David Kohl
Contributing Writer at Farm Progress
Articles
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2 days ago |
farmprogress.com | David Kohl
One of the highlights of my academic career was being elected by my industry peers to facilitate the United States Farm Financial Standards Task Force. Born from the 1980s Farm Crisis, our mission brought together lenders, government officials, academic leaders, and producers to develop standardized financial ratios that could measure agricultural financial performance regardless of operation size or enterprise type.
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6 days ago |
farmprogress.com | David Kohl
The rapid consolidation of American agriculture becomes increasingly apparent whether you're analyzing farm numbers or simply observing the landscape through your truck windshield. During a recent pre-dawn drive across southern Minnesota, with the moon sitting low on the horizon, decades of rural transformation came into sharp focus. What stands out most? Fewer yard lights dotting the countryside. Fewer farmsteads. Larger fields stretching into the distance.
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2 weeks ago |
farmprogress.com | David Kohl
The harsh economic reality has arrived like a frost in spring—particularly for grain and row crop producers. Last year wasn't just bad; it was a historic profit buster. For years in this column, I've drawn upon the gold standard of agricultural financial data: FINBIN from the Center for Farm Financial Management at University of Minnesota.
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3 weeks ago |
wheatlife.org | David Kohl
With over 10 million miles of air travel — equivalent to 18 trips to the moon and back — I still find turbulence unsettling. The same applies to managing an agricultural business amid today’s economic uncertainties, driven by geopolitics, conflicts, societal trends, and Mother Nature. Navigating this requires a focus on controllable factors and adaptability to external disruptions. Like flying through turbulence, economic uncertainty can trigger decision paralysis.
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3 weeks ago |
farmprogress.com | David Kohl
When my neighbor, Bob, shared his weathered hands across the fence line, I shook hands with living history—a man whose eyes had witnessed the ravages of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic when three of his brothers died while he survived a 106-degree fever. He felt the economic stranglehold of the Smoot-Hawley tariffs, endured the desperate years of the Great Depression, and survived the global chaos of both World Wars.
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