Ag management program offered

Producers value financial expertise and go-to-market strategies and skills to compete in today’s marketplace.

That’s why the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) checkoff program, in conjunction with the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) Association and the University of Illinois, have launched the Agribusiness Management Program (AMP). The AMP will deliver online and in-person farm business management information for busy farm families and professionals through webinars, workshops, seminars, short videos and statewide events.

For ISA’s Director of Ag Innovations, Linda Kull, Ph.D., there’s an increased need for agribusiness and management skill sets as farming operations become more sophisticated.

“Looking at a new decade – the 2020s – family farms, more than 95 percent, continue to dominate the industry. We are in the 4th Agricultural Revolution with more than $30B in new technologies streaming into the ag industry annually, many which are focused on farm management, marketing, and efficiencies. Smart farming and everything digitized is the future. We aim to support our producers with a strong foundation in farm business management as they employ new technologies on their farm. Navigating the changing ag landscape requires good partners to help increase farm profitability and maximize the farm enterprise value and potential,” she says.

Jessie Shoopman, AMP Program Lead and Field Staff for FBFM will lead the programing. She and the AMP team have arranged a variety of topics for 2020 that include:

• Strategic farm management and planning

• Succession/transition planning

• Procurement and Marketing Skills

• Farm Labor Management

• Taxes and tax law support

• Efficiencies and time management

• Local and global markets

• Agtech adoption strategies for profitable farms

Upcoming AMP learning opportunities include a January webinar on ILSoyAdvisor on January 16 at 10 a.m. Also, say hello to AMP at ISA’s Soybean Summit on March 10 at the Crown Plaza in Springfield.