Fearless Farm Finances

This newly revised book presents the complex subject of farm financial management in a straight forward and readable style, with numerous tips and examples from working farms. The book offers examples from a diversity of farms, from dairy to diversified vegetable, to orchards and pastured poultry. The content is relevant for both small- and large-scale operations. Sample farm data sets highlight how equations, formulas, and analysis are done. Discussions about financial ratios, pricing strategies and ways to assess and improve profitability can help farmers improve the sustainability of their operations.

A project of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, (MOSES), authors include Paul Dietmann, emerging markets specialist at Badgerland Financial, Dr. Craig Chase, farm management specialist for Iowa State University, and project manager and editor, Jody Padgham, finance director of MOSES. Fully indexed with a glossary, this approximately 250 page 8.25 × 11 inch paper bound book is a valuable resource for both beginning and established farmers. Book sections include:

Starting With Financial Management
Farm Data Collection and Organization
The Big Picture: Organizing Basic Financial Information
Analysis and Decision-Making Using Your Numbers
Analyzing Specific Elements of Your Farm
Thinking About the Future
Other Factors that Affect Your Financial Situation

Author Biography

Jody Padgham, the project manager and editor, is the finance director of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service. She has owned and managed a 60-acre grass-based sheep and organic poultry farm in north central Wisconsin since 2001. Paul Dietmann is Emerging Markets Specialist with Badgerland Financial, part of the Farm Credit System. Paul spent eleven years as a county agriculture agent with the University of Wisconsin-Extension, and five as director of the Wisconsin Farm Center. He has worked closely with hundreds of farmers, helping them assess their farm financial situations. Dr. Craig Chase is a local food systems program manager for Iowa State University with over 30 years’ experience in helping producers with business planning, financial analysis and decision-making, risk management, and sustainable agriculture. Since 2011 he has been the Marketing Food Systems Initiative Program Manager for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the State Coordinator for the Local Food and Farm Initiative.