6 Ways to Protect Your Farm’s Financial Future

In this episode, financial adviser and first-generation cattle producer Blake Miller said cash flow is the key to farm success. He shared retirement planning tips for farmers and offered strategies for protecting the family farm and building wealth.

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Meet Blake Miller

Despite growing up in suburban Atlanta and having no background in agriculture, when COVID hit in 2020, Miller said, “I wanted to learn about raising my own food and having that supply chain localized.”

He said he started watching farming videos on YouTube and sent a letter to around 30 local farmers, telling them he was interested in learning about agriculture and offering his help on their farms for free. “I had one guy that responded back,” he said. “Every weekend, pretty much for the next 18 months, I was over there helping him, feeding cows in the morning, rotating pastures, working cows — the whole nine yards. It was just a really cool experience.”

In the summer of 2022, Miller said he asked his mentor if he could keep a few cattle of his own on the farm. His mentor agreed. Miller bought his first bred Gelbvieh heifer at an online auction when his wife was eight months pregnant. “It was an interesting conversation,” Miller recalled, “when I came upstairs to our room at 9 at night saying, ‘Hey, I just bought a cow.'”

Miller now runs 40 head of Gelbvieh and Balancer (Angus-Gelbvieh cross) cattle on Marble Creek Farms, 120 acres of leased ground north of Atlanta. He sells beef and genetics from his herd.

When he’s not working on the farm, Miller is a financial planner. He offered these insights for farmers:

1. Establish a cash-flow system to help navigate an inconsistent income and fluctuating expenses. He suggested the three-bucket method: a main account where all income is deposited, an account for paying bills, and an account to cover unexpected expenses.
2. Know your monthly living expenses. “Most people don’t know their overhead for their household,” he said. “That number is important today, but it’s also important in retirement because your assets need to replace that in order for you to be able to retire.”
3. Diversify investments so all money isn’t being put back into the farm. “We want to have diversity, so in a bad year, there’s another bucket of money we can go to if we need it,” he said.
4. Start succession planning early and use life insurance and nonfarm assets to provide an inheritance for nonfarming heirs. “If you pass away and the farm is your only asset, ultimately, the farm is going to be split up, or one person’s getting the farm and the other person’s getting nothing, and that just creates tension,” he said. “It ruins families.”
5. Read as much as you can about investing and financial planning, but choose your sources carefully.
6. Have a good team around you to help with decisions. Interview accountants, attorneys, and other team members to make sure you’re on the same page and that you’ll enjoy working with them. Find members with knowledge of agriculture.

Episode Highlights

• Miller grew up in suburban Atlanta with no ag background, but decided he wanted to start farming during COVID.
• He wrote letters to local farmers offering free labor until one cattle producer agreed to mentor him.
• While his wife was eight months pregnant in 2022, Miller bought his first cow, then built a herd of 40 Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle on 120 acres of leased ground, and now direct-markets beef and genetics.
• He took advantage of USDA programs to rebuild fences and restore his overgrown farm.
• Miller said he draws on 11 years as a financial planner to explain why cash flow is critical for farmers.
• He said diversification, insurance, and investments can help protect farm and family.
• Miller stressed the need for early planning to avoid conflict when it comes to farm succession.

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Disclosure: Michael “Blake” Miller, Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. Ashford Advisors, Inc. is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. Ashford Advisors, Inc. is not registered in any state or with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Registered Investment Advisor. AR Insurance License Number – 17171768, CA Insurance License Number – 4094205.