Financial Fluency: How to read the numbers - Emerging Farmer Learning Series
April 8, 2026 12:00PM - 1:30PM
Featured Speaker: Andy Larson, Farm Program Manager, Food Finance Institute of the Universities of Wisconsin System
Hosts:
- Jazmin Bolan-Williamson, Farm and Food Business Coordinator, Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems
- Erin Elly, Technical Assistance Manager, Michigan Good Food Fund
To provide support for Michigan farmers and food business owners, Michigan’s Emerging Farmers and the Michigan Good Food Fund are partnering to host a free webinar series focused on key business topics. This farmer training series will cover a range of subjects, including value-chain coordination, customer insights, preparing for financing, and more.
These virtual sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 12-1:30pm, March 4-April 15, 2026. During each 90-minute session, experienced subject matter experts will lead a presentation before transitioning to breakout rooms among participants. These sessions will be hosted live for interactive discussions, as well as recorded and shared for later viewing.
Meet this Week's Speaker
Andy loves to get to know his clients in-depth and provide critical consulting in areas key to farm financial and organizational health. Andy has expertise in strategic farm business and marketing planning, farm financial statements and projections, agricultural credit and loan structure, loan guarantees and credit enhancements, farm succession and intergenerational transition, and grantsmanship.
Before joining FFI, Andy worked as an Agriculture and Commercial Loan Officer at German American State Bank, where he had the opportunity to provide commercial credit to scores of local farmers and family businesses in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Andy worked with numerous conventional dairy and row crop farmers but also placed special emphasis on building his loan portfolio with more unconventional farmers pursuing alternative enterprises for niche markets, ranging from grass-fed meats to farmstead cheese to fresh fruits and vegetables.
Prior to his time at the bank, Andy spent a decade working in Extension for Iowa State University and the University of Illinois, focusing his educational programming on the business and marketing side of small farms, local foods, and sustainable agriculture. He worked with beginning farmers in the startup phase, on through to long-established farmers looking to transition the family farm business to the next generation. Concurrently, Andy also held the role of state coordinator for North Central SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), where he gained experience in grantsmanship and professional development for outreach educators in sustainable ag.
About Michigan Good Food Fund
Michigan Good Food Fund invests in food and farm entrepreneurs across the state, offering flexible financing and tailored business assistance to grow a more resilient, inclusive local food system. We meet entrepreneurs where they are, connect them with what they need, and build long-term relationships that help their businesses thrive. As we work toward a more resilient, inclusive food industry, we focus on entrepreneurs whose access to power and capital has been historically limited because of their race, ethnicity, and/or gender. Our efforts are guided by the shared vision of our Stakeholder Board, a diverse group of entrepreneurs, farmers, funders, and policymakers with deep roots in Michigan. Learn more at https://migoodfoodfund.org/
About Michigan’s Emerging Farmers
Our statewide program aims to create pathways to growth and economic opportunity for all of Michigan’s agricultural producers, including small- to mid-sized farmers. This project is funded by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, in a cooperative agreement with members of the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, Michigan State University Extension, and Michigan Food and Farming Systems (MIFFS).
This work is supported by the American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Initiative program, project award no. 2023-70417-39233, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
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