How to Determine the Health of Your Farm Operation
How is your operation doing? To help you understand the current financial health of your farm operation, use this Farm Financial Scorecard of ratios and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (see downloadable pdf below) from the Farm Financial Standards Council. Select two measures for each category. Then calculate and determine if your measure indicates whether your […]
How to Create an Income Statement For Your Farm
An income statement shows the revenue and expenses of your operation over the course of a year. The difference in revenue and expenses is the net farm income. Use this template, adapted from Northwest Farm Credit Services and the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, to track these items for the year. Your income statement is […]
How to Create a Cash Flow Statement For Your Farm
A series of cash flow statements will allow you to see or project your ability to meet cash payment obligations. It can also show you when you might have excess cash available to pay ahead on existing liabilities. Cash flow statements can be completed on intervals tailored for the operation such as monthly or quarterly. […]
How to Create a Balance Sheet For Your Farm
Your balance sheet is a snapshot of what your farm looks like today. At a current point in time, a balance sheet will show you what you own and what you owe. Below is a downloadable balance sheet from Northwest Farm Credit Services, Noble Research Institute LLC, and the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, that […]
Are You Running a Marginal Farm Business?
There are plenty of worthy ideas floating around about ways to improve the economics of the cattle business, and it’s hard to choose which one is most important. According to the National Grazing Lands Coalition, the business of understanding the concept of margin is critically important to improving our economic outcome. The formula really is […]
What is Estate Planning and Why Should a Rancher Embrace It?
Estate planning is the process of accumulating, preserving and distributing assets to achieve your financial goals during your lifetime, as well as to provide for your heirs according to your wishes at death. As such, estate planning is not a one-time event. Instead, it is an ongoing process designed to accomplish accumulation, preservation and distribution […]
Understanding Farm Business Transfer Strategies
Transferring the farm business from one generation to the next can take several years. This is due, in part, to the large amount of capital involved, explain Gary Hachfeld, former extension educator; David Bau, extension educator, and C. Robert Holcomb, extension educator, University of Minnesota Extension. This time of transfer can also be used to share knowledge, […]
Tips To Better Communication During Farm Succession Planning
Farming together requires good communication, mutual respect and trust. It is necessary for everyone to be willing to give and take. This is probably the most stressful part of farming, explain Gary Hachfeld, former extension educator; David Bau, extension educator, and C. Robert Holcomb, extension educator, University of Minnesota Extension. While this is not impossible, farmers should […]
Transitioning The Ranch: How to Figure Out What This Might Look Like
When you begin discussions on what transitioning your ranch might look like, the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef recommends you and your children answer each of these questions to help better shape your planning decisions and the future of your operation. Questions to Ask Parents: Questions to Ask Children: In this video, Elaine Froese, farm […]
10 Ways Family Members Sabotage the Implementation of a Ranch Transition Plan
Estate planning is a process that is often avoided because it deals with issues regarding people, property, laws and taxes – issues that family members may not be ready to think about. But planning an estate can benefit every agricultural family. The process of creating a plan reduces the stress and uncertainty of not talking […]