Farm and Business Management (FBM) is a practice that involves coordinating all aspects your agricultural operation to maximize your income and profit potential. In this process, a variety of skills are used, including planning management, economics and marketing.
Key practices for managing a country farm or business include:
Marketing – the sale of your products or services to consumers; financing – loans to finance your operations; risk management – ensuring your operation is secure from disasters.
Financial – creating pro-forma budgets and actual enterprise plans to help forecast revenue and expenses; calculating financial ratios; setting goals.
Write down your plan for achieving your goals. This will help to identify the weaknesses in your business by thinking through the different functions.
Next, you’ll want to determine if you have zoning regulations or if you are allowed to produce certain products on your land. Check with your county or township to see if they have any restrictions.
You will also require adequate public facilities such as parking, signage and customer service. These will be required to accommodate customers and visitors to your farm/ranch and should be maintained in compliance with zoning, food safety and environmental laws.
Ultimately, your business will need to be self-sustaining and a viable source of income. This means that you need to have enough income from your business to cover your living expenses, and save for the future.
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