The Margin | Page 2 | Insights for Healthy Business Growth & Sustainability

Considerations Before Making Capital Purchases

Posted by Scott WegmannPosted on March 19, 2022Ag

As you know, every farm is different. Because of this, the considerations for capital purchases vary from farm to farm, but there are some general guidelines everyone can follow to create a responsible expenditure plan. Before purchasing that new tractor, building, or piece of land, creating a plan is necessary to remain financially secure. This plan might include tracking costs, … Read More

Functional Office Spaces in 2022

Posted by Kevin ElsburyPosted on March 16, 2022Recruitment & Retention

Productive Office Space vs Functional Office Space Within the last few years our idea of what a functional office space may have changed. A functional space is specified as a space where you are able to complete what needs to be done in a given amount of time. However, in today’s society we are learning that it is more important … Read More

Best Structure for Employee Check-In Meetings

Posted by Jess AulwesPosted on March 9, 2022Leadership, Recruitment & Retention

As a manager one of the most important things you can do for your employees is checking in with them. The best way to ensure they’re getting your undivided attention is by sitting down and having a check-in meeting. There are two parts to having a successful check-in meeting. The first part is making sure that the employee feels comfortable … Read More

Company Culture: Identifying Strengths & Weaknesses

Posted by Jennifer MonkPosted on March 2, 2022Recruitment & Retention

The first step to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your company’s culture is identifying the leaderships’ persona in the workplace. This does not necessarily mean the same as identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership, but rather how employees perceive the leadership overall. Culture always trickles down from the actions of the leaders. Once you identify the leadership … Read More

What Benefits Do Employees Really Want?

Posted by Rachel HauckPosted on February 21, 2022Recruitment & Retention

While there are many companies around with many benefits offered, employees are looking for more than just your standard and typical benefits. Your low involvement plan may not be what your current or future employees are looking for. If you want to grow your team, you may need to look into expanding your benefits. Health Care, Eye Care, and Dental … Read More

Flexibility in the Workplace

Posted by Scott WegmannPosted on February 11, 2022Recruitment & Retention

Flexible work environments, hours, and management have been hot-button issues over the last two years. More people are working remotely than ever before, and people are demanding what they want from their workplace. In the middle of a labor shortage, employees are not settling for pre-2020 work conditions. They want flexibility in more ways than just working remotely. Environments When … Read More

Record Sales for Land Prices

Posted by Matt GoerdtPosted on February 8, 2022Ag

As prices for everything continue to rise, land prices are no exception. In the fall of 2021, land prices hit a record high, and auctioneers expect prices to stay strong through planting season. To understand the price projections for 2022, one must first look at the reflection of 2021 and the record sales from the fall. Reflection of Land Sales … Read More

Time Wasters: Getting a Handle on Efficiency

Posted by Kent StockPosted on January 28, 2022Operations & Processes

If you feel like you and your employees are working hard, but productivity is still low, your workplace is guilty of at least one major time waster. Efficiency is putting the old adage of “smarter, not harder” to use, and time wasters enable this. Employees and leadership alike are guilty of time wasters, and you’ll have to work together to … Read More

Developing Strong Habits as a Leader

Posted by Jess AulwesPosted on January 21, 2022Leadership

It’s on your resume, without a doubt. “Exceptional leadership skills.” “Experience leading a team of people.” “Attended leadership training.” The buzz word “leadership” shows up everywhere, and there is plenty of information out there as to what it means to be a leader and how to develop strong leadership skills. What happens after that? When you find yourself in a … Read More

Importance of Supporting Small Businesses

Posted by Luke BradyPosted on January 14, 2022Community

For many years when shopping for a good or need we look for the cheapest option. The cheapest option however often resides in a mainstream, global corporation. While this can sometimes be the easiest option for us at the time, we forget a much more valuable and important option exists. Often times the people behind these corporations do not care … Read More

Controlling Feed Costs

Posted by Carrie WilkinsonPosted on January 12, 2022Ag

Although farmer yields last year were higher, giving crop farmers a higher income than expected, farmers are always looking for ways to control costs. This allows farmers to budget for smaller crop yields, and for livestock farmers it allows them to grow their operations. There are so many costs of operating a livestock farm, but feed is the only cost … Read More

Farewell to 2021- Important Business Takeaways

Posted by Luke ImslandPosted on January 3, 2022Operations & Processes

In 2020, we were pretty tired of hearing the “new normal” phrase, yet here we are, smack in the middle of our new normal. Your business may have thrived, or maybe you’re still picking up the pieces. Either way, 2021 has left us with important takeaways as we look forward to 2022. The Future is Virtual We started to learn … Read More