by: Keah Munsen, Instructor
For years, farmers and ranchers have been bombarded with information they can use to help increase the bottom line of their operations. Most of it comes from the technologies they employ to help keep records on production and/or expenses. The problem is that most of us do not know what to do with the data once we have compiled it. Knowing what these numbers mean and how to use them to make management decisions should be the next step on your list.
Yearly trends of all the separate categories you keep track of are a great starting point and can shed some light on a problem or a benefit to your bottom line. They will help you make good management decisions for the future and help establish a foundation to set some goals leading to higher profits down the road. Also, knowing how you measure up to the rest of the agricultural sector is also important.
Drawing together all of these numbers into a yearly financial analysis is very important to your operation. At the Center for Farm/Ranch Management, we help producers compile and analyze all of these numbers, then compare them to benchmarks throughout the state, region and nation. If you would like more information about how we can help you, contact the South Dakota Center for Farm/Ranch Management at [email protected] or 605-995-7108 or visit sdcfrm.com.