FP&A Today

The episode contains solid operational and financial insights specific to commodity agriculture and dairy operations, including working capital management, labor productivity controls, and dynamic forecasting requirements. However, much of the conversation circles back to established principles (seasonality impacts, commodity pricing volatility, supply-driven planning) without dense novel claims per minute. Substantial portions involve career narrative and background that, while contextual, dilute insight density.

“it's supply side driven. Right. We don't control the Amount of milk we receive through our facilities, it comes from our dairy members. And the similar like with the crops in a blueberry crop or whatever it's like what is, you know the yield could be what the yield is. Um, and then you have to figure out where to, where to put that in the most value add, you know, uh, end product or sales channel, uh, to maximize return.”

“on the like the midstream operations side, it's really labor management. Um, that's the biggest lever you can control. And I think in like the first few years we saved several million dollars and just flexing that labor, being very diligent and reviewing and having you know, weekly touch points with the operations team”

Brad presents competent but largely conventional thinking about commodity business management. The core ideas - managing yield volatility, dynamic forecasting, labor as controllable lever, working capital intensity in agriculture - are standard industry practice rather than contrarian or first-principles insights. His observation about vertical integration unlocking value is sensible but not novel. The conversation lacks counterintuitive takes or frameworks that challenge how operators typically think about the space.

“you have to be dynamic in terms of your planning and forecasting because it is so it's supply side driven.”

“you have to have the levers, you have to have the scenarios. Um, and you have to show like you're taking the, the right steps in terms of, to maximize the profits. Um, and, and the return based on the hand you've been dealt.”

Brad is a relevant, hands-on FP&A operator with ~9 months in a Director role at a major cooperative and prior experience building FP&A functions from scratch at Agriculture Capital across 29 portfolio companies. He has seen multiple commodity and perishable product segments (tomatoes, blueberries, citrus, dairy, spices) and has worked in advisory at Grant Thornton. He demonstrates operational credibility and relevant domain expertise. However, he is not a C-suite executive with multi-decade tenure or a venture-scale operator, limiting his tier relative to the very best B2B guests.

“Brad is the director of FPA at California Dairies, one of the largest dairy co ops in the country where he supports planning and commercial finance across a business that lives at the intersection of manufacturing operations and commodity driven markets.”

“he was looking to build out an FPA team. He knew I would understand product, understand markets, and I was super analytical that. So he was like, you know, we're starting from scratch. And so there was, ah, like a little trailer outside of our processing facility in Duba, California, which is middle of nowhere. Um, and we started there with like 12 to 14 people, uh, scaled that, that business up”

The episode includes concrete operational examples (labor cost savings of 'several million dollars' through flexing, 364MB Excel workbooks, weekly 6:30-7:00 AM standup meetings, 9-month working capital cycles, 4-7 year payback horizons on tree crops, 12-15 year cumulative cash flow timelines, federal milk marketing order pricing). However, most dollar figures and metrics lack specific attribution, exact timing, or comparative context. The guest rarely cites named external data sources beyond vague references to USDA data and CME commodities. Examples are illustrative rather than forensically detailed.

“I think in like the first few years we saved several million dollars and just flexing that labor, being very diligent and reviewing and having you know, weekly touch points with the operations team”

“My tomato model and I had, I think it was like 364 megs. My Excel workbook, obviously, calculations off all the way.”

The host Glenn Hopper asks reasonable setup questions and allows Brad to develop answers fully, but rarely pushes back, challenges claims, or digs into contradictions. The conversation follows a gentle, exploratory tone rather than a rigorous probing one. Host misses several opportunities to challenge - e.g., Brad claims FP&A should avoid backward-looking analytics yet describes weekly variances; claims agility in planning yet acknowledges federal pricing orders arrive weeks late. Follow-ups tend to extend narrative rather than interrogate assumptions. The interview reads more like a mentorship conversation than a peer challenging conversation.

“Today we're going to dig into how FPA stays decision useful in industries where volatility is part of the operating model and what that teaches finance teams about forecasting, risk and business partnering.”

“So what are you looking for daily, uh, weekly, monthly or whatever that's going to impact and it's an actual lever that makes a difference in the business.”