Bracken County CES

Title:

Measuring the Agriculture Business

MAP:

Agriculture, Management and Decision Process

Agents Involved:

ANR

MAJOR PROGRAM 1:

Beef

MAJOR PROGRAM 2:

Farm Management, Economics and Policy

MAJOR PROGRAM 3:

Forages

MAJOR PROGRAM 4:

Soil testing

Situation:

 Many producers prioritize production without assessing various aspects of their business. To make profitable decisions, producers require data to gauge the costs and revenue of their agricultural enterprise. Improving farm record-keeping and data collection has become a focal point for agricultural finance businesses, as farmers are increasingly required to furnish information for capital requirements. This documentation will encompass actual profitability measures of different enterprises on the farm to evaluate if adjustments are needed to enhance overall farm profitability.

Long-Term Outcomes:

Farmers implement systems that help record, track, and analyze the economic viability of their decisions, enabling them to adapt to evolving market and weather conditions by making necessary adjustments. These systems not only provide insights into the current profitability of their operations but also facilitate informed decision-making for future planning and resource allocation.

Intermediate Outcomes:

Farmers realize how information can affect the results of the enterprise with increased profitability.  They continue to look at data to make informed decisions.

Initial Outcomes:

Farmers start to measure and record data from each enterprise, such as calf weights, cow reproductive performance, crop yields per field, per acre, changes in soil results, and other crop measures of quality.  

Evaluation:

Initial Outcome:  Data Recording

Indicator:  Various collection methods are used to measure ag performance

Method:  Decision making and Farm Record Keeping class

Timeline:  Winter 2024

Intermediate Outcome:  Data Analysis

Indicator:  Farmers make informed decisions based on information from measuring of agriculture production and cost

Method:  Decision making and Farm Record Keeping class

Timeline: Winter 2024

Long-term Outcome:  Record Keeping Systems for Beef Cattle

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 X10D

Timeline: Spring 2025

Learning Opportunities:

Audience:  Farmers wanting to improve calving 

Project or Activity: Onsite Pregnancy Test Demonstration and Records of breeding

Content or Curriculum:  UK Specialist Les Anderson, UK publications

Inputs: Samples and testing material, Community members facility for testing, and demonstration

Date:  Fall 2024

Audience:  Producers

Project or Activity:  Soil Testing

Content or Curriculum:  Properly soil sampling, Importance of soil sampling, and Maintaining though records to show change over growing seasons

Inputs:  Workbooks, software use, and specialist with Ag Econ and budgets

Date: Spring 2025

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 2024