FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – Ag service providers working with small to mid-scale producers on business decision-making have a series of resource tools available to them that address profitability management challenges faced by those in the industry.
Through a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) Professional Development Program Grant, the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) developed several webinars to help farmers track financial data, analyze data and make sound business decisions for increased farm profitability.
“Our intent is to equip more assistance providers, who are often the primary information contacts for farmers, with the tools to aid their clients in a whole systems way by discussing recordkeeping and business decision-making within the context of production and marketing,” said Southern SAWG’s executive director, Steve Muntz.
The webinars, part of a larger educational effort that involved training workshops in Alabama, Kentucky and Texas, are an extension of Southern SAWG’s “Growing Farm Profits” program, which is aimed at producers to improve their business management skills.
“A number of ag professionals who attended our Growing Farm Profits courses asked for further training on integrating business education and recordkeeping in their production and marketing assistance,” said Muntz. “This project was specifically developed for ag professionals so they can conduct their own trainings and incorporate the educational techniques and tools into their on-going outreach and assistance to producers.”
The webinars include: Record Keeping for Profit Management for Vegetable Growers, Cost-Benefit Analysis for Vegetable Equipment Purchasing Decisions, Schedule F vs. Profitability Accounting for Vegetable Farming, Depreciation and Profitability Management, and Preparing Farmers to Meet with Lenders.
“Profitability is critical to the sustainability of agriculture,” said Muntz. He hopes the trainings that were conducted and the webinars developed expand the assistance to more farmers beyond the success of the “Growing Farm Profits” program. The trainings and tools were developed under SSARE project ES13-118, "Training and Tools for Assisting Small and Mid-scale Producers in Horticulture Crops with Business Decisions."
Southern SAWG is a nonprofit organization that works with institutions, organizations and other entities across the Southern region to foster a movement towards a more sustainable farming and food system.
Published by the Southern Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Southern SARE operates under cooperative agreements with the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture to offer competitive grants to advance sustainable agriculture in America's Southern region. This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, under sub-award number: ES13-118. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.