Whole Farm Management: From Start-Up to Sustainability
312
Whole Farm Management: From Start-Up to Sustainability
312eBook
Related collections and offers
Overview
This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781635860757 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Storey Publishing, LLC |
| Publication date: | 10/29/2019 |
| Sold by: | Hachette Digital, Inc. |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 312 |
| File size: | 52 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Starting and managing a farm business takes imagination. As you are hand-weeding that long row of garlic, tossing out hay for the livestock, or reflecting with your morning cup of coffee, it is important to dream about your farm business. In this first chapter, we encourage you to think about the values that you bring to the business, establish a vision and mission for your ideal farm, and set goals that will guide and inspire you as you move forward. To inform this creative process, you begin by working through an assessment of your farm business: the human resources — the personalities and skills of the people who form your farm team — as well as the natural resources of your property that influence your choices about what to grow and produce. If you do not yet own or lease a farm, this is a first step in organizing your thoughts to begin creating a plan for your future farm business.
BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:
• Outline a whole farm planning process that helps you achieve your personal and business goals.
• Identify the vision and values for your farm business.
• Write a draft mission statement for your farm business.
• Develop an inventory and assessment of the natural and physical resources that describe your farm (or potential farm).
• Identify your farm team and work with that group of people to build your farm business.
• Create a draft SWOT analysis for your farm business.
WHOLE FARM PLANNING
As a farmer, you need to make many interconnected decisions. What you do for one aspect of the farm affects or has implications for other parts of the farm. For example:
• The goals and desires you share with your family and other business partners directly affect the kind of farm business and mission statement you create.
• The infrastructure and equipment you have on your farm influence your choices of what you can grow and your ability to keep crops productive through cold or hot weather.
When taking a whole farm perspective, farmers and ranchers have to manage, or at least be aware of, many different components within the farm system. The Whole Farm Components illustration (page 000), with its various intersections and overlapping circles, shows how the different elements interrelate and affect each other.
WHOLE FARM COMPONENTS
HUMAN
• Farm team and employees
• Seasonal labor
• Family members
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Advisors
• Local community
PHYSICAL
• Soil
• Water
• Land features
• Infrastructure
• Equipment
BIOLOGICAL
• Crops
• Livestock
• Soil organisms
• Pests
• Wildlife
• Natural vegetation
FINANCIAL
• Marketing
• Profitability
• Financial accounting
• Liability
• Taxes
• Payroll
In this book, we focus on whole farm planning as a strategy to deal with this complexity. Whole farm planning helps you identify the many connections and interactions within the farm and develop an integrated approach to decision-making that considers all the components of the farm business — environmental, economic, and social. A whole farm plan:
• Provides a road map for the future
• Helps you plan for future profitability
• Provides a foundation from which to expand and/or change your farm business
• Serves as a reference document
• Is a flexible, "living" process that should be regularly
To assist you in developing your own whole farm plan, we include a whole farm plan template —23 separate worksheets (appendices 1–1 through 1–23) referenced throughout the book and identified by the Farm Plan icon. Where this icon appears, you will find a brief description of the worksheet, plus instructions or suggestions for completing the form.
Farm plan worksheets are also available as Adobe PDF forms at ((add Storey site name)). You can download the PDF forms to your computer and then type directly into them and save them for your personal use. Full instructions are provided on the website. If you complete all the worksheets, you will have a basic whole farm plan that you can continue developing as you grow your business.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Let us begin by looking at the social and human side of owning and operating a farm business.
• Who is involved in the farm business?
• What are your skills, both individually and collectively?
• What lifestyle do you envision?
• What is your relationship to your surrounding community?
Tasks and Responsibilities in a Farm Business
To begin answering those questions, it is important to first consider what is actually involved in running a farm business. What tasks and responsibilities are on a farmer's to-do list? An initial list might include the following:
• Grow crops
• Raise animals
• Develop relationships with the surrounding community
• Purchase and maintain tools and equipment
• Market farm products and Services
• Develop and update plans
• Access educational opportunities
• Comply with regulations
• Practice responsible land Stewardship
• Maintain balance sheets
• Keep production and accounting Records
• Hire and manage employees
• Finance farm operations
• Purchase seed, livestock, and Inputs
For a more complete picture of what farmers do, review the assessment worksheets in Exploring the Small Farm Dream, published by the New England Small Farm Institute (see Resources).
If you are farming solo, making decisions about these tasks is ultimately up to you.
