up with experts helps insure financial success

Dealing with inflation, fluctuating interest rates, volatile commodity prices and a possible recession may leave some feeling uncertain about how to best navigate finances in the future. Times like these underscore the importance of working with the right team of financial advisors to help guide your journey.

By Naomi Mortensen

Luckily for farmers and ag businesses located in the GreenSeam, the area isn’t just rich in farmland. It’s also rich with people who understand agriculture, rural communities, and what it takes to run a family farm.

The GreenSeam, which is both a nonprofit and a region that spans southern Minnesota, is home to more than 1,000 ag and ag-related businesses as well as nearly 8,000 people working in finance-related industries. These employees may only make up about 2.8 percent of the total job market here, but their services are intertwined with nearly every sector of the marketplace.

These lenders, accountants, tax advisors and financial investors are immersed in ag and rural issues, stay on top of changes and are ready to dig in and help you find solutions. Here are just a few examples of how they team up to support financial success.

Building your financial team

Community banks are full of people who are committed to supporting the success of the customers they serve.

“We’re invested in our communities and the region in every way possible,” explained David Krause, CEO of Pioneer Bank and past chair of GreenSeam. “Local deposits create local loans that in turn create profits and positive cash flow that lead to deposits. The money stays here, supporting local farmers and businesses, creating local jobs, improving local schools, benefitting local churches, local non-profits and local civic organizations committed to this region.”

Pioneer Bank is just one example with a deep connection to agriculture in the GreenSeam. It has been part of the Mankato area for 130 years and its employees see the value ag brings to the community.

“We were born in the heart of some of the world’s richest farmland and the agriculture industry is the number one industry we serve. GreenSeam’s mission of growing the food and ag industry in our region matches ours. When our number one industry succeeds, the people who live here succeed too,” said Krause.

Compeer Financial is another institution with locations across Minnesota, as well as Wisconsin and Illinois. Unlike community banks, Compeer is a member-owned farm credit cooperative which only serves agriculture and rural communities through loans, leases, risk management and other financial services.

While Compeer mainly focuses on financing solutions for production agriculture, its supply chain, and processors, Chris Fitzloff is excited to explore more opportunities with small town entrepreneurs and amplify rural vitality in the future. Fitzloff serves as Vice President of Core Markets at Compeer Financial and is a GreenSeam board member.

“Rural communities need capital to thrive, and we are excited to be more active and visible partners in those areas,” said Fitzloff. “A strategic imperative for Compeer is to raise regional and national awareness of the importance of rural vitality and to advocate for rural America — both locally and in Washington, D.C.”

In addition to partnering with a bank that knows your business, it’s important to round out your team with tax advisors, estate planners and wealth management experts to protect your assets for the future. CPA and consulting firms like EideBaily house all that expertise under one roof.

“For farmers, nearly everything they do from a transition or transaction standpoint has a tax consequence,” explained Ryan Spaude, certified financial planner and principal at EideBailly. “Having both the tax/ accounting side of the equation and the investment/financial planning side of the equation married together in one place is helpful.”

Spaude has been offering financial advice to farmers and business owners for 26 years. He grew up on a farm in the GreenSeam, his in-laws farm and he’s proud to work for a national company that respects agriculture and small-town values.

“One of our biggest advantages is our rural roots,” said Spaude. He appreciates that part of the GreenSeam’s mission is attracting, developing and retaining talent. This gives the next generation of aspiring accountants the opportunity to earn degrees, work, and raise their families here too. No matter how you choose to do it, the experts agree that having the right team in place is the first step to creating a strong financial future. After that, it’s all about taking time to know your margins, investing in improvement and putting together a roadmap for retirement.

“The best of the best relentlessly invest in improving their businesses,” said Fitzloff, who believes that with the global marketplace and fast changing technology, the next generation of farmers will need to think of farming more as a business than a lifestyle. “Margin management, networking with peers, and paying attention to the details is how future farms will thrive.”

Another important step is to start planning for retirement and farm transitions early. “Giving yourself a long runway can give you more time for tough decisions and adjust for issues that are out of your control,” explained Spaude. He recommends starting farm transitions at least five years out from your intended retirement age or even in your early 50s if you can.

So even when the future seems uncertain, you can step forward with confidence knowing you have a financial planning team in the GreenSeam. GreenSeam believes working together as an agricultural community will help us better navigate the workforcerelated challenges experienced today. Naomi Mortensen is part of GreenSeam’s branding and promotions committee and grew up in the region. v