Farm and Business Management (FBM) is a practice that involves coordinating all aspects your agricultural operation to maximize your income and profit potential. This process requires a broad range of skills, including management, economic analysis, and marketing.
Key practices for managing a country farm or business include:
Marketing – the sale of goods or services to consumers. Financing – loans that finance your operations. Risk management – making sure your operation is protected from disasters.
Financial – creating pro-forma budgets and actual enterprise plans to help forecast revenue and expenses; calculating financial ratios; setting goals.
First, you should write down a strategy for how you will achieve your goals. This will enable you to identify your weaknesses and think through all the functions that are involved in your company.
Next, you’ll want to determine if you have zoning regulations or if you are allowed to produce certain products on your land. You should check with your township and county to see if country farm food there are restrictions that could affect your plans.
Your business will also need adequate public facilities, such as parking areas, signage, and customer assistance. 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.
In the end, your business needs to be self-sustaining. It also needs to be a source of income. This means having enough off-farm income to cover living expenses and saving for the future of your business.