However, if your farm business includes other family members or employees, their participation is going to be important. Including them in decisions — taking into account their ideas, thoughts, and feelings — can produce a better outcome overall and increase their buy-in and commitment to getting the work accomplished. This same principle applies as you develop your farm plan. Group decision-making is challenging, but the working relationships that develop over the long term will be worth it.
Each person on your farm team brings a unique set of skills, talents, and ideas to the business. The skills and preferences represented on your team will determine the answers to many business-related questions. For example:
• What will we produce on the farm?
• Can we purchase used equipment?
• What will be the best way to market our products?
• Will I need to pay for tax preparation?
• How much risk is our business willing to take on?
Your Lifestyle
In addition to assessing skills, talents, and preferences, it is important to think about the lifestyle you envision for yourself and your family. Owning and operating a farm offer a unique and rewarding life. Yet farming requires notoriously long hours and hard physical work, and farming can be a risky financial endeavor. In the whole farm planning process, be realistic about your farm business and verify that it is compatible with your life goals and dreams.
Exploring your quality of life is a subjective process aimed at evaluating how you want to be spending your time.
FARM PLAN
SKILLS ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET
Assess the skills and talents of your own farm team using the Farm Team Skills Assessment worksheet in appendix 1-1 (page 00). Fill out the table for your entire farm team. You can meet as a group to work on this. Or you might print a blank copy for each team member and have each work on it and then meet to discuss your responses. Consider the following questions as you work on this: What are your skills and talents? What do you enjoy doing? What kind of work gets you excited? Think broadly, not just about farming per se. For example, if you are organized and enjoy working with numbers, you may be interested in taking on record-keeping responsibilities.
Column 1: List task categories and sample skills.
Column 2: Write in all the skills represented within your farm team.
Column 3: There will most likely be gaps in skills that you think are needed. Write down those skills that are missing in your farm team and add a brief phrase about how you plan to get that skill (e.g., get training, hire someone, contract work on as-needed basis).
If you want to work through another, more-detailed assessment, take a look at the DACUM Occupational Profile: Northeast Small-Scale Farmer Self-Assessment Tool from the New England Small Farm Institute available online (see Resources).
QUALITY-OF-LIFE QUESTIONS
The Quality-of-Life Assessment worksheet (appendix 1-2; page 00) encourages you to explore your own views about the quality of life you desire. Work through the series of questions presented in the worksheet. Have other members of your farm team answer these questions for themselves, then discuss your answers with each other to see if you can come to a consensus where there are differences of opinion. It is okay to leave sections blank if you cannot complete the form at this time. You can return to the worksheet later to make any changes or additions.
Key questions include:
• What do you want from your life?
• What would make farming enjoyable and rewarding for you, your whole family, or farm team?
• What hopes do you have for your family and for your community?
• What contributes to your health, happiness, and cultural/spiritual needs?
Social Capital
As we wrap up this discussion of human resources, think about the community in which you live and work. Farms, like rural schools, provide a connection for communities. For many people, farms represent a set of values and a way of life. Farms can also be a focal point for social interaction and create a space where people come together around the common tasks of feeding ourselves and protecting the natural environment. These themes are all related to the concept of "social capital." Social capital refers to the collective value of all social networks within a region, and the tendencies that arise from these networks to do things that benefit each other. When you give to, and draw upon, the greater community, together you can solve common problems and strengthen the culture in your local area.
How do you begin building social capital for your own farm? First, consider what your farm can contribute to your community or region. Could your farm be used as a gathering place for a meeting or activity? Do you have surplus products at certain times of the year that could be donated? Are you an expert in a certain field in which you could share your knowledge?
Then work on the steps outlined below:
1. Assess your resources.
• Farm property
• Infrastructure
• Products generated on the farm
• You, the farmer
2. Get to know your neighbors and community.
3. Consider ways to work with other farmers.
• Ask for help or advice.
• Barter or trade.
• Share equipment.
4. Create a social network among your customers.
5. Hold a social and/or educational event on your farm.
CREATING AN IDENTITY FOR YOUR FARM
One of the most fundamental aspects of operating a farm business is building and maintaining your customer base. To connect with customers, you must go beyond just having a quality product to sell. You also need to create an identity for the business that draws people in and communicates who you are and what you have to offer them. This section highlights some of the key steps in this process.
Farm Name
What is the name of your farm? Or if you are just in the initial planning phases, have you thought about what you would like to call your farm? The name you choose can communicate a lot about your farm business. A farm name can:
• Provide marketing opportunities.
• Describe what you do.
• Convey your mission/vision.
