Case 3. Rich and Sharon Eberman
The Ebermans take up a half page in the local phone book. The plat book for Sunrise Township shows an Eberman family on almost every corner. The entire family, with few exceptions, has remained close-knit and engaged in farming.
Rich Eberman was born in 1966 and grew up one of three brothers and four sisters on his family’s small farm. After graduating from high school in 1984, Rich enrolled in the commercial agriculture program at Iowa Community College. After a year of school he met Sharon Engman - a high school classmate. A year younger than Rich, Sharon was intent on completing her LPN.
Rich and Sharon each completed their education in 1987. They married two months after graduation. Richs parents had arranged for him to purchase his grandfather's 80-acre farm on a favorable contract. It had a comfortable home, older remodeled hog facilities, and a new machine shed. With a little help from the Eberman family network, Rich was able to rent an additional 320 acres. By trading labor for machinery with other family members, Rich got his corn and soybean operation started with minimal machinery investment. A year later, Sharon found a job at the local nursing home - a good job for the area, currently paying about $21,000 a year with excellent fringe benefits.
Over the past eight years they have slowly expanded their hog operation to 130 sows. Rich and Sharon are good managers – very adept at getting the most out of older facilities.
In 1991 Rich and Sharon became parents to a daughter, Heather, and a son, Cameron, in 1993. After a brief leave of absence Sharon went back to work full-time at the nursing home. Rich's mother provides child care in her home for Heather and Cameron along with two other cousins.
Last year Rich started working part-time for the local co-op. The co-op job pays about $10,000 a year – with enough flexibility to balance farm work demands with his off-farm job.
Rich's and Sharon's lifestyle is one of hard work, long hours, and hectic schedules. Vacations are limited to a long weekend once or twice a year - if they can get someone to do chores and cover for them at their off-farm jobs. They are committed to family it's all they have ever known. But
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Prepared by Robert W. Jolly and Alan Vontalge, Department of Economics, Iowa State University. This case is intended for educational purposes only. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
CS-ACS-3January 1999
both Sharon and Rich wonder if there will ever be any freedom from their relentless pace and a little cash for some fun.
Up to 1998, the Ebermans have made steady progress financially. They have built their net worth to a little more than $200,000. However, they still carry $200,000 of debt. Here are some key financial measures for the Ebermans – as they expected them to be in early 1998 and revised to reflect lower commodity prices likely in the years ahead.
Expected Revised
Net Farm Income $ 25,017 $( 7,123)
Off-Farm Income $ 32,000 $ 32,000
Net Cash Flow $ 47,017 $ 14,877
(available for principal payments)
Financial class Stable Stable
... and justice for all
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Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Stanley R. Johnson, director, Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa.