Deciding where to invest your hard-earned dollars in your farming operation is not easy. In times of tight margins, purchases must have purpose.
Four contract hog growers share insight into how they determine where to put their resources, what holds them back from making big investments and what they want to invest in next on the farm. The growers include Andy Evers of Union Mills, Ind., Tony Howard of Logansport, Ind., Tiffany Nagai of Knox, Ind., and Dustin Ripberger of Lewisville, Ind.
What is the biggest determining factor when you make an investment for the farm?
Evers: If I’m going to purchase something big, I need to see a return on investment — whether equipment (shorter return) or property (may not see the return but next generation will). To me, I’m thinking about the purchases I make working for me, but also with what the next generation wants to do later on.
Howard: Deciding if we need the purchase now or if it can wait until interest rates are lower and commodity prices are higher.