• Tell where you are located.
• Reflect your personality and values.
If you do not yet have a farm name, finding one that works well can be a challenge. The U.S. Small Business Administration offers the following suggestions:
• How will the name look? Will the name work well on a website, business cards, and advertisements or with a logo?
• How will it sound? Is it easy to pronounce?
• How will it be remembered? Are there positive connotations that help the name stick with customers? What makes your business unique? Choose a name that distinguishes you from competitors.
There are things to be careful of when choosing a farm name. First, do not use embarrassing spellings, abbreviations, profanities, or potentially offensive undertones. Be careful about implied associations with organizations/people the business is not connected with. Finally, make sure you avoid trademark infringements.
As you work on your farm name, think about designing a logo at the same time. A logo is an important part of branding your business and enhances name recognition when it comes to marketing your product. Working on the name and logo in tandem can facilitate the decision-making and design process. Once you have some names in mind, check that the specific name is available and not already registered to an existing business in your state. To find the government department that deals with business registration and licensing, search online or check with your local library.
Vision and Values
Your values are the core beliefs and philosophies that reflect your view on life. Whether you are aware of it or not, you bring those values to the tasks of starting and operating a farm business. Your values have a major impact on the goals you develop for your farm; they also help guide day-to-day farm management and will influence business decisions that you face in the future. Values typically do not change with time and are reflected in everything you do.
The list on page 000 presents 100 different words and terms that could be described as values. Some of these words might connect with you, some may have no meaning or have a neutral connotation, while others may elicit a negative response. Read through the list and write down the words that are meaningful to you — that reflect your values. After you have created your list, print it out and add any other values to the list that you feel are important to you.
Share your list with all the members of your farm team. Compare your lists with each other. Do you see similarities? How can your values be integrated to strengthen your farm business? Keep your printed list handy for filling out the Values and Vision worksheet coming up later in this chapter.
Vision statement. What is your Vision for your farm? What do you want your farm to look like 5, 10, 20 years down the road? A vision statement is a way of articulating those hopes and dreams in a few sentences. A vision statement is for you and your farm team, not for your customers or neighbors. It provides inspiration, establishes the big picture for all your business and strategic planning, and reminds you of what you are trying to build. There are so many decisions to make as you begin farming. Your vision statement helps you stay focused and is a reminder of why you are working so hard amid struggles and challenges.
A vision statement can address any aspect of the farm business that is important to you, such as:
• Type of farm, farming practices
• Which products you produce and market
• Community impacts
• Quality of life/lifestyle
• Environmental values
• Product quality values
• Employee and farmer welfare
• Profitability, fairness, and the like
• Providing customers with good food
• Level of income
• Contributions to charity
• What your inspiration is
• How you measure success
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Whole Farm Management"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Gary Stephenson.
Excerpted by permission of Storey Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Growing a Farm
The Big Picture
What Is This Book About?
The Chapters
The Farmers
Dream It: Strategic Planning
Whole Farm Planning
Human Resources
Creating an Identity for Your Farm
Natural Resources
Building the Whole Farm Plan
Dream It: Putting It All Together
Profiles: Goodfoot Farm, Slow Hand Farm
Do It: Farm Infrastructure, Labor, and Energy
Equipment and Infrastructure
Season-Extension Equipment for Vegetables and Berries
Irrigation Equipment and Infrastructure
Farm Labor
Farm Energy
Do It: Putting It All Together
Profiles: Good Work Farm, Kiyokawa Family Orchards
Sell It: Markets and Marketing
What Is a Market?
Marketing Strategy
Direct Market Techniques for Small Farms
Market Planning
Sell It: Keys to Success
Profiles: Urban Buds: City Grown Flowers, Vanguard Ranch
Manage It: Business Management for the Farm
Goal Setting and Budgeting
Record Keeping
Financial Statements
Analysis
Manage It: Putting It All Together
Profile: Blue Fox Farm
Grow It: Managing the Whole Farm Ecosystem
Planning and Intervention
The Farm Ecosystem
Managing the Farm Ecosystem
Key Practices in Sustainable Agriculture
Grow It: Putting It All Together
Profiles: Sweet Home Farms, Rainshadow Organics
Keep It: Entrepreneurship, Family Business Dynamics, and Managing Risk
Entrepreneurship
Business Structures
Family Business Dynamics
Licenses and Regulations
Risk Management
Reality Check: Running a Small Farm Business
The Authors
Appendixes
Source Citations
Resources
Metric Conversion Chart
Index