One of the most common problems faced by many businesses today revolves around their ability to obtain financing they need. This challenge becomes even more pronounced when we are faced with a tight lending environment. This has been compounded by the Sub Prime Mortgage mess and its related financial issues! This certainly magnifies the importance of maintaining a solid banking relationship.
Oh, how the times have changed – Let’s face it. The days of the “handshake equals dairy loan” are long gone! Actually, it’s been that way for 25 years. I find it remarkable that some people think that “Old Bob” down at the bank still exists. They simply told Bob what they needed, shook hands and signed one sheet of paper before achieving access to unlimited loan amounts. At least that is how they remember the process. Was it truly that simple? I don’t know because I wasn’t there. What has changed? Here is a list of items that come to mind for me:
This is a question many people are asking. I believe it’s something we need to be looking at regularly. As far as when you should fix them, that depends on many factors.
Wow! Wasn’t 2009 a real tragedy in terms of overall cash flow and bottom line results? It was absolutely pathetic for most producers. Since then dairymen have been enjoying the fruits of higher milk prices. How can we avoid revealing the same calamities again? What could you have done differently as a manager? These are critical items to spend some time on.
It’s time for a reality check. Maybe I’ve missed something. I’ve been in the dairy industry for almost 40 years. I got my first job in it when I was in my early teens. Now, I think I’ve seen it all. A program for banks called TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) now being in need of a new name: TRAP! Let me tell you why I’m so ticked off.
Given the difficult state of the dairy industry, lenders might, in some situations, be taking longer to make their credit decisions. Is this truly a tough year? YES!!! Is it the end of the world? Hardly. Is your dairy farm loan renewal taking longer than usual this year? Perhaps, but so are the renewals of many other dairy farms.
This week, John Ellsworth of Success Strategies sat down with Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness.com for an interview. In it John gives some tips for producers and business owners who are “stuck.” That is when they are faced with a number of problems, and just can’t decide how or where to begin to solve them and how they can move forward.
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While there are many profitability variables to contend with, and this research does not suggest that ignoring one of the lower correlated variables would ever be a good idea, the top three are all ones that I have had the opportunity to deal with in each and every financial turn-around situation.
I am not making light of the fact that the dairy industry has had a tough 2015-2017, or, for that matter, that all industries have their moments when cash flow is tight. However, the vendors that he was referring to had been extending him as much credit as they possibly could these past 27 months. However, they were running into two big issues.
