JUNEAU, Wis. — Operating a successful dairy in today’s unpredictable dairy business environment requires not only top-notch management of animals and employees, but also a solid understanding of financial management.
The Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW) announce the 2019-20 PDPW Financial Literacy for Dairy™ Series. The multi-level, multi-session financial development program is designed to provide dairy farmers, veterinarians, nutritionists, and other agribusiness professionals a solid financial understanding and foundation and then stretch their thinking beyond current comfort.
The PDPW Financial Literacy for Dairy® program is the dairy industry’s first dairy-specific financial curriculum. Authored by Dr. David Kohl and reviewed through a first-rate financial expert taskforce and dairy producer pilot group, attendees will receive the financial skill required to successfully and confidently make strategic decisions for their businesses.
An online placement assessment will determine which level best suits the degree of the individual’s financial comprehension. Each training group offers a multi-session, multi-date format with day one running from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on day two reconvening from 8 a.m. and concluding at 4 p.m.
All trainings will take place at the PDPW Headquarters, 820 N. Main St., Juneau, Wis.
- Level 1: Nov. 13-14, 2019 and concludes Dec. 18-19, 2019
- Level 2: Jan. 8-9, 2020; continues Feb. 12-13, 2020 and concludes March 4-5, 2020
- Level 3: March 24-25, 2020
Level 1 will dive into core financial concepts such as the value of determining and developing short-term and long-term business goals and the principles of preparing annual balance sheets. Level 1 trainees will also compile a cash income statement to measure their dairy’s profitability.
Level 2 will offer an in-depth look at financial tools such as income statements, inventories, and depreciation. A study of profitability and cost-center tracking will show class trainees how to separate various parts of their operation to measure profitability of each enterprise such as raising heifers, steers and crops.
The inaugural Level 3 will cover budgeting tools for planning and performance monitoring, trend analysis, key metrics to monitor, and benchmarking. This level will stretch attendees with managing capital investment for their business, how to optimize capital purchases and protocols for sharing records.
Program trainers include Gary Sipiorski, an independent business and financial consultant; Dr. Kevin Bernhardt, Professor of Agribusiness at UW-Platteville School of Agriculture and Farm Management Specialist with UW-Extension and Center for Dairy Profitability for Level 1 & 2 instruction; and Dick Wittman, board chair, transition coach and former manager of a 20,000-acre crop, cattle and timber operation in northern Idaho for Level 3 instruction.
“To make it in farming today you need to be more than good with cows – you must be business savvy as well. I’ve attended financial workshops in the past, but until this program I didn’t find anything in-depth enough to make a difference to my business,” said Cory Brown, a dairy producer from Belleville, Wis.
To learn more about Financial Literacy for Dairy or to register online, visit www.pdpw.org or call PDPW at 1-800-947-7379. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following @dairyPDPW and using #PDPWFinancialLiteracy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Financial Literacy for Dairy is an accredited training and offers Dairy AdvanCE continuing education (CE) credits. To learn more or secure credits, visit https://dairyadvance.org/.
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.
— PDPW
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