Testimonials

“I have worked with NFBI since 1999 and the advice and financial information they provide has been essential in managing my farming operation through the ups and downs of the farm economy.  Utilizing the financial analysis they provide and updating my operations current financial position frequently throughout the year has yielded a greater return on my investment. From generating current cash flow reports, financial ratio analysis, enterprise analysis, and income tax implications, they assist producers in making “big picture” decisions to positively impact their operations.

In 2014, my operation suffered an extreme hail storm.  75% of my acres were a complete loss, while the rest were partial losses.  With the help of NFBI and the financial information they provided, we were able to analyze different scenarios and navigate through decisions such as alternative cropping plans, the timing of claimed crop insurance proceeds, and contracted production shortfalls.  NFBI helped make a disaster yield positive results for my operation.”

“NFBI builds a database of my trends, which I show to my lender. It helps give them comfort with my management ability. I also use the Cost of Production calculation to help with marketing. With the availability of data for benchmarking, I am able to compare areas that are important to me such as machinery cost per acre to others. It lets me know I am making the right decisions and build my self-confidence and assurance that I am doing things well or shows me if I need to make a change.”

“The value of farm record keeping really hit home today as I was watching a used planter on an online sale. When talking to the owner as to the condition of the unit, I asked him why he was selling it. I was sad to hear him say “Well the banker and I are not getting along.” He also said I cannot get financing for this year, so I am selling all my equipment. This is a young farmer in his 30’s totally washed up, really sad, and he seemed like a nice guy. Now I do not know all of the details of his situation, but looking at the equipment it looked like he spent way too much on iron when corn was high.

A good record program may have prevented this situation by showing him there were red flags on his ratios and that changes were needed. A good record program would also have been a big help in working with a new lender. Records are not everything, but if they are accurate and understood they are an excellent tool for farmer and lenders to use. A good hard look at some solid numbers by the farmer and lender could have changed this situation.”

“The analysis makes a person more aware of their positive & negative points, which makes you more conscientious of decisions that may affect that area. It helps develop plans &/or goals for the future, so you can stay more on course without many distractions as a person could have otherwise.”

“Working through the analysis with the Nebraska Farm Business Inc. has helped the management of our farm a great deal. Every year we discuss the analysis with our ag loan officer. We go through the numbers and pay especially close attention to the cost of production on each farm. Knowing the cost of production has helped improve our marketing. Also, seeing where we are compared to the other farmers in the program have helped us to see where our costs may be too high. Overall, the analysis program has given us a better idea of the health of our farm business.”