333 | Can Your Farm Afford Transition? What the Numbers Need to Say with Steve Bodart
Transition Talks from the Farm Forward Conference
At the Farm Forward Conference, Uplevel Dairy Podcast host Peggy Coffeen interviews Steve Bodart of AgriGrowth Solutions about the financial side of family farm transition. Bodart explains his accrual-based financial consulting approach that connects production decisions to financial outcomes, benchmarks performance, and evaluates what both outgoing and incoming generations need and can afford. He emphasizes financial transparency so everyone hears the same message at the same time, and says succession is a journey requiring room for growth, disciplined debt payments, and honest discussions about cost of production, capital spending, and competitiveness.
Steve notes failures often stem from resisting change and poor communication without a facilitator. He advocates involving owners and capable mid-managers and giving younger generations responsibility for financial projects, such as analyzing how a transition barn can improve profitability.
AgriGrowth Solutions is a team of financial consultants with strong dairy backgrounds which represent and work for the best interests of dairy producers. The AGS team guides clients through their business’ financial position and assists in planning for their continued and future success.
Contact Steve Bodart, AgriGrowth Solutions: SteveBodart@agrigrowthsolutions.com
Visit: https://agrigrowthsolutions.com/
01:10 Meet Steve Bodart
01:50 What Steve Does
03:21 Financial Transparency
05:56 Planning for Growth
07:00 Building a Win Win Plan
09:42 Who Belongs in Meetings
11:20 Why Transitions Fail
14:44 Bringing Next Gen In
17:23 Real World Project Example
