This agent has worked with a Warren County KY farmer in cooperation with Kentucky State University’s (KSU) Small Farm Program. Initially we worked work with this farmer in order to construct a whole-farm plan.  

As a beginning farmer, the farmer has successfully finished a farming season and having partnered with KSU Area Agents on the Small Farm Program in cooperation with Russellville Urban Gardening Project in Bowling Green & Russellville to connect with limited-resourced landowners that wish to increase profit on their lands, the farmer needed to know how much money she profited.  This and the fact that she had never filed a “Schedule F” with the Internal Revenue Service before are great reasons to assist this farmer in management paperwork needed in-season and post-season.  

The farmer and KSU Area Agents worked diligently through the New Year’s Winter to establish financial tools and comprehension in those tools being used, and why to use them.  KSU Area Agents were involved on a technical assistance basis in the Spring, Summer, and Fall months (growing season) and it only seems devout to aid the farmer in the Winter months also (planning season); thus, record book assistance was utilized as a risk management tool for the farming enterprise.

The current farmer is a limited-resourced and socially disadvantaged farmer, and needing assistance to not only understand taxation and tax laws, but also needing one-on-one exercises that help the farmer understand “Schedule F” status.  The Kentucky State University Small Farm Agent has worked with the farmer to assess the ability to turn a profit on select agricultural enterprises such as Small Commercial Vegetable farming, and by working through each crop in each farm enterprise, the farmer lamented as to how she has a better understanding of what to grow and what not to grow in the coming year.  By brainstorming each crop’s usefulness on-farm to produce profit the farmer will be more successful in the agriculture field of work.

The farmer will have a better understanding of the USDA and its agencies, Kentucky State University and its programming, and local agricultural entities’ lending procedures by completing post-season record keeping and use the information to turn expenditures into tax deductions; thus, profits. Possibly with the completion of the record book trainings the farmer will consider herself a more learned farmer with more knowledge of human-consumption food markets and the consumer’s need in the region; thus, a successful long-term goal of maximized profits will would be achieved in the future.

At this project’s end, the farmer had a better understanding of the USDA and its agencies and through cause and effect, a better understanding of collecting money from certain markets, and where to use the monies to buy infrastructure that could be used as a tax deduction on the Internal Revenue Service’s Schedule F.  The total outcome was a visual demonstration of record book keeping for the betterment and the increased understanding as to how money is to be used to make money!  With increased profits the farmer may have the opportunity to increase the profitability of their farm practices and increase the farm operator’s integrity to maximize profits through a Small Commercial Vegetable system that is weed free, pesticide and herbicide free, fresh and 48 hour-picked, possesses reduced labor on-farm, and exhibits the ability to return a profit over the 8-month-investment period with an end result initially showing that the Kentucky Farm Record Book is a good tool to keep.  This agent will work with this farmer and others in subsequent years aiding farmers in Kentucky Farm Record Book entry and utilization for Intermediate and long-term goals and results!