Next Step Agribusiness Conference seeks to help farms professionalize

Zane Erickson came back to his family farm in eastern North Dakota in 2009, but he quickly saw that the farm wouldn't support his parents, himself and his brother. "Dad was a, what I call a lifestyle farmer. So just, he did the work. He didn't, wasn't a businessman. He just went to work every day, spent little money, you know, worked really hard, did a good job farming," Erickson explained. Erickson started North Star Ag — originally a seed sales company that evolved into a short line machinery dealership — the same year he returned to the farm. In time, he saw that the farm would have to change to survive into the future, as farms were increasing in size and complexity. Over the years, he and his family have tackled transition planning, adding employees and becoming a more professional operation. Now Erickson wants to help others farmers learn from the experiences he and his family have had and improve their communication and business skills. North Star Ag will host t