It’s the end of the year. The farm made money. What’s the traditional play? Buy a tractor. Or a truck. Or anything with a price tag big enough to shrink that tax bill.

There’s another option—one that puts money back into your pocket instead of sitting in the shed. A small business retirement plan. And before you say, “Retirement? I’ll work ‘til I die”. Ok, then consider it your small business financial independence plan.

Traditional financial planning works well for many families and business owners, but farming isn’t just another business. It’s deeply tied to land, weather, community, and values in ways that standard financial models don’t always capture. It’s cyclical, volatile, and influenced by forces beyond human control.

The result? A gap—not because financial professionals lack expertise, but because they’re often applying the wrong playbook.

Most farmers I talk to don’t have a financial plan. They have a bookkeeping system (or a shoebox full of receipts). They have a tax preparer (or a last-minute scramble in March). They might even have a business budget. But a real financial plan? One that helps them build wealth, make smart money moves, and align their money with their values? Not so much.

And here’s why that’s a problem:

Money that doesn’t have a plan gets spent.