After years of studying family businesses, we believe it’s possible to identify one just by walking into the lobby of its headquarters. Unlike many multinationals, most of these firms don’t have luxurious offices. As the CEO at one global family-controlled commodity group told us, “The easiest money to earn is the money we haven’t spent.” While countless corporations use stock grants and options to […]
The bottom line today is that water continues to be an under appreciated and under-valued asset. But water prices will eventually start to rise more quickly – as a result of on-going population and demand growth, drought and increasing scarcity. More and more major urban areas are beginning to bump up against the challenges of true scarcity. And as water […]
The University of Wyoming Extension office provides some good estate planning advice for farmers and ranchers in its online offering, Passing It On: An Estate Planning Resource Guide for Wyoming’s Farmers and Ranchers. Check it out. By the way, my use of their logo doesn’t imply their endorsement, nor does it imply my endorsement of […]
“Creative solutions to common problems will be found. The potential is limitless, needing only–as has always been the case in the West–the people to match the challenges: ‘a society to match the scenery,’ as Wallace Stegner expressed it.” Teno Roncalio, Special Master of the Bighorn Adjudication of water rights, quoted in Wyoming’s Big Horn General […]
Plans to continue the [farming] firm may be frustrated by the lack of a competent management team. This situation may be avoided by taking steps, such as the following, to prepare for the future: Stressing the idea of a team approach to making decisions. Focusing on developing management skills. Emphasizing cross-training. Developing a system of routine communications. Implementing routine, nonthreatening […]
I listened to an interesting seminar yesterday titled “Estate Planning in Agriculture: Protecting a Way of Life” sponsored by WealthCounsel.com. Stan Miller and Robert Serio were the presenters. Serio covered the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Subsidy Programs and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Programs. He cautioned attorneys to be careful to not to do […]
I’ll be brief, and in being brief, I’ll gloss over some details. But here’s the low down. A husband and wife farming couple can receive up to $250,000 annually in FSA program subsidies if they grow corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, and the like AND if they are actively engaged in farming AND if they are […]
A very interesting article about water at ProPublica.org. Essentially, the pieces asks whether Wall Street–the good guys on Wall Street, of course–will help us achieve this: [Hedge Fund manager] Disque Deane . . . supports the idea of setting aside what policy makers call “lifeline supplies” to guarantee households some minimal amount of water. […]