New book teaches farmers to manage money aspects of farming
Spring Valley, WI – The new book Fearless Farm Finances: Farm Financial Management Demystified tackles one of the biggest stumbling blocks to farm success—managing the financial aspects of a farm. This easy-to-follow book offers how-to guidance, tips and tools to help farmers feel comfortable managing their farm’s finances. Topics cover everything from record-keeping to in-depth financial analysis of profit and loss and return on investment.
The book includes real-life examples from a dozen successful farmers who share insights gained from personal experience. The book also uses sample data from a fictional farm to illustrate how numbers plug into specific forms and statements.
“We arranged the book with something for everyone—from things to think about before you set up a farm, to the complexities of generating and using financial ratios to make decisions based on your own data,” said one of the authors, Jody Padgham. Padgham is an organic farmer and the Finance Director for the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), which published the book earlier this year.
MOSES provides education and resources to help farmers farm organically. It is best known for its annual organic farming conference held in La Crosse, Wis. With more than 3,000 attendees, this conference is the country’s largest event about organic farming.
Fearless Farm Finances was written by a team of experienced farmers and numbers crunchers: Padgham, Paul Dietmann, Dr. Craig Chase and Chris Blanchard. Dietmann works for Badgerland Financial, part of the Farm Credit System. Chase is a farm management specialist at Iowa State University. Blanchard owns and operates an organic farm along with an agriculture consulting and education business.
Farmers who have read the book say it is a must-have resource. “I’ve been searching for a good way to learn more about this aspect of farming,” said Kim Cassano, a farmer in Catawba, Wis. “This book is so clear, straightforward and easy to understand—like turning a light on!”
Fearless Farm Finances is available for $24.95 (including shipping) on MOSES’ website, www.mosesorganic.org/farmfinances.html. It will be available soon on Amazon.com. MOSES’ website also has resource links, “Fast Facts” about the book, the Table of Contents and a short excerpt.