Extension
It Starts With Us
Measuring the Agriculture Business
Agriculture, Management and Decision Process
ANR
Beef
Farm Management, Economics and Policy
Forages
Soil testing
Many producers focus on production and do not measure any aspect of the business. In order to make profitable decisions, producers need data to measure the cost and revenue from their agricultural enterprise. The need to improve farm record keeping and data collection is a focus of the ag finance businesses as farmers are ask more and more to provide information for capital needs. This documentation will include actual measures of profitability of various enterprises on the farm to determine if some aspects of the overall farm need to be changed to improve the overall farm profitability.
Farmers implement systems that will help record, track, and analysis the economic viability of their decisions and be able to make necessary changes to reflect the changing market and weather conditions.
Farmers realize how information can affect the results of the enterprise with increased profitability. They continue to look at data to make informed decisions.
Farmers start to measure and record data from each enterprise, such as calf weights, cow reproductive performance, crop yields per field, per acre, and other crop measures of quality.
Initial Outcome: Data Recording
Indicator: Various collection methods are used to measure ag performance
Method: Farm Record Keeping classes
Timeline: Winter of 2021
Intermediate Outcome: Data Analysis
Indicator: Farmers make informed decisions based on information from measuring of agriculture production and cost
Method: Decision making classes
Timeline:2021-2022
Long-term Outcome: Record Keeping Systems
Indicator: Records are a permanent part of the management of the farm operation.
Method: Producer visits and reports to learn how the business uses data, Beef Producers that employ I-COW
Timeline: 2023
Audience: Farmers wanting to improve profitability
Project or Activity: Basic Farm Record Keeping Class
Content or Curriculum: Brown Farm Record Book use and purpose class
Inputs: Brown Farm Record Books, sample of farm expenses, and incomes to enter and learn about categories for farm accounting.
Date: Winter 2021
Audience: Data Analysis
Project or Activity: Class to evaluate information and make informed decisions on
Content or Curriculum: PRIMER workbook and software to evaluate enterprise profitability for both the short term and long term situation on the farm.
Inputs: Workbooks, software use, and specialist with Ag Econ and budgets
Date: Fall 2022
Audience: Record Keeping Systems, Producers that want to evaluate the profitability of different enterprises on their farm and the ways and means to do it.
Project or Activity: Learn about various systems from hand written forms to computer programs
Content or Curriculum: X10D Cattle Data Management software program offered through UK Beef IRM, Quickbooks or Quicken programs that can help with accounting.
Inputs: UK Ag Econ Specialist, Booklets, software, membership it X10D Beef management
Date: winter 2023
Author: David Appelman
Major Program: Financial Education - General
Kentucky law allows for the purchase of inputs that are used for agricultural production as tax exempt. This is a tremendous savings to the agricultural community, but changes are taking place that producers need to be aware of. A new Kentucky law was passed that now requires farmers to apply for an Agricultural Exemption Number to be used when purchasing qualified items to be tax exempt. In the past, farmers used their drivers license number when filling out a form. &nbs
Author: David Appelman
Major Program: Beef
One of the most limiting factors affecting beef production in Bracken County is the lack of production data and record keeping. Without this information, many business decisions may or may not be the best choice from farm profitability.Bracken County producers now have a new tool to use, that addresses the record keeping issue with their beef herds and that is the X10D app and web based system developed at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The B
