Mother Nature threw Dean Whitaker a big curveball in his
second year of farming. Basically, it didn't rain.
Armed with a degree in horticulture from Texas A&M, Dean
joined his dad, Less, in 2001 in a grain-production
enterprise at Claude, Texas. The following year was a pretty
good one even though it was dry. Then between Christmas 2002
and June 1, 2003, they only had 1 inch of moisture.
Wheat yielded only 19 bushels to the acre (far below
normal). By fall of 2003, the men expected much of their
milo crop to go unharvested.
It was not a cheery beginning, but young Whitaker is bracing
himself for a lifetime of such uncertainties. After all,
curveballs are part of the game.
Farming is something Dean has always wanted to do, but he
knows that's not all he'll be doing. He started back to
graduate school part time at West Texas A&M University this
fall. As an undergrad he worked for scientists, liked it and
can see himself as an ag researcher.
Huge numbers of producers have to supplement their farm
income with other jobs, and the Whitakers are joining that
crowd. Janda, Dean's wife, is attending Texas Tech pharmacy
school in nearby Amarillo, and Dean has tested to become a
licensed pesticide applicator.
A Plan for the future. He also is taking a hard look at the
real numbers of his main business. Tomorrow's Top Ag
Producers, a program designed by A&M agricultural
economists, is helping him do that. This and his dad's
honesty are helping Dean understand that the real numbers of
the business are crucial.
TTAP's ultimate goal is for all of its students to write a
business plan after four meetings over two years. But
there's plenty to be learned in the interim. Dean is using
the time to shore up his marketing and management skills,
which studying horticulture didn't teach him.
"As Amarillo grows, there may be opportunities for me to
diversify into pick-your-own and cut flowers," he says.
"Some of the other TTAP members are thinking about more
serious changes than we are. One is considering selling out,
moving and getting into organic vegetables; others are
making different changes."
Seeing Clearly. "Dean is coming into the business with his
eyes wide open," notes Stan Bevers, the A&M economist who
heads up TTAP. "There's nothing like a written plan to force
you to identify all aspects of your business."
Accounting isn't the most glamorous aspect of farming, but
it's critical. Bevers says it must go beyond cash
accounting.
"We'll continue to do cash record keeping, but we need to
manipulate the numbers to get good management information
too," the economist says. "This helps identify which
enterprises are making the money and which ones are dogs."
It shocks most people to look seriously into the business of
their operations and see how much it actually costs to farm.
"When people first see their overhead, they can't believe
it's as high as it is," Bevers says. "Everybody is doing
things as cheaply as they can. It's the structure underneath
those commodities (costs such as depreciation, repairs and
family living) that people don't realize is so expensive.
When you add those, you've got to get more per bushel of
corn or per pound of calf to make it pay."
There are only three ways to fix it� �� ��increase production,
decrease cost or increase the price you get for your
product.
"We've maxed out on production," Bevers says. "People all
agree with that; they just don't like to hear it."