Klinefelter One of Three Keynote Speakers for 59th Annual Hard Spring Wheat Show

The Wheat Show committee has invited Dr. Danny Klinefelter, Texas A&M University and Texas AgriLife Extension economist, to serve as one of three keynote speakers for this year’s 59th Annual National Hard Spring Wheat Show, scheduled for Feb. 6-8 at the Airport International Inn, Williston. Klinefelter will deliver two presentations on Tuesday, Feb. 7 beginning at 9 a.m. and through these discussions will present new ideas, stimulate thought and provide attendees with useful information to take home and put to use in their farming operation. “Dr. Klinefelter was to speak last year, but due to storms, he was unable to get here,” says Williams County Extension agent Warren Froelich. “We have asked him back this yaer as he is well-known for his understanding of Ag economics.”

Klinefelter’s first presentation, entitled “Twelve Best Management Practices” begins at 9 a.m. For the past two decades, Klinefelter has directed a program entitled “The Executive Program for Ag Producers (TEPAP)” which features the best farmers and ranchers in America. From these top farmers and ranchers, Klinefelter has culled 12 practices that these outstanding farmers and ranchers routinely follow. Klinefelter also selected these management practices to discuss because anyone can implement them. “These are not necessarily the twelve best management practices, but they are twelve practices that any producer can do if he makes them a priority,” Klinefelter remarks. “If someone is looking for ways to get better and to improve his operation, this is a good way to start. These practices require some work, but you don’t need much to put them into place. I will focus on what farmers and ranchers can do for their operation by using practices that improve profitability, and that anyone can implement if he wants to.”

Klinefelter will present his second talk at 1:45 p.m., when he discusses ‘Being Prepared to Borrow in a Risk Management Environment’. He has built this presentation around 12 questions that a producer needs to answer and support before he approaches a lender for credit. “I’ll talk about the financial components of a business plan,” Klinefelter comments. “If a person is prepared at this level, he is very well prepared. Even if a banker does not ask all these questions, a producer still needs to know the answers to these questions if he wants to remain profitable.”

The Ag community has experienced a great volatility and a higher premium on risk management in the past several years, and Klinefelter believes this trend will not change. “We’ll never go back to the way it was,” he says. “The bar has been raised as businesses become more complex. People who don’t succeed may work very hard, but being singularly focused is not enough.”

He continues, “People better be good at the business, but there are a few things that differentiate the top producers from the rest of the pack. Everyone is concerned with low costs, good information, and a focus on marketing, but these factors alone are not enough. It takes these basics to stay in the game, but to get to the top, a person needs more than this.”

Klinefelter points out that people need financial smarts, otherwise known as risk management skills. “Marketing encompasses purchasing as well as selling,” he notes. “Farmers need to know how to purchase as well as how to sell. They need to take advantage of opportunities. There are opportunities that arise during the year. I will talk about these opportunities and talk about how to handle risk. Risk brings opportunities but a farmer needs to know how to capitalize on this and he needs to have a plan put together. I will discuss the different practices that the better managers follow.”

Besides his role as professor and extension economist with Texas A&M and Texas AgriLife extension, Klinefelter also directs TEPAP and co-directs the Texas A&M Family and Owner-Managed Business program. He also serves as president of his family’s Illinois farm corporation.

Klinefelter has authored or coauthored eight books and over 400 articles on management and finance. He was named Honor Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 2006, and in 2009 the 25th anniversary issue of the Top Producer Magazine listed him as one of 25 people in the world who will have the greatest influence on the future of American agriculture. Klinefelter received the American Agricultural Editors Association’s Distinguished Service to Agriculture in 2010.

Klinefelter will deliver a powerful, thought-provoking presentation that can only aid the agricultural sector to improve.