GFP068: Farm Planning and Execution

 "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." Isn't that the truth? 2015 has gotten off to a rocky start but things are really starting to look up. Even with three feet of snow outside I can already see signs of Spring. Birds are starting to sing in the morning, maple sap is slowly slowly starting to run, and my order for baby chickens just went out. It has really been a weird past couple of months. Through a strange turn of events I ended up being the only one running the farm this year in a place that need more than one person to run it. It was a good (albeit stupid) exercise on how far I can push myself in the winter. That is all about to change. I have adjusted my farm business plan to reflect the changing of the guard and we are moving forward in a more positive direction. We're going to farm smarter instead of harder. This is a change that would have/should have come anyways, but the situation I was in expedited the process. On farm this year we are not going to grow any of our operations bigger in terms of production numbers, instead we are going to concentrate on making what we already have more profitable. How are we going to do that? Record keeping and analytics!!! Super fun!!! Alright, as excited as I am for the Farm Finance Challenge, the reason that it is called a challenge is because it is not coming easy. There are many details to iron out and new habits to form. That being said, it is already working to our benefit. I've gotten to the point where at any given time I can go into QuickBooks and run a report on the financial health of the farm. I can be as vague or as detailed as possible, and man do hard numbers really point out your mistakes! It is the kind of clarity that any small business needs. It shows you the real financial impact of your actions and allows you to make educated decisions going forward. Money is not why I am doing this, BUT it is the most important tool on my farm if I am to keep farming. Right click here to download the MP3 In this farm podcast you will learn: How money is a tool to help your farm move forward What to look for when hiring staff Not trying to do it all, but finding people with skills that complement your own Outsourcing major projects in ways that benefit your farm and the people who are helping you out How to get people on your farm when you're located "off the beaten path" How I plan what is going to happen on Camps Road Farm What my office looks like What a TLA is… Items mentioned in this farm podcast include: Farm Finance Challenge New Milford Youth Agency NMYA YouTube Channel Free Union Grass Farm Podcast, What breed of chicken to raise for meat? FatCow.com/farm for 60% off each month for an entire year (Heads up, I'm an affiliate for FatCow so I earn a modest commission if you use this link. My websites have been hosted with them since 2009 and we're still going strong.) Take aways: How are you setting up your farm this year? Are you getting bigger? Are you getting smaller? How and why are you making that decision? What would you do with detailed knowledge about how profitable your farm is? Farm Quote: "Failed plans should not be interpreted as a failed vision. Visions don't change, they are only refined. Plans rarely stay the same, and are only scrapped or adjusted as needed. Be stubborn about the vision, but flexible with your plan." - John C Maxwell  -- Thanks for taking the time to listen in, and let me know what you think. You can leave a comment below, send me an e-mail, reach me on Facebook , or leave a 5 star rating in iTunes if you liked the show. Click to subscrible to iTunes Support the podcast with $1 a month Past Episodes