Unless we increase farm household incomes, young farmers will continue to leave agriculture. And without skilled farmers, we cannot begin to rebuild local farm profits, soils, and farm communities.
Charts seven and eight in this USDA data set show clearly that millions of working farmers are in risky financial territory. These farmers are subsidizing their operations (and our food system) with off-farm income.
Food Chains
We are building local and regional food chains. Our company is focused on increasing farm household incomes by reducing farm operating costs, rebuilding soils, contracting with local and regional processors, and most importantly, developing successful farmer-owned retail food brands.
Given the nature of the farm commodity business model, local and regional farmer-owned brands cannot succeed without fair contracts across the food chain.
Regenerative and Organic Production Units
We are using landowner-controlled production units as starting points in building economies-of-scale with fair food chain contracts into local and regional brand development programs.
These units will include nearby farms leased by the landowners to a farmer that they select. In other words, four farms, one operator.
Free Business Plans
Once we have an interested group of neighboring landowners, we will schedule informal meetings to explain our services. These services include free business plans for selected landowners.
These plans will include recommendations for easy-to-use interactive accounting programs. These programs will help farmers, local accounts, and financial advisors collect and analyze data that links farming practices and markets to household incomes from farming, as outlined above.
We will begin each local planning project by asking retired and working farmers to estimate monthly and annual household and farm expenses. Determining how much off-farm and farm income goes to households and farms is essential to reducing financial risks from farming and from life in general. Next come capital and operating cost estimates.
Our preliminary and final business plans will include,
• Recommendations for interactive on-line accounting services
• Farmland lease/purchase suggestions
• Operator interviews and recommendations
• Strategies to reduce and eliminate chemical and equipment costs
• Forward contracts with specialty and organic commodity buyers
• Consumer brand development contracts with local direct sellers
• Consultations with local legal and financial advisors on,
o Lease/purchase terms
o Farmland succession
o Financing
• Local public and investor information programs
Skilled Production Unit Farm Managers
Once a group of landowners is interested in forming a production unit, we move on to finding the right unit manager. These farmers must be able to help us (farmland owners) build economies-of-scale for regenerative and organic markets. This work includes interacting with our professional marketing team. However, we are not asking farmers to manage markets. Our marketing partners will handle the details and provide regular financial reports to farmers, landowners, and investors.
Qualified Local Investors
Building production units and brands with farm debt is out of the question. Our public information programs are designed to attract qualified local investors who agree to sit at the same tale with landowners and farmers.
ROI
My company and partners do not buy, sell, manage, or finance farms. ROI for our services will come from the future income shared by landowners, production unit managers, and local investors. We will not require liens on land, livestock, or equipment.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Our production unit concept and related services are based on an old idea in farming – neighbors helping neighbors to harvest a crop or raise a new bran. But in this context, neighbors can help each other make farms and farm communities profitable (sustainable) with landowner-controlled production units and farmer-owned food brands.
Demonstration projects are being planned around our Bennington, Nebraska and Massena, Iowa farms.
Please contact me to learn more.
Thank you.
Jim Steffen, President
Massena Corporation
402-317-2639
jim@massenafarms.com
Posted 05-07-2025