Farming Smarter, Not Harder: Planning for Profit 

Instructor: Richard Wiswall, Cate Farm (VT) and author of The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook

Do you wonder how to have more money in the bank at the end of the season?
Does the business side of farming seem incomprehensible to you?

Take this course to learn the keys to managing your farm as a business, and you'll see a pay-off for years to come. Richard Wiswall literally wrote the book on business management for farmers (organic or not). He has won high praise from diversified small-scale producers for his practical approach to success.

This course will cover:

• Planning for Profit
• Making a Profit on Your Farm
• Your Marketing Strategies
• The Efficient Farm Office
• Key Farm Financial Statements
• Financial Tips for Success
• Common Business Mistakes
• Quick Business Fixes
• Effective Farