Preparing for the future

Kristy J. O'Hara

In the last few years, we’ve all seen and heard stories of growers who had to shut their doors, and some of those were because they couldn’t borrow the money they needed to improve their operations or stay afloat after a challenging season. Securing financing is critical when you’re looking at expanding and preparing for the future, and as we further emerge from the recession, banks are looking to lend more than they have in the past few years.

If you’re looking for a bank loan, we’ve got you covered this month. In our cover feature, we talked to experts about what you have to do to make your business attractive to a bank and how to prepare to ask for a loan before you even walk into the bank. The more work you do upfront before sitting down with your banker, the more likely you are to get the stamp of approval from them on your loan. We also look at how to work with your bank both not just when you’re seeking financing but also on a regular basis and how your banker should be a valued and trusted partner for your business.

In addition to our cover story, we also have a series of articles recapping some of the presentations from this year’s OFA Short Course. If you were unable to make it to Columbus, Ohio, this year, read some of the presenters’ summaries of their seminars in this feature. We also have a look at 10 holiday crops for your business, so if you’re looking to make some more money in the winter season, be sure to check out these varieties to try before you start preparing for the spring season again. And if you struggle with hiring good people for your business, you’ll want to check out our feature on hiring as well as our AAS feature for the month. In both, we talked to managers about the different tactics they incorporated to ensure they got better employees for their respective organizations.

As always, we’re here for you, so feel free to reach out to us and let us know if you like or don’t like an article. We hope you like your August issue, and we look forward to hearing from you.

kohara@gie.net
Twitter: @GMmagEditor