Fearless Farm Finances

Fearless Farm Finances is a one-of-a-kind resource packed with instructions, tips and tools for setting up and managing a farm's financial system. The 2nd edition offers new information and templates for those setting up paper-based systems, a new chapter on farm transition, as well as a new layout and updated resources.

Resource added for the Farm Business and Production Management program 300901.

What makes a farm sustainable and successful? And what special qualities and skills are needed for someone to become a successful farmer? Rebecca Thistlethwaite addresses these and other crucial questions in this uniquely important book, which is a must-read for anyone who aspires to get into farming, or who wants to make their farm business more dynamic, profitable, and, above all, sustainable. Over an entire year, the author and her husband-experienced farmers themselves-took a sabbatical and traveled the length and breadth of the United States to live and work alongside some of the nation's most innovative farmers. Along the way they learned about best practices, and a whole lot about what doesn't work. Farms with a Future shares this collective wisdom in an inspirational yet practical manner; it will help beginners avoid many of the common mistakes that first-time farmers make. Just as importantly, it discusses positive ideas that can help make any farm enterprise vibrant and financially profitable. Profiles of more than a dozen representative farms help round out the invaluable information and encourage farmers to embrace their inner entrepreneur. Younger growers, in particular, will benefit by learning about "the right stuff" from both their peers and longtime experts.This book provides a useful reference for beginning and experienced farmers alike. While many other books address agricultural production, there are very few that talk about business management for long-term sustainability. Farms with a Future offers an approachable, colorful take on building a triple-bottom-line farming business.

The first practical, hands-on guide for female farmers Women in agriculture are sprouting up in record numbers, but they face a host of distinct challenges and opportunities. Blending What Color is Your Parachute-style career advice with sustainable agriculture practices viewed through a gender lens, Soil Sisters provides a wealth of invaluable information for fledging female farming entrepreneurs. The first manual of its kind, this authoritative and comprehensive blueprint presents practical considerations from a woman's perspective, covering everything from business planning to tool use and ergonomics to integrating children and family in farm operations. Key topics include: Finding your niche: mid-life encore careers, young & beginning, boomerangs and more From concept to crop: diversified farm start-up basics Resources, grants & loans for women farmers. Soil Sisters also contains case studies, inspirational ideas and savvy advice nuggets from over 100 successful women farmers and advocates. Targeted specifically to members of the fastest-growing demographic in local agriculture, this highly readable guide is practical and pragmatic "Chick Lit" for today's food scene.

“Flower Farming for Profit does a deep dive into the least glamorous, but most important part of farming—how to run a profitable business. This must-have book is incredibly thoughtful, well organized, and brimming with real-life examples. Lennie’s down-to-earth, no-nonsense approach to the numbers is a breath of fresh air.”—Erin Benzakein, owner, Floret Farm; New York Times bestselling author of Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers With practical, step-by-step instructions and on-the-ground examples at every scale, Flower Farming for Profit is a comprehensive, beautiful guide to achieving profitability as a cut flower farmer. When Lennie Larkin set out to become a flower farmer, she found all sorts of resources about growing flowers but a scarcity of reliable information on how to build a profitable cut flower business. How do you create efficient systems and adequately value your own time and effort through your pricing? When and how should you consider scaling up your farm? How can you make doing what you love support you financially? In Flower Farming for Profit, Larkin answers these questions—and many, many more. With instructive lessons and savvy business tips from her own and other successful farms around the world, she explores: The diverse challenges of both wholesale and retail sales channels, from florists and farm stands to farmers markets Streamlining weddings for the farmer-florist, from communications to floral design Efficient recordkeeping and bookkeeping Steps for conducting your own cost-of-production analysis Marketing and growth strategies Business planning, goal setting, and making financial projections Crop planning based on local climatic conditions, market demand, and sales projections The cut flower industry continues to experience wild growth. To successfully do what they love while expanding the market for sustainably produced flowers, new and experienced farmers alike must deliberately step back from the field and into the office. Flower Farming for Profit is a one-of-a-kind guide to creating the type of numbers-driven business that will allow individual farms to prosper and local flower economies to thrive.

Small is beautiful, and these 15 real farm plans show that small-scale farmers can have big-time success. Compact Farms is an illustrated guide for anyone dreaming of starting, expanding, or perfecting a profitable farming enterprise on five acres or less. The farm plans explain how to harness an area’s water supply, orientation, and geography in order to maximize efficiency and productivity while minimizing effort. Profiles of well-known farmers such as Eliot Coleman and Jean-Martin Fortier show that farming on a small scale in any region, in both urban and rural settings, can provide enough income to turn the endeavor from hobby to career. These real-life plans and down-and-dirty advice will equip you with everything you need to actually realize your farm dreams.

Provides step-by-step instructions on how to make crop production more efficient and offers advice on farm operations, managing employees, and office procedures, along with a DVD featuring a workshop and an interview with the author.