John Murray MN State Colleges and Universities

Publish Date: July 31, 2007

Strategic planning is a process that managers must do to keep a business going long term. Why is strategic planning important for farming businesses? Strategic planning looks outward and inward at the business, considers all available resources, and evaluates past performances. It focuses on managing interactions with competitors, neighbors, government agencies, suppliers, customers, special interest groups, and others. The primary purpose of strategic planning is to keep the business in step with a changing environment. It anticipates the future and considers the future but does not attempt to predict it.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

To look at financing swine operations, I think we have to look at where we have been in the past and what we will do in the future. Historically, swine production has been a profitable enterprise. However, the market collapse of 1998 has caused many producers to re-evaluate their position in the industry. Only those producers that are willing to respond and adapt to an ever changing marketplace will prove to be successful. I hope this paper gives you an outline to what we will look at as lenders providing capital into the swine industry.