Estimate completion time: 2 hours

In this unit, we dive into debt details, exploring what you need to know and how to manage it successfully. You’ll gain insights into understanding and evaluating debt, helping you use it strategically to align your farm business goals while maintaining strong lender relationships and avoiding common pitfalls.

Lessons: 

• The nature of debt
• The details of debt
• Using debt as a tool
• Working with lenders

Learning objectives: 

• Understand debt terms and gauge your risk level.
• Understand how to manage debt and effectively evaluate it.
• Prepare a summary of your operation’s debts.
• Recognize common missteps business owners take regarding debt – how to avoid and what to do instead.
• Understand the difference between productive and non-productive debts to decide where to invest resources.
• Better leverage lender relationships to support your operation – understand their role and lens (the information they require and why).