SHEEP Counting

Explained By A Sheep Farming Banker

For those that do not know me, I have been in Agricultural banking for most of the last 10 years. In that time, I have lived in three different states, financed projects in seven different states and had the privilege to work with some of the best producers and lending institutions you will ever meet. My professional life has revolved around row crop, cattle and most recently poultry lending. All sectors have their merits, but I have always said if you want to know what a person truly believes in, ask them how they spend THEIR money and where they spend THEIR time. Obviously, there are restrictions and exceptions to this statement, but the basic premise holds true in most situations. So, to answer my own question; in addition to day job, my wife, kids, and I also have a small flock of Dorpers.

Our journey into the Dorper business was a little unorthodox. However, what it comes down to is a few common key elements that bankers/financial people think and talk about frequently. I’ve been told by several individuals that sometimes these common elements can be confusing for people that don’t deal with them all the time. Everything an operation/business goes through reflects on their balance sheet and income statement in some way. The elements that dictate decision making are the numbers on these two documents. I’m going to spend the rest of this article discussing what these elements are, how they work and what your banker sees when you bring these documents to them. If you run your operation on your own cash, the information below still applies and should be the dashboard for how well you operation is performing.