Posted October 17, 2022 | By: Hudson Badskey, Nutrien Financial Territory Sales Manager

At Nutrien Financial, we’re always looking for solutions that can help farmers avoid financial headaches so they can get back to the field. We recently worked with one operation, Walnutdale Family Farms, to look for opportunities in the face of the challenges the 2022 growing season presented. 

Combatting an unstable market

From supply chain issues and product availability to extreme weather events and rising interest rates, it’s been a volatile year - especially for farmers. Financing for farm input purchases is a way to help combat some of the unexpected challenges of 2022, which will most certainly remain a hurdle as we look into the new year.

One example is the work we’ve done with Walnutdale Family Farms. They are a third-generation dairy farm in Allegan County, Michigan, with 2,300 dairy cows across 3,200 acres. Like many other farmers, they were impacted by the instability of the grain market and its effect on the cost of feed. They were anxious about product availability and pricing for their crop inputs, and wanted to find proactive solutions to find more solid footing and counteract the instability of the market. 

Connecting agronomics to financials

Nutrien Ag Solutions employs many crop consultants who can help farmers fully understand both the agronomic and financial pictures. One of our crop consultants helped lay out an agronomic plan for the year, which Walnutdale Family Farms then used to inform and strengthen their farm’s financial plan. 

The combined plans revealed that financing could be a great solution to relieve some of the budget pressures they were experiencing. Financing offered flexibility to hedge the price of inputs and gain working capital benefits, which provided added financial flexibility to offset price volatility and to help plan for contingencies.

Throughout the planning process, the farm leveraged expertise on both the agronomic and economic sides of the operation and evaluated where there might be opportunities to save. Looking at terms, and using a blended approach of fixed-rate and 0% programs, Walnutdale Family Farms reduced their interest costs, which freed up their cash flow. Austin Lettinga, the Controller of Walnutdale Farms, put it best: “We decided to use Nutrien Financial’s programs because it significantly lowered our interest expense, and we could invest the savings into crop inputs to benefit our crop.” 

Finding success amidst challenges

The work we’ve done with Walnutdale Family Farms is just one example of successfully aligning agronomic and financial plans to help farmers conserve cash, lower interest rates, increase profitability and feel good about their financial options in a tough market. Lettinga has some advice for other farmers: “My advice to other growers is to always do a budget and a crop plan to have a roadmap as well as try to lock in your expenses so you know your true costs of raising a crop.”

Despite the challenges, farmers can still create some financial peace of mind by being judicious about their plans, reviewing the financing options and evolving those details to align with a sound agronomic plan, especially as that shifts throughout the crop year. Walnutdale Family Farms’ story of success is the perfect example of how working with the right partners can provide better information to inform decisions - both agronomic and economic - that result in financial successes. 

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Posted September 20, 2021

Brent Smith of Nutrien Ag Solutions sits down to discuss his passion for FFA