Farm Management Program

Extension education in Farm Management is conducted by Dale Johnson, Farm Management Specialist. Dale holds a B.S. inAgribusiness Management from Utah State University and an M.S. inAgricultural Economics from Cornell. He has been with University ofMaryland Cooperative Extension since 1985.

The objective of Farm Management Extension programs is to helpMaryland farmers improve their business management skills toimprove management productivity, increase profitability, andfulfill their long-term goals. It is accomplished throughworkshops, seminars, and individual on-farm consultations involvingfarm business management, strategic and tactical planning, recordkeeping, financial analysis, and computer applications for farmmanagers, educators, lenders, and others. Workshops and seminarsare prepared and conducted at the request of, and in teamwork withExtension Educators, Specialists, and others. The program involvesadaptive research on business planning techniques, crop andlivestock enterprise analysis, farm machinery economics, cropinsurance, computer use in agriculture, economics of alternativeagricultural enterprises, and economics of sustainable agriculturemethods. The program is also carried to the College Park campusthrough the AREC 306 Farm Management course. Individual programsare described below.

OUTREACH AND EXTENSION PROGRAMS

Business Planning for Maryland Agribusinesses -This program provides managers of commercial farms, small farms,greenhouses, and nurseries with education and assistance indeveloping effective business plans for their businesses. Abusiness plan is a detailed, written document that will help themmanage their operations in the short-term and long-term. It is anorganized collection of all the important ideas that includemission statements, annual goal statements, resource inventories,marketing plans, production plans, financial plans, and businessstructure plans. Hardcopy and electronic materials on businessplanning are available to Maryland farm managers.

Dairy Farm Management Program - This programprovides specific financial and business planning tools to Marylanddairy farm managers. Workshops are tailored specifically for dairyfarm managers. Additional analytical tools have been developed tohelp dairy farm managers manage their operations. The MarylandDairy Farm Business Summary is a major component of this program.In this summary, dairy farmers are taught how to use their IRSSchedule F tax forms to analyze the financial condition of theirfarms. The information on their tax schedules is converted to a percwt basis so that they are able to see the specific strengths andweaknesses of their businesses. They are also able to compare theirbusinesses with other dairy farms in Maryland and in the northeastto identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Financial Management and Business Planning for FarmService Agency Borrowers - This program trains farmmanagers who receive financial assistance from the USDA FarmService Agency. Farm managers who receive FSA financial assistanceare required to take this course. The course is 25 hours spreadover 5 days. Farm managers learn how to prepare and analyze balancesheets, accrual adjusted income statements, cash flow budgets, andbusiness plans for their operations. They are then required tocomplete these documents for their own farms and to pass tests toreceive certification that they have completed the course.

PRO-FARM Financial Management and Computer RecordKeeping Program - This program helps farm managers improvetheir record keeping and financial management skills so that theycan enhance the profitability, liquidity, and solvency of theirfarm businesses. A secondary objective of the program is that farmmanagers will improve their computer skills and incorporatecomputer technology into the management of their farm operations.These objectives are accomplished by conducting two types ofworkshops. The first type of workshop is 2-4 hours in length andinvolves stepping the participants through the financial recordkeeping and analysis process through the use of fact sheets. Theylearn to develop monthly record keeping systems, balance sheets,income statements, and cash flow budgets. The second type ofworkshop is 6-9 hours in length spread over 2-3 days. Farm managerslearn the "Six Easy Steps to Farm Financial Management whichinclude: balance sheet, projected cash flow, weekly record keeping,projected vs. actual cash flow comparison, inventory adjustedincome statement, and enterprise analysis." Farm managers aretaught how to do these steps on a computer using the "Quicken" and"Quickbooks" record keeping programs and the Excel spreadsheet.

Enterprise Budgeting for Maryland Farms - Thismethod involves (1) identifying alternative crop, animal, andrecreational enterprises for Maryland farm managers, (2) estimatingoutput levels, output prices, input requirements, input prices, andprofits from alternative enterprises, and (3) estimating labor,management, and financial requirements for different enterprises.This program resulted in Maryland farm managers having objectivemethods for evaluating alternative enterprises that they areconsidering.

Maryland Agriculture Web Page - A web page atwww.marylandagriculture.infois the definitive internet source for linking individualsinterested in Maryland agriculture. Consumers will find listings oflocal farmers' markets on this site as well as links to otherinteresting agricultural sites. Farmers can link to agriculturalassociations and organizations, financial institutions, suppliersand equipment dealers, educational and governmental sites, andpublications and software that might be useful. Both consumers andfarmers will find many sources of on-line, technicalinformation.

International Extension Development - Theobjective of this program is to improve the knowledge and abilityof people in agriculture of Central Asia to work and function in amarket economy. To accomplish this, Extension systems are beingdeveloped which will provide the organizational frameworks foreducational institutions to be more responsive to the demands of amarket economy and provide up-to-date methods and technologies thathave practical application to agriculture. In addition, theimprovement of information networks and the delivery of informationthrough distance education is a goal to enable people working inrural areas to have better access to all types of information onmarkets and production. This program currently includes twoprojects in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Agricultural &Resource Economics (AREC)

Marylandagriculture.info

Publications

DaleJohnson
Farm Management Specialist
University of Maryland
Western Maryland Research & Education Center
18330 Keedysville Road
Keedysville, Maryland 21756-1104
Phone: 301-432-2767 x325
Fax: 301-432-4089

For more information, contact Cindy Mason

Last updated: 03/10/2009