Farm Business Planning: Farm Economics

Profit is to business as breathing is to life!  That is to say, profit is not the purpose of your farm business, but it is essential for the long term sustainability of your operation.  We like to think of profit as the salary that you pay your business!  Business planning begins with a thorough economic analysis of your farming or ranching enterprises.

 

 

 UCCE Placer / Nevada Farm Business Planning Resources

• UCCE Placer / Nevada Profitability Calculators
• Download and complete these crop calculators to take a closer look at up to 10 crops. The end result will help you to find weak links in your production and identify profitable crops.
• UCCE Placer / Nevada Crop Profitability Calculator
• Understand your costs of production and see which crops are most profitable.  Identify weak links, highlight your best performing crops, and  set accurate sales prices.  Use the Scenarios Tool to try different pricing and production models.  Download and complete to analyze up to 10 row crops.
• UCCE Placer/Nevada Orchard Profitability Calculator
  • Understand your costs of production for orchard and vine crops and see which crops are most profitable. Identify weak links, highlight your best performing crops, and set accurate sales prices. Use the Scenarios Tool to dry different pricing and production models. Download and complete to analyze up to 10 orchard and vine crops.
    
• Data needed for Crop Profitability Calculator - EXPENSES
  
  • Print this useful guide to the expense data needed to complete the UCCE Crop Profitability Calculator. You may have all of the expense information you need in your bookkeeping records (an expanded Profit and Loss Statement), but if not, you will need to do some digging. Use these lists to identify and categorize costs (overhead or direct expense.) This sheet is applicable to both row crop and livestock producers.
• Farm Recordkeeping for Economic Analysis
  • List of records to keep for a farm business economic analysis.
• Ranch Record Keeping for Economic Analysis  
  
  • List of records to keep for a ranch business economic analysis.
• Farm Economics Glossary
• FBP cost worksheets (enterprise analysis workbook)
• FBP Value Added Analysis (value added analysis tool for pork, lamb, beef, goat)
• Estimating Crop Yields (UCCE, OSA 31-042c)
• Farming in Challenging Economic Times (UCCE, OSA 31-142c)

Additional Farm Economics Resources

• Understanding Cash Flow Analysis  (Iowa State Extension)
• UC Cost Studies (UC Davis Ag & Resource Economics)
• Evaluating a Farming Enterprise (ATTRA)
• California Agricultural Industry Tax Guide