EPISODE · Jul 28, 2026 · 1H
Five Numbers Every Farm Should Know: Get Your Books in Order
from Growing the Future · host Richelle Boyd, Dean Klippenstine
A drought area of Saskatchewan just got two weeks of standing water. Harvest is coming and margins are tight either way, but the numbers still have to work. Most farm finance advice arrives as a binder nobody opens. This conversation is five numbers, in plain language, from a CPA who goes home to a working grain and lentil farm at night. Richelle Boyd, MNP's National Leader for Crop Services, and Dean Klippenstine, a senior partner in MNP's agriculture practice, walk through what good looks like on a real operation and what to check first when something feels off. What's Inside - Gross margin: whether the crop is producing enough room for the rest of the farm - Cost of production: finding your real break-even number per acre - Cash flow: why a profitable year on paper doesn't mean the account is ready - Debt servicing: manageable debt versus debt that leaves no room for a bad crop - Working capital: the cushion between what you can turn into cash and what's coming due Resources Mentioned MNP -- "The Numbers Every Farm Business Should Know" -- mnp.ca/en/insights/directory/the-numbers-every-farm-business-should-know MNP Agriculture practice -- mnp.ca/en/industries/agriculture Connect with Richelle Boyd MNP -- mnp.ca/en/personnel/richelle-boyd Connect with Dean Klippenstine MNP Agriculture -- mnp.ca/en/industries/agriculture Connect with Growing the Future Website: growingthefuture.ca YouTube: Growing the Future Instagram: @growingthefuturepodcast LinkedIn: Growing the Future Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.
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What this episode covers
Dan Aberhart hosts Richelle Boyd, MNP's National Leader for Crop Services, and Dean Klippenstine, a senior partner in MNP's agriculture practice, for the first session of a three-part series on farm financial literacy. Richelle walks through five numbers every farm operation should track — gross margin, cost of production, cash flow, debt servicing, and working capital — in plain language, using her own farm at Kindersley, Saskatchewan as the working example. Dean adds the advisor's view from a career of sitting at kitchen tables with large grain and oilseed operations across the prairies. Producers walk away knowing what each number means, what good looks like, and which one to check first when something feels off.
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Five Numbers Every Farm Should Know: Get Your Books in Order
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