they are doing. This is exactly what you are doing by terming-out your losses from one bad year over multiple years.
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Today I’m joined by Weston Birkeland, a 4th generation farmer who grows mostly wheat and barley on about 20K acres in Montana. We take a deep dive and discuss how Legacy Farmer has impacted absolutely every aspect of his life and business in only 3 short weeks.
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We all have the assumption that when we move back to work on the family operation that one day we’ll take it over or at the least buy them out of the operation. This assumption holds true until we find out that the family member that we want to take over for or buy out is in massive, crushing debt. Until you see their numbers and cashflow, you know nothing about your family’s operation.
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We are conditioned to see mistakes as failure, but the truth is we should see them as the stepping off point in the journey that God has laid out for us. At least in making a mistake you are doing something and decisions are being made. There is so much power in just getting off zero and making moves to get your life where you want it to be. Mistakes are good because they always bring lessons and growth.
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If you are stuck in victimhood you will never achieve anything, all while wondering why good things won't happen to you. It’s easy to play the victim, it’s much harder to find, and learn the lesson in each situation. Once I stopped settling and started taking action everything started to fall into place and God rewarded me.
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Come the busy season all farmers and ranchers start to feel the pressure of all they need to get done. The problems come in when they bring all that stress and worry home with them. They fall directly into victim mode about all the first world problems they face, completely overlooking how good they have things and not realizing that there are millions of people in this world that would kill to have their problems.
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Many people in the Ag industry try their best to avoid hard and uncomfortable conversations, it’s just the kind of people they are. If you are not willing to have those difficult conversations, the underlying issues will just sit there and fester, and eventually destroy the relationship. There will be short-term pain, it’s unavoidable, but the long-term benefits will be massive.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So often we get in our own heads with worries and negative thoughts. Speaking positivity to yourself and reassuring yourself that things will be ok, and that you can overcome whatever is thrown at you is far more beneficial. The latter can completely change the trajectory of your day. It may sound too simple, because it is, but it also works.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So many times in family-run operations we just blindly trust the family members we are in business with and we dread even thinking about having the hard conversations with them about where the business actually stands. Sometimes you need to demand to have the hard conversations and force structure into the operation, because it’s your family and livelihood on the line too. Other Times, you need to walk away.
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There are two types of people in life. Those that face the truth, expose it, and learn from it. Then, there are the people that hide from it, and ultimately become victims, and blame everyone else for their problems. Those that face the truth become leaders. Facing the truth hurts when you do it, it’ll piss you off, it’ll piss others off, but it needs to be done.
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We often have members in Legacy Farmer that are deeply involved in the family operation. There comes a time for many of them that they need to cut the cord and move along with their own business. The distant promises of one day taking over the operation can be a massive anchor to what they could otherwise accomplish. Once the cord is cut, the family can start to bring their guard down and recognize the mistakes they have made.
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Think about those around you that you trust most. You trust them because you know them to their core, you know what they have been through, you know their pain. Saving money isn’t what attracts people to Legacy Farmer, the story of Legacy Farmer is what brings them in. They come in because I share my pain, where I’ve been, and what I’ve done. Sharing your pain is the best way to filter out all the fake people in your life.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
One massive disconnect I see in many of the members of Legacy Farmer is that they are all looking for information on various parts of their operation, and in many cases they can find solutions to problem, but they don’t fundamentally understand the solution so they haven’t actually fixed the problem. This is why so many people come out of school unprepared, they listened to the lessons but had no real world application, so they learned nothing.
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Today I’m joined by one of our key team members, Joni Kremlacek. She handles every application that comes into Legacy Farmer, and she is the first person you talk to before being accepted to the program. She joined the team after her and her husband joined Legacy Farmer themselves as members. She talks about what she does for us day-to-day and also how Legacy Farmer has impacted her and her husband's lives.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
I recently had a member tell me that he wasn’t the smartest guy in town and couldn’t understand his recent successes. When you are starting out, your success has nothing to do with having smarts and everything to do with courage and willingness to constantly take action. So many of you are so stuck in your day-to-day habits that you refuse to walk through the doors that God has presented to you.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Tyler and Hanna Sharp, who run a cattle operation on their own, as well as a joint-family cattle operation, gun store, seed store, and a gas station, in Kansas. We take a deep dive and discuss how Legacy Farmer has impacted absolutely every aspect of their marriage, family life, and business.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Your worldview dictates how you react to situations in your life. This holds true for all those around you in your personal and business life. It is important to recognize others' worldview so you can see how it is impacting their decisions as well as how they interact with you. You need to find people in your world whose worldview aligns with yours.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you inherit the farm operation, you also inherit all of the bad decisions and problems from the prior generation. Often when younger people go off to college, graduate, and return to the farm, they do so with big ideas and big dreams, but are instead greeted with a mess that had been created over decades. The decisions we make today will ripple through our operation forever.
