JUNEAU, Wis. — Dairy farmers, veterinarians, nutritionists and other agribusiness professionals can start the new year with an elevated level of understanding about the finances of their business with the PDPW Financial Literacy for Dairy program.
Limited space is available for registration in Levels 2 and 3 of the 2022-23 series of the financial-development program taught by leading experts and designed specifically for the needs of today’s dairy industry. An online assessment at registration ensures that first-time attendees are placed in the appropriate level for their expertise and background. All classes will be held at PDPW headquarters in Juneau, Wis.
“One of the reasons I chose to attend the Financial Literacy courses was to have a better understanding of how a farm operates financially,” said Brownsville, Wis., dairy producer Brittany Merk of Mueller Farms of Lomira LLC. “The presenters made the conversations very informative – and being able to apply the practices to our own dairy was very engaging. After every class I left very excited to take what I learned back to my family farm.”
Financial Literacy for Dairy includes three successive levels of programming. Level One for the 2022-23 session was completed in November and December.
Level Two programs will be held Jan. 18-19, 2023; Feb. 8-9, 2023, and Mar. 1-2, 2023. Taught by dairy financial experts Gary Sipiorski, agricultural business and financial consultant, and Dr. Kevin Bernhardt, PhD, Professor of Agribusiness at UW-Platteville., Level Two introduces participants to broader financial concepts and provides a deeper look at more comprehensive financial tools and reporting methods, including ratios and analyses.
Level Three for the 2022-23 edition will be held March 22-23, 2023. Led by Dick Wittman, Wittman Consulting, this level covers advanced concepts in several core areas, including the use of budgeting tools for planning and performance monitoring, trend analysis, strategies for optimizing capital purchases, managing family business investment capital and more.
Several partner lenders, financial institutions and consultants participate in the “Count on Us” program to provide partial scholarships to dairy producers participating in PDPW Financial Literacy for Dairy. Through this partnership, attendees pay the training program fee to PDPW upon registration, then consult with their “Count on Us” partner(s) to determine the scholarship amount. A full list of participating partners is printed on the program flier and available here on the PDPW website.
To register, visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDPW at 800-947-7379. Registered attendees will receive an email from PDPW with a link to complete an online placement test to be properly placed into Level 1, 2, or 3 and will receive notification of level placement immediately upon submission of test.
Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”
— Professional Dairy Producers