PDPW Financial Literacy for Dairy Training Series to Kick Off in November 2021

Three levels of dairy-focused training to take financial understanding, skills to the next level

 

The fast-changing and volatile nature of today’s dairy industry make it even more critical for farms of all sizes to have a clear understanding of their finances and use that understanding to build a plan for the future.

The PDPW Financial Literacy for Dairy program, presented by the Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW), is a multi-level, multi-session financial development program designed to provide dairy farmers, veterinarians, nutritionists and other agribusiness professionals a solid financial understanding and foundation, then stretch their thinking to broader concepts.

“Financial Literacy for Dairy is the only financial development program designed specifically for the dairy industry with examples and scenarios that are directly applicable to the attendees,” said Shelly Mayer, PDPW Executive Director and dairy producer from Slinger, Wis.  “The multi-session format also allows attendees to begin implementing new processes at their farm, then come back to the next session with any questions or challenges they’ve experienced.”

Attendees will participate in the course level best suited to them, based on an online assessment at registration. All classes will be held at PDPW Headquarters in Juneau, Wis., with space limited to 30 attendees per level.  Sessions are scheduled for:

• Level One –Sessions will be held Nov. 10-11 and Dec. 8-9, 2021
• Level Two – Sessions will be held Jan. 19-20, Feb. 9-10, and Mar. 2-3, 2022
• Level Three – Sessions will be held Mar. 23-24

Level One will be taught by dairy financial experts Gary Sipiorski, agricultural business and financial consultant, and Dr. Kevin Bernhardt, Professor of Agribusiness at UW-Platteville, and will focus on core financial concepts like the balance sheet, cash income statement and cash flow budgeting, to set the stage for more practical application, improved business management and more effective lender relationships.  Sipiorski and Bernhardt will also facilitate sessions for Level Two, with the training moving to broader concepts and a deeper look at more comprehensive financial tools and reporting methods, including ratios and analysis.

Dick Wittman, Wittman Consulting, leads the Level Three training, which covers advanced concepts in several core areas including using budgeting tools for planning and performance monitoring, trend analysis, strategies for optimizing capital purchases, managing family business investment capital, and more.

The “Count On Us” program is available through several partner lenders, financial institutions and consultants who are willing to provide partial scholarships to dairy producers who participate in the PDPW Financial Literacy for Dairy program.  Class attendees will pay the training program fee to PDPW upon registration, then consult with their “Count on Us” partners to determine the scholarship amount.  A full list of participating partners is available on the PDPW website.

Space is limited to the first 30 registrations per level. To register, visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDPW at 1-800-947-7379. Registered attendees will receive an email from PDPW with a link to complete an online placement test to be properly placed into Level 1, 2, or 3, and will receive notification of level placement immediately upon submission of test.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”