AgEcon News
EICP - A Collaborative
Effort Between Purdue University & Farm Credit Services of Mid-America
PARTICIPANTS VOICE
THEIR EXCITEMENT! |
"I am involved with a family farm - a partnership with my father
in northern Indiana. The information that we have been going through
has been very beneficial for our operation and for looking into our
future. I've been very challenged during this session on establishing
a vision for our farm and how things are going to be. "
 -
Tim Ladig
"
Not only have we gained a lot of knowledge through these classes, but
we've also been given a lot of materials and resources that we can
take home and actually use to put in some of our figures and analyze
where we are. "
-
Amy Gustin
"
As we grow our business, there are a lot of challenges ahead for the
future that we need to address. In this particular seminar, we've learned
how to manage our assets, how to manage our resources, and how to manage
our employees. "
-
Billy Jones
"
The Executive Institute will take you to the next level of business
management. Probably one of the most important aspects of the Institute
is the networking. There are numerous opportunities to work with your
farm colleagues to compare and contrast your farm operations. "
-
Lois Douglas |
Executive Institute for Commercial Producers
(EICP), a challenging, farm business management program, is a collaborative
effort
between Purdue University and Farm Credit Services of Mid-America.
The participants are large, innovative farmers who are actively
involved in building or taking over a successful, full-time
farm operation.
Mike Boehlje, Professor of Agricultural Economics and an EICP Program
Coordinator, says, "The current environment places significant
demands on the large commercial producer. To be successful in the
future, farm business managers must take on the role of a general
manager. They must look at the business as a whole and have a vision
of where the business is going."
The one-year program consists of four two and a half day workshops
which assists farmers in enhancing their management skills and profitability.
The workshop series includes the following topics:
• Financial Management - Participants use
their own financial records to calculate a variety of ratios in
four areas: profitability, liquidity, solvency and financial efficiency.
• Strategic Positioning - Farmers must choose
a strategic position within the changing marketplace in order to
gain advantages over competitors. In this workshop, discussion culminates
in way of analyzing potential growth markets and exploring the possibilities
of other profitable ventures.
• Risk Management - The AgRisk program is
used to examine strategies for managing risk, as well as assessing
and negotiating contracts.
• Business Planning - During this workshop,
farmers develop a complete business plan for their operation - the
focal point of the entire program.
Phil Kimmel, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Farm
Credit Services, says, "The Executive Institute is another
way of demonstrating that FCS has much more to offer than just a
financial transaction - our staff is prepared to work closely with
the decision makers of the farming operation."
Commercial producers were identified as candidates and then invited
by special invitation to join the first EICP Class by the President
and CEO of Farm Credit Services, Donnie Winters. The first 36 participants
representing 21 farming operations graduated in February 2002 while
the second EICP class began in November 2001. The third class started
the EICP program a few weeks ago.
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