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If you want to get off the hamster wheel and see radical results, you will have to walk through the fire and make massive changes. Be sure when you prepare to make these changes that you are only listening to feedback from those that matter. There is no shortcut here, all results are earned. These changes and results aren’t temporary and last a lifetime.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I am joined by an integral member of the Legacy Farmer team, Andy Schreck, and he shares his life experiences and what he does here at Legacy Farmer. From being taken aback by how easy it was to get plunged into $600K debt at the age of 19 with only his father as cosigner, to realizing he wasn't alone in his struggles, to all of the time wasted trying to figure things out on his own.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
If something you are doing is not increasing your value per hour then it is a distraction and most likely not worth your time. It is important to keep the main thing that you do, the main thing. Focus on the 20% of activities that are bringing in 80% of the income, and feeding your family. If you build your business decisions on feelings, you will fail.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We are projecting that 2023 will be one of, if not the most expensive year ever to raise a crop. Interest rates are up, inflation is up, and this means expenses are up. In times where things are least stable it is most important that you know your numbers and make decisions based on them and not emotion. Not doing this can lead to disaster. If you had a great 2022 make sure you don’t lose it in 2023.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We are told if we go to college and get a degree, we will be best suited for what is to come — that was not the case for me. All of what is taught in Legacy Farmer I learned on my own, well after college. We’ll spend tons of money on college but will never spend that same money on ourselves to go learn things to bring ourselves or business to the next level.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Recently, while going over the onboarding process and cost of our program with a potential member he said “this all sounds great but I need to check with my banker.” How does it make you feel, as a grown man, to have to go ask your banker for permission to invest money to advance your operation to the next level? Your banker does not, and will never take your operation as seriously as you do.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So frequently when working with family on the family farm we are far too afraid of confrontation with older, more senior members of the family. Often when we collide with family members it leads to weeks or months of not talking to each other and no changes being implemented. If you want to be a true leader then confrontation is part of the job so get comfortable with it.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
In this country we are conditioned to feel as though the banks, the government, or any other large institutions have authority over us. We feel inferior or as if we are slaves to these institutions. The bank is a for-profit institution and is in the business of serving you. Do not hesitate to find a bank that will service you how you want. You and the bank should have a relationship built on mutual respect.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
There are two teams in every game, and usually the better prepared team wins. The two teams in the Ag industry are you and the bank. So many farmers go into gameday with little to no prep and not knowing the other team’s plays or signals. The bank certainly knows all of your plays, so be sure you know theirs. Legacy Farmer and Farmer Metrics teach you all their plays.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So many times we find that the banks have no idea what their financial position is with their customers, this makes it so much more important for you to know your numbers so you don’t get caught out in a bad situation. We have one member that has swung their borrowing power $1.2 million just by not shooting from the hip, knowing their numbers, and not making emotional decisions.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It is far too common for it to take the bank and other businesses over a week to get back to you when they say they’ll “get right back to you.” How small does that make you feel? If the level of service you receive doesn’t match your standard or what you feel you should be getting, then don’t hesitate to find a different business to work with. Don’t settle for who you choose to do business with.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Our members are constantly surprised at how much information is available to them in Legacy Farmer. It's not just my background in banking to help when dealing with the bank, but also the wealth of knowledge and experience of every member that is shared throughout the community. One member said recently that if they’d had this information earlier, they would have made drastically different decisions.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It shocks me to see how many of our members don't know their numbers when they join Legacy Farmer. Most farmers have never been taught or trained how to do any of this stuff at all. We have found that our members are overpaying on loans, simply because the bank isn’t working with good or up-to-date data. Knowing your numbers, how the bank works, and how the game works can allow you to demand a better rate.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It shocks me to see how many of our members don't know their numbers when they join Legacy Farmer. Most farmers have never been taught or trained how to do any of this stuff at all. We have found that our members are overpaying on loans, simply because the bank isn’t working with good or up-to-date data. Knowing your numbers, how the bank works, and how the game works can allow you to demand a better rate.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Great, successful businesses are not built overnight. They take tons of time, effort and dedication. Rather than constantly chasing homeruns, you need to slow down and focus on learning every aspect of your business, even if they aren't flashy or exciting. As your business grows, all of the things you need to do to keep it growing change too.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Great, successful businesses are not built overnight. They take tons of time, effort and dedication. Rather than constantly chasing homeruns, you need to slow down and focus on learning every aspect of your business, even if they aren't flashy or exciting. As your business grows, all of the things you need to do to keep it growing change too.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So often in a farming family, we feel obligated to go back to work on the family farm. The problem with that is if you go back as an adult and your father, grandfather, uncle, or whoever still treats you like a 15 year old kid. If you are married at that point, and your wife has to watch you be treated like that, and watch you not take a stand for her and your kids, it’ll destroy your marriage.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So often in a farming family, we feel obligated to go back to work on the family farm. The problem with that is if you go back as an adult and your father, grandfather, uncle, or whoever still treats you like a 15 year old kid. If you are married at that point, and your wife has to watch you be treated like that, and watch you not take a stand for her and your kids, it’ll destroy your marriage.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Successful people know what they should do, and do it whether they want to or not. Everything you want inside of your life is on the other side of not wanting to do something. Usually in the family farm operation there is a want that runs in direct opposition to what needs to be done. Consider the consequences of what is going to happen in your life in five years if you don’t do what you need to today.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Successful people know what they should do, and do it whether they want to or not. Everything you want inside of your life is on the other side of not wanting to do something. Usually in the family farm operation there is a want that runs in direct opposition to what needs to be done. Consider the consequences of what is going to happen in your life in five years if you don’t do what you need to today.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Are you acting responsibly with your money? So many members have not been acting in integrity with their finances and their operations have been leaking money for a long time. When we make decisions concerning our finances, they have to be fact-based decisions, not rooted in our emotions. Having your numbers organized is absolutely key to stability and running a successful operation.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Are you acting responsibly with your money? So many members have not been acting in integrity with their finances and their operations have been leaking money for a long time. When we make decisions concerning our finances, they have to be fact-based decisions, not rooted in our emotions. Having your numbers organized is absolutely key to stability and running a successful operation.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Within each family there is one person that changes the family for generations to come. They are the ones pushing new ideas, and often being the ones having those ideas ignored or shot down, yet they persist in sharing new ideas. Ask yourself if you are the person that cares enough about those around them, to be motivated by the worry of what will happen to them, if you don’t step up.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Within each family there is one person that changes the family for generations to come. They are the ones pushing new ideas, and often being the ones having those ideas ignored or shot down, yet they persist in sharing new ideas. Ask yourself if you are the person that cares enough about those around them, to be motivated by the worry of what will happen to them, if you don’t step up.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you finally decide to own your truth, it means that you are tired of living a lie, tired of not saying what needs to be said, or doing what needs to be done. You are tired of the day-to-day BS. Three things will happen once you start living this way. People will think something is wrong with you, they will distance themselves from you, and then they will start thinking about you.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you finally decide to own your truth, it means that you are tired of living a lie, tired of not saying what needs to be said, or doing what needs to be done. You are tired of the day-to-day BS. Three things will happen once you start living this way. People will think something is wrong with you, they will distance themselves from you, and then they will start thinking about you.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Many of our members in Legacy Farmer have noticed a shift in their interactions with their bankers after knowing their numbers and understanding how the banks work. We take all the information that the bank uses to make decisions and give it to our members. How much power does your opponent have when you know every move they are going to make? None.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Many of our members in Legacy Farmer have noticed a shift in their interactions with their bankers after knowing their numbers and understanding how the banks work. We take all the information that the bank uses to make decisions and give it to our members. How much power does your opponent have when you know every move they are going to make? None.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you run an operation with family it is important to have clear guidelines and numbers when sharing anything, especially big ticket items. You never want someone to come back to you after their operation has fallen apart and tell you what you owe them. It needs to be black and white, not in the gray area.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you run an operation with family it is important to have clear guidelines and numbers when sharing anything, especially big ticket items. You never want someone to come back to you after their operation has fallen apart and tell you what you owe them. It needs to be black and white, not in the gray area.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
There are different levels of risk depending on what level your business is currently at. The risks and problems you face after year one are far different than those in year five. Early on in the business, with no real foundation, the risks are massive and can be all-or-nothing. Later on, once you have the stability to take your time and are much better prepared, the risk comes way down to a point where it won’t kill the business.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
There are different levels of risk depending on what level your business is currently at. The risks and problems you face after year one are far different than those in year five. Early on in the business, with no real foundation, the risks are massive and can be all-or-nothing. Later on, once you have the stability to take your time and are much better prepared, the risk comes way down to a point where it won’t kill the business.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Your second life begins when you realize you only have one. Many of us are living a life that we feel we just weren't meant for. We feel like we are settling and only doing things to make others happy, rather than ourselves. If you aren’t constantly learning and growing, you are dying.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Paying taxes is a byproduct of success. I’d much rather have a big tax bill than make no money. Having a big tax bill is a good problem to have and shouldn’t be complained about. Make sure you count your blessings for where you are today, rather than taking it all for granted. All success comes with challenges that should be appreciated and embraced.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
You will do better work if you are bored instead of busy. Right now, everything in the operation is either done by you or goes through you, creating a huge amount of busy work. Our goal in Legacy Farmer is to create so much time and freedom in your operation that you become bored. This frees up so much mental energy that you can then use to focus on the big things.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
I was with my parents when their entire operation went under, when they got kicked out of their house, when they filed for bankruptcy, when they sold the farm, and witnessing all of that was one of the biggest blessings in my life. It made me very aware of what the real world is like and what happens when you make bad financial decisions. It isn’t possible to learn these lessons without the struggle attached to them.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
The only way to truly choose path A, that has unlimited potential and will give you what you want, is to burn path B. If there is an easy, safe way out, you’ll always be drawn to it and will never fully embrace the much harder but much more rewarding path. Path B comes with untold challenges, sacrifice, and lessons, but also unlimited potential, rewards, and growth.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It’s really easy for an employee, who has never walked in the shoes of an owner, and never felt the pressures of owning your own business, to have opinions on how the business should be run. Before ever giving an opinion, it is extremely important to understand the situation and understand where the person is coming from.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Having an accountability chart and being able to see, very clearly, that you are doing the work of 4 or 5 people, is an invaluable asset in fighting burnout, improving efficiency, and gaining clarity. Having clarity on what you need to do, where you need to go, and how you need to get there can improve the morale of not only you but your entire team. Clarity is the power to change the future of your operation.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Growing up on the farm we learn the way to run a business is by micromanaging everyone, treating everyone as an employee, and leaving no room for mistakes. This is not a culture that is fruitful. If this is how you run things, you need to be willing to change before you can have any hope of changing your team. If your team is putting in tons of time every day, then you need to provide an environment that they want to be in for all that time.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It is so common for the younger generation of farmers to be pressured by family, friends, and even the community to make purchases that are often far too large for them, before they are ready for it. Co-signing on a massive loan for your kids is a great way to set them up for failure. You are throwing them directly into the deep end without teaching them to swim. If you feel like it’s the wrong decision, then don’t make it.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Just because your parents decided to do things a certain way does not mean you have to as well. Once the kids have returned to work on the family operation, and tried something new that gets instantly shot down, they have only further conditioned them to be employees. You don’t want to leave your operation to an employee. Your kids need to be incentivised with responsibility, leadership, and ownership in the operation if you want them to stick around for 30-40 years.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
You will never be criticized by people doing more than you in life, only those doing less than you will criticize you. The comments area on my Facebook ads were constantly a drain on my time and attention until I realized and accepted that. People can be scared into inaction simply by the fear of how they will be criticized by what they want to do or try. The people that matter are the ones that have walked the path and offer up advice and feedback.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
You can’t take the stress with you. There will always be things that trigger your stress and responses from you. When something triggers a response from you, it is almost never the response you want to have. Something that can help derail a bad response to a trigger is thinking back to the other times that the trigger has happened and recognizing the fact that it didn’t stop you in the past and it still won’t now.
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When I worked at the bank we were all treated like and trained to think like employees. Do what I tell you to do, do not ask questions, no complaining, and no opinions. How do you think that makes the employee feel? This applies to family businesses too. There is absolutely no incentive in any of that.
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Right now everyone seems to be dropping tons of money and investing a lot of borrowed money. Just because things are going well at the moment doesn’t mean you should put the entire future of the operation in jeopardy to make a little extra right now. Be sure you are making your decisions based on reality and on your numbers, not emotion and greed.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Typically, when you don’t have money, you think that money will solve your problems. Even if someone gave you a ton of money, it would only be a Band-Aid because YOU are the real problem, not the money. This is why we focus so heavily on knowing your numbers, because it allows us to identify and fix the root of the problem, and not just cover it up.
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So many in our industry have no idea what the difference is between an estate plan and a will. How many billions in assets are going to go through the court system because one person didn’t set up an estate plan? The recourse can last for years, simply because these things weren’t set up correctly.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you grow up in a small town, hearing all kinds of gossip, it conditions you to care about what everyone else thinks of you and your decisions. It causes people to feel guilty, shameful, and to not act on things that need to be acted on. God’s is the only opinion that matters. We all have to face him at the end, and compare ourselves to the version of us that could have been.
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How many of the people that surround you in your life are completely honest about where they are in every aspect of their lives? We are conditioned that mistakes are bad so we just lie about them to ourselves and others, rather than learning from them and sharing what we have learned. Once you decide to be open and honest, you become so much more powerful.
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In what my experience has taught me, every pain and challenge that comes into our lives is God trying to give us a sign to follow his plan. A sign that something needs to change and that you need to get uncomfortable. It’s scary to do, but it just needs to be done to get to the next level. Your faith will consistently be tested, and that’s ok because it forces you to fall back on your faith.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We have been spoiled by low interest rates for over a decade now and the hard truth is that higher rates will put a lot of farms out of business. The people that don’t have their operations structured correctly will just be wiped out. Having access to cheap capital for so long has encouraged so many farmers to make poor financial decisions. The future of your operation depends on the structures you put in place now.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Working with family is great, until it isn’t. It’s almost impossible to have a real leader in that situation. Being the leader means having the courage to say what needs to be said even when it’s uncomfortable, and also having the courage to make, and stand by decisions that they make. You need to be able to take all the criticism that comes with being the leader.
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Of the thousands of farmers we have talked to in Legacy Farmer, it really seems that many of them are operating in fantasyland. They have a list of issues hitting them in the face, and they decide not to deal with them. If you do not embrace tough love and deal with the issues, it can cost you everything.
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You must, as a farmer, understand how the banks operate. When you don’t know what you don’t know, you can really hurt yourself in the long run. With the right knowledge you can ensure that any loans taken out are structured correctly and that you and the bank are on the same page, which makes both of your lives easier.
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In order for you to get everything you want out of life, you need to face all of your old demons and transform them into a new identity for yourself. Unless you face the old stories you have told yourself, you’ll never grow beyond them. On the other side of that darkness, you find the light.
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Everything in our business and home lives brings with it, it’s own chaos. Over time we become accustomed to chaos and anxiety, it becomes our normal. When you start to solve your business problems and it removes the majority of chaos from that side of life, it opens up new areas for chaos to work it’s way in from directions you haven’t encountered before.
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You can make a decision now and not feel the pain from it until years down the line. We avoid this by knowing our numbers and basing our decisions on numbers and not feelings. There are second and third order consequences that come from these decisions. Some parents are still paying for poor decisions they made 30 or 40 years ago.
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When you go out on your own and start your own business you completely remove any safety net and you are completely responsible for yourself and your family. There are farmers in their 50’s and 60’s that are still expecting their fathers in their 80’s and 90’s to save them. If you are still looking for someone to save you, you need to recognize that all the power and growth is found when you accept that no one is coming to save you.
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There are 2 kinds of people in this world, one that makes decisions only based on price, and one that decides based on value. Those that decide only on price are stuck in a world of scarcity and will never be able to move beyond it. Those that focus on value can see the dividends paid out over years and even decades.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you look at your business do you see chaos, or do you see a well-oiled machine? Chances are it’s chaos, and chaos leads to burn out. Business structure, clean books, loan management, tax strategy, and cash-flow management all counter the chaos and burn out. If you have chaos in your business life, chances are it has spread throughout all areas of your life.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It is so important to know how the decisions you make today will affect your operation later on down the road, and the only way to know that is by knowing your numbers. Our Farmer Metrics software has given our members a level of understanding and confidence in their numbers that they have never had before. We need to be looking at our numbers far more often than once a year.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We can all learn from other people’s mistakes without having to make them ourselves. We have had so many members have one bad year that they end up paying for over the next 3, 7, or even 20 years, without even realizing that is what they are doing. This is exactly what you are doing by terming-out your losses from one bad year over multiple years.
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Today I’m joined by Weston Birkeland, a 4th generation farmer who grows mostly wheat and barley on about 20K acres in Montana. We take a deep dive and discuss how Legacy Farmer has impacted absolutely every aspect of his life and business in only 3 short weeks.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
In this episode we feature a recent on boarding call with some of our newest members and how the community inside of Legacy Farmer is boosting their confidence to new levels.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We all have the assumption that when we move back to work on the family operation that one day we’ll take it over or at the least buy them out of the operation. This assumption holds true until we find out that the family member that we want to take over for or buy out is in massive, crushing debt. Until you see their numbers and cashflow, you know nothing about your family’s operation.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We are conditioned to see mistakes as failure, but the truth is we should see them as the stepping off point in the journey that God has laid out for us. At least in making a mistake you are doing something and decisions are being made. There is so much power in just getting off zero and making moves to get your life where you want it to be. Mistakes are good because they always bring lessons and growth.
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Today, Andy and I discuss why we put our bankers on a pedestal and have complete blind trust in them and what they do and say. We aren’t taught what we need to know when going in to deal with the bank and in many cases we work with bankers that our family has for decades. Many of the people working in the bank are not in a position to be giving business advice.
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If you are stuck in victimhood you will never achieve anything, all while wondering why good things won't happen to you. It’s easy to play the victim, it’s much harder to find, and learn the lesson in each situation. Once I stopped settling and started taking action everything started to fall into place and God rewarded me.
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So many times in family-run operations we just blindly trust the family members we are in business with and we dread even thinking about having the hard conversations with them about where the business actually stands. Sometimes you need to demand to have the hard conversations and force structure into the operation, because it’s your family and livelihood on the line too. Other Times, you need to walk away.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by one of our key team members, Joni Kremlacek. She handles every application that comes into Legacy Farmer, and she is the first person you talk to before being accepted to the program. She joined the team after her and her husband joined Legacy Farmer themselves as members. She talks about what she does for us day-to-day and also how Legacy Farmer has impacted her and her husband's lives.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
I recently had a member tell me that he wasn’t the smartest guy in town and couldn’t understand his recent successes. When you are starting out, your success has nothing to do with having smarts and everything to do with courage and willingness to constantly take action. So many of you are so stuck in your day-to-day habits that you refuse to walk through the doors that God has presented to you.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Tyler and Hanna Sharp, who run a cattle operation on their own, as well as a joint-family cattle operation, gun store, seed store, and a gas station, in Kansas. We take a deep dive and discuss how Legacy Farmer has impacted absolutely every aspect of their marriage, family life and business.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Your worldview dictates how you react to situations in your life. This holds true for all those around you in your personal and business life. It is important to recognize others' worldview so you can see how it is impacting their decisions as well as how they interact with you. You need to find people in your world whose worldview aligns with yours.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you inherit the farm operation you also inherit all of the bad decisions and problems from the prior generation. Often when younger people go off to college, graduate and return to the farm, they do so with big ideas and big dreams, but are instead greeted with a mess that had been created over decades. The decisions we make today will ripple through our operation forever.
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If you want to get off the hamster wheel and see radical results you will have to walk through the fire and make massive changes. Be sure when you prepare to make these changes that you are only listening to feedback from those that matter. There is no shortcut here, all results are earned. These changes and results aren’t temporary and last a lifetime.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I am joined by an integral member of the Legacy Farmer team, Andy Schreck, and he shares his life experiences and what he does here at Legacy Farmer. From being taken aback by how easy it was to get plunged into $600K debt at the age of 19 with only his father as cosigner, to realizing he wasn't alone in his struggles, to all of the time wasted trying to figure things out on his own.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
If something you are doing is not increasing your value per hour then it is a distraction and most likely not worth your time. It is important to keep the main thing that you do, the main thing. Focus on the 20% of activities that are bringing in 80% of the income, and feeding your family. If you build your business decisions on feelings, you will fail.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We are told if we go to college and get a degree we will be best suited for what is to come — that was not the case for me. All of what is taught in Legacy Farmer I learned on my own, well after college. We’ll spend tons of money on college but will never spend that same money on ourselves to go learn things to bring ourselves or business to the next level.
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Recently while going over the onboarding process and cost of our program with a potential member he said “this all sounds great but I need to check with my banker.” How does it make you feel, as a grown man, to have to go ask your banker for permission to invest money to advance your operation to the next level? Your banker does not and will never take your operation as seriously as you do.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So frequently when working with family on the family farm we are far too afraid of confrontation with older, more senior members of the family. Often when we collide with family members it leads to weeks or months of not talking to each other and no changes being implemented. If you want to be a true leader then confrontation is part of the job so get comfortable with it.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
In this country we are conditioned to feel as though the banks, the government, or any other large institutions have authority over us. We feel inferior or as if we are slaves to these institutions. The bank is a for-profit institution and is in the business of serving you. Do not hesitate to find a bank that will service you how you want. You and the bank should have a relationship built on mutual respect.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
There are two teams in every game, and usually the better prepared team wins. The two teams in the Ag industry are you and the bank. So many farmers go into gameday with little to no prep and not knowing the other team’s plays or signals. The bank certainly knows all of your plays, so be sure you know theirs. Legacy Farmer and Farmer Metrics teach you all their plays.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It is far too common for it to take the bank and other business’ to take over a week to get back to you when they say they’ll “get right back to you.” How small does that make you feel? If the level of service you receive doesn’t match your standard or what you feel you should be getting, then don’t hesitate to find a different business to work with. Don’t settle for who you choose to do business with.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Stuart Dill, who runs a cow-calf operation, sells specialty eggs, and also has a custom skid-steer business, in Missouri. We take a super deep dive and discuss how Legacy Farmer has impacted absolutely every aspect of his life and business.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Our members are constantly surprised at how much information is available to them in Legacy Farmer. It's not just my background in banking to help when dealing with the bank, but also the wealth of knowledge and experience of every member that is shared throughout the community. One member said recently that if they’d had this information earlier, they would have made drastically different decisions.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It shocks me to see how many of our members don't know their numbers when they join Legacy Farmer. Most farmers have never been taught or trained how to do any of this stuff at all. We have found that our members are overpaying on loans, simply because the bank isn’t working with good or up-to-date data. Knowing your numbers, how the bank works, and how the game works can allow you to demand a better rate.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So often in a farming family, we feel obligated to go back to work on the family farm. The problem with that is that if you go back as an adult and your father, grandfather, uncle, or whoever still treats you like a 15 year old kid. If you are married at that point, and your wife has to watch you be treated like that, and watch you not take a stand for her and your kids, it’ll destroy your marriage.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Are you acting responsibly with your money? So many members have not been acting in integrity with their finances and their operations have been leaking money for a long time. When we make decisions concerning our finances, they have to be fact based decisions, not rooted in our emotions. Having your numbers organized is absolutely key to stability and running a successful operation.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Your second life begins when you realize you only have one. Many of us are living a life that we feel we just weren't meant for. We feel like we are settling and only doing things to make others happy, rather than ourselves. If you aren’t constantly learning and growing, you are dying.
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3 years. That is how long it has taken one of our members and their family to settle the estate of their father. Their mother had to face and relive the death of her husband every day for 3 years because there was no estate plan in place. So many of us put off the hard conversations because it causes us stress and discomfort, not recognizing the pain and stress we can cause others if we don’t.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Over the last few months we have been going to work on the business, with our members, and to make sure all our members are getting the results they want. We are going to be sharing much more from our members here. To really show how Legacy Farmer has impacted not only people’s businesses, but more importantly, their family lives. Legacy Farmer has really become a family.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
How are you spending your time? On important things? Or on $10-$15/hr jobs around your operation. We need to figure out how much our time is worth, and how much we need to value ourselves. If we look in the mirror and see someone worth $12/hr, that is what we will get, and we’ll burn 60-80 hours a week, when in reality we could hire someone else to take care of that work so we can focus on the important tasks.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
The biggest challenge in today’s modern world is shutting things off. Most of the farmers and ranchers coming in through Legacy Farmer Academy are very busy with so many things to do during the day. When we start to focus and double down on our x-factor, we start to take off, and before we know it we are generating amazing results. I talk about this lesson and how I learned it, here in today’s podcast.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Your business life and your family life are one in the same, not two separate entities that need to be taken care of on their own. Knowing that you need to change in either aspect of your life is fine, but knowing how you need to change, and what needs to be done is the key to making a real difference. If all aspects of your life aren’t on point you’ll struggle to make any kind of meaningful change.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It’s easy to get sucked into a cycle of repetitive arguments if one of you is walking away angry halfway through the argument every time without confronting the underlying issues. We are emotional beings and our emotions can often get in the way of a fruitful argument and send it right into a contest of who can trigger the other one the most.
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I’ve had female members ask how they can get their husbands to start seeing how bad the problems are and to get them to start moving on them. Simple answer is to start making moves yourself. You’re going to have to start taking control and start doing the things you know need to be done, you can’t wait on your husband. Stop asking for permission and just get it done. This should trigger action in your husband.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Motivation is great but fades fairly quickly; leverage is a far more long term solution. Without leverage to exert on ourselves, it is very easy to slip back into a place of complacency. Putting up money every month for someone to hold you accountable ensures that you take the process seriously, so you aren’t wasting your money. That money also acts as even more leverage to keep you moving forward.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
If you grew up on the farm, you are all too familiar with the expectation of completing a task to a very high standard with little to no praise for the job well done. We are trained and conditioned not to celebrate our successes. We, unwittingly, fight against our worthiness of success and dwell on our mistakes and failures. This mindset needs to change.
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We all have many things happen to us throughout our lives and we never think they are all that significant at the time. It can take decades before we realize the weight those events carry or see the set of events that they have set in motion. Consider that I’m in your life for a specific reason.
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Oftentimes we are so afraid of the hard truth that we hide in surface level discussions so we don’t need to dive deep and confront our fears. The surface level does not fairly represent the level of pain that people are facing in their lives. Ignoring the problems and hiding will only allow the problems to expand and fester. How long can you keep lying to yourself and your family that everything is OK?
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Much like an addict visiting a drug dealer, farmers in dire situations will constantly go back to the bank and continue to dig themselves deeper into their problems. The bank is concerned with generating interest and money for itself. They will lend to you until you literally have nothing left. Going to the bank to take out more money doesn’t fix the underlying problems; sometimes a massive change is needed.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
People do not give the grueling and stressful farm lifestyle the weight and value that is needed. It is very easy to fall into the trap of wondering why you are even doing all this, and feeling like the farm brings you nothing but stress and frustration. You are constantly fighting and solving problem after problem. If any of that sounds like you, Legacy Farmer Academy is for you.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Too many people live in the land of “maybe” and can’t make a definitive decision. When we don’t make decisions we sit in limbo. Your inability to make a decision is, in itself, a decision to let someone decide for you. Until you start making big, bold decisions you aren’t going to get the results you want. Bold decisions allow you to have real focus.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When you aren’t getting the results you want, you need to take a look at the person running the business; you. It might be time to start investing in you. If you aren’t willing to double-down and invest in yourself, then just settle in and accept the results you are going to get. People that refuse to take on risk rarely get any reward.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
When I left the banking industry, with very little money to my name, in the span of 6 months I invested $60,000 in myself. This may sound crazy or idiotic but the return on those investments was far, far beyond what I paid for them. If you want to go from making $100K a year to $10M a year, then be prepared to invest thousands upon thousands into yourself.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Some people die at 25 but aren’t put in the ground until 90. Everyone wants everything to be perfect and to know that everything will work out, but the truth is that you won’t see the path until you make the jump. In order to get what you want out of your life, you have to be willing to make that jump. That jump will provide a level of power and freedom that is not currently possible from where you stand.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Deep down we all know there are plenty of massive changes we should be making in our lives, yet we don’t because they are painful. The longer we ignore these problems, the more painful the lessons will become.
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When things go south we always ask “Why is this happening to me?” rather than “Why is this happening for me?” God didn’t put every pain in your life right now just for the sake of putting you through pain. He placed it there to guide you to what you want. When God places that pain in your life it’s his way of nudging you onto the path he has set out for you.
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When you are trying to not ask for help or guidance, and there is no one else in your life that you can rely on that will be there to help you in the tough times, it can lead to burn out. The power of playing with a network is that you have a place for release and connection to avoid the burn out and blow ups where you don’t want them.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We require good information to take the actions necessary to produce a positive result. Just like removing people that sugar-coat things, you also need to be sure you are taking actions based on the truth of your actual standings and what really needs to be done to produce those positive results. It will not be easy but it’ll be worth it.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We often let our emotions and egos control us, especially when talking to family members that we have a lot of history with. Once you start to understand how you operate, how your emotions run you, and what your triggers are, you can then start to effectively analyze those around you and understand why they are responding the way they are.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It is extremely important who you let in your life. You need to interview every single person you let into your environment. There is no use in letting someone in that will just be a drag on your energy, time, and focus. You need to protect your environment.
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You are robbing yourself of becoming an elite entrepreneur by waiting to be handed an operation built by family and not building one on your own. Building something from the ground up creates a level of appreciation and understanding that can’t be obtained any other way.
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Every dollar your business loses is significant. Are you taking your losses seriously enough? How do your losses make you feel? Beyond that, how do you become the person that converts your losses into gains or, better yet, skyrockets your gains?
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Sugar-coating and protecting someone's feelings does not serve anyone, it only leads to them not tackling the real issues. The only time you can make drastic moves in your life is when you know, that you know the hard truth. Do you have anyone in your life that is willing to be direct with you and help you solve issues?
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Regardless of the size of your business, it will have it’s problems, be it taxes or lack of cash-flow. You get to choose which problems you have. Do you have problems because you are taking action and growing or do you have problems because you are hanging back and praying for better prices?
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We’ve been conditioned to hide things our whole life; to keep business and home life separate, but that is not how it works. The two are completely intertwined. If work is a mess, that’s all you think about at home, and if your home life is a mess, that’s all you think about at work. Both parts of your life can rob the other.
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Anyone can feed you fantasy, but that isn't going to help you or help grow your operation but being direct and honest can and will. If you have people in your life right now that aren’t willing to be direct with you, you need to start surrounding yourself with different people.
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Be sure that you operate from a place of facts and reality and not just hopes and wishful thinking. This holds true across all areas of your life. The more you operate from reality with your family, friends, business, and even your health, the better set up you’ll be to actually obtain the results you want.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Don’t concern yourself with what the person in the White House is doing, or a popular talk show host or anyone else that doesn't directly affect you. It doesn’t help or serve you to waste the time, energy, and attention on what they think or do. Is your focus on the things that produce for you?
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Great things will happen when you put your back against the wall, and force yourself to go forward. When you have no other options, moving forward and growing are the only directions you can move.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Brooks Reid, who farms about 3500 acres in Missouri. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Brooks, from getting to action points in his decision making, to not only wanting things to be better but creating a plan and acting on it to actually make things better for him, his family, and his business.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
The majority of people don’t know their numbers because they don’t want to know their numbers. They know they won’t look good so they avoid looking at them. Once you know your numbers, they will wake you up to the reality you are in and you’ll get creative and think differently about your operation.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Sam Cunningham, who has a rice and soy operation in Arkansas. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Sam, from gaining a real balance between his work and family life, to focusing on the bigger picture and running the business and delegating the small day-to-day things that he doesn’t need to spend time on.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
The problem we run into most frequently when working with family in the Ag industry is their refusal to change. Your extended family’s feelings must come second to what is best for you, your wife, and your kids. If you just soak the negativity that you’ll get while trying to make big changes you’ll never get anything accomplished or make any meaningful changes.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Paul & Lindsey Osmundsun, who own and operate a cow-calf operation in Iowa. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for them, from recognizing that they needed to know their numbers, to gaining structure and direction for the business and being able to act on those.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
You need to be honest about the amount of work you need to do to get where you want to be. There is no hidden secret, it’s all just hard work. You are the one that needs to constantly move forward and make things happen. The goal of Legacy Farmer is to get you to a point where you do not need Legacy Farmer anymore.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Ryan Selzer, who farms various crops alongside his father in Kansas. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Ryan, from shifting out of working IN the business to working ON the business, to recognizing and implementing balance across all of his life to make sure the family isn’t pushed aside for work.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Has life become so chaotic and heavy to the point where it has beat you down and dimmed or put out your fire? Be honest with yourself when you answer. If not you yourself, are you hanging out with people who are putting out your fire and draining you?
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Cory Voss, who runs a pioneer seed operation alongside his father and brother in Nebraska. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Cory, from realizing he couldn’t just work himself into a better position and becoming strategic with his time, to finally making progress to escaping “the pit” and finding real success and balance.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
If you do not pay the value of an item, you won’t fully utilize it, and you won’t get results. If you want results, you have to have skin in the game, otherwise, there is no reason to value the item. We need to stop looking for freebies and living in scarcity.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Brad Hanewich, who owns and operates a multi-level, purebred and show cattle operation in Indiana. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Brad, from gaining organization in both his thoughts and actions, to having an actual plan to follow and execute on so he isn’t working 20 hours a day and having no time left for anything else.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Taking time to have a quiet, calm conversation with God, allows you to step back from the chaos of life, separate yourself from your emotions and see the road he has prepared ahead of you. If you are feeling stagnant and getting poor results, consider the possibility that you aren't listening to God and that he could be pushing you in another direction.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Jamie Lannen, who is a 4th generation rancher that has a cow-calf operation as well as custom artificial insemination operation in Montana. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Jamie, from giving him direction and traction so he isn’t just spinning his wheels, to recognizing what is important in life and prioritizing his family above all else.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Growing up on the farm we are not really taught how to deal with guilt and forgiveness. The guilt stems from mistakes we have made, either in our business or home life, that we replay constantly in our heads while we work. We are also haunted by the forgiveness we seek, and sometimes even owe to family members for transgressions that could have happened over a decade ago.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Eric Bream, who is a 3rd generation farmer that grows primarily citrus in California. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Eric, from finding balance in his life by concentrating on all aspects of his life and not just work, to being strategic with his time and using it wisely and not wasting it digging holes.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Ty Seevers, who has a cow-calf and seedstock operation, as well as farming about 1200 acres and a custom hay business in Nebraska. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Ty, from learning to deal with burnout and balancing a family life with his work life, to realizing you don’t need to just work 20 hours a day to try to brute-force profit.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
It is a dog-eat-dog world out there and there is no such thing as a fair fight these days. You have to do what is best for you and your family, even if it makes you uncomfortable or seems unfair. If you aren’t the one making bold moves, someone else will be making them on you.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
If you are sitting in your career right now and you are “halfway happy,” do something about it! Give yourself permission to do something about it and make some drastic changes. Or spend the rest of your life being “halfway happy.” You and your family deserve so much more than that.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Chad Krogman, who operates a hog farm, livestock trucking business, freezer beef business, as well as contracting feed in Illinois. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Chad, from gaining clarity, organization and direction, to getting clear, honest, direct answers to massive questions he had.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
One of the biggest problems in society today is that everyone is living fake lives. We all put up a front of perfection to hide the truth behind it, because we care far too much what everyone thinks about us. True joy doesn’t come from a fake life you’ve created and pretend to live; it comes from being honest and putting in the work to make your actual life better.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Preston Bowar, who farms about 6K acres of various crops along with his extended family in South Dakota. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Preston, from recognizing that doing the same thing over and over with no results to show for it isn’t sustainable, to getting completely clear on what he wants and where he wants to take the business.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Leaders have a very hard road. Most everyone wants to be a leader, but when it comes to doing what leaders do, most people can’t do it. Leaders are created through the fire of rising up through their own patterns and getting very close to who they are, and who they want to become.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Corey Schumacher, who farms about 5K acres, and has both a cow-calf operation as well as agronomy center in North Dakota. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Corey, from knowing his numbers, and how to work with employees, to increasing his confidence across the board. Corey has seen huge financial gains since joining and embracing Legacy Farmer.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
You can’t play the hope-and-pray game and wait for mom and dad to hand down the farm. You have to take a stand for your life, and the results you want for yourself and your family. Rise to the occasion and do what is required to get the results that you desire.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Brandon Vining, who is a private crop consultant in Idaho. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Brandon, from working with growers against corporate America, to finding a level of confidence that he did not possess before. Brandon has been able to gain insight and empathy, across many areas of his life, from our regular coaching calls with the group.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We often tell ourselves the story that “the more acres I farm, the more revenue I’ll have, and more revenue is more profit.” but this just isn't the case. If you take on land that you aren’t ready for, it inevitably leads to failure and mess. That mess in-turn creates debt for the business, and not only financial debt but productivity, attention, and work debt. A solid foundation is key to scale.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Brett Bullock, who runs a corn, cattle, and seed operation in Nebraska. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Brett, from recovering after hitting a dark place in his life after making some poor decisions and suffering massive unforeseen losses, to Brett coming to understand that he is not alone in his struggles and there are many, many others fighting the same battles every day.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
We grew up listening to them tell us not to express our emotions, to hold it in, to control ourselves. The problem with this is that those emotions pile up inside and it clouds our ability to think clearly and find our way to the results. We have to release these emotions, to pave the way forward.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Jordan Kremlacek, who farms soy and corn, as well as runs a direct-market hog operation in Nebraska. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Jordan, from the invaluable information of learning what not to do, to knowing your numbers and improving your relationship with the bank.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
So frequently these days people focus only on the business and aren’t willing to look inward at themselves, the person that is building the business. You need to build you before you build a business. Solving the personal issues you have, unlocks the business breakthroughs. You need to find your thing, your group of people where you can talk about the real stuff.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Tater Erickson, who runs an insurance company as well as a feed business in Montana. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Tater, from putting big expectations on others but giving himself a pass, to gaining a level of accountability that he did not have before. Tater has also come to recognize the massive importance and benefits of investing in himself.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
The decision to go off on your own and leave the family operation can be met with anger, resentment and disappointment, but you always need to ask yourself what the cost of not going off on your own will be over the rest of your life. What will it cost you and the generations that come after you? Removing the business from family can actually vastly improve your relationships.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: www.legacyfarmer.org
Today I’m joined by Andy Schreck, who runs a cow-calf as well as crop farming operation in Minnesota. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Andy, from buying his farmland at a very young age and all the hard lessons that come along with that, to gaining confidence and clarity as to what he wants and the direction he needed to move to get what he wants.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: https://www.legacyfarmerproof.com/
Not only does having clean, clear and organized books help you stay on top of exactly where you are at, it also helps liability protection and can even help you get a better rate when you show up to the bank. The bank is far more likely to lend to someone with a clear view on where their business stands and the organized books to back it up. Your relationship with the bank is crucial.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: https://www.legacyfarmerproof.com/
Today I’m joined by Tyler McPherson, who farms about 6K acres, has a commercial application business and a side seed sales operation with his brother and father in North Dakota. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Tyler, from being stuck in the day-to-day grind and the dynamics of working with family, to gaining back his confidence and learning what not to do from parents.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: https://www.legacyfarmerproof.com/
The majority of men have a built-in desire to control as much as they can to make sure things get done, and this can lead to burning out people around you because you refuse to delegate. At a certain point you just need to let go and let people be themselves. You can have a game plan to help things go as smoothly as possible, but you need to let others do things.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: https://www.legacyfarmerproof.com/
Today I’m joined by Chad Rupple, who farms various crops in Colorado. We discuss what Legacy Farmer has done for Chad, from lacking prioritest, to a lack of confidence and clarity on what they want and need to do. Legacy Farmer has helped Chad find a level of purpose and accountability that he did not have prior.
Check out the Impact Legacy Farmer is having on the American Farmer here: https://www.legacyfarmerproof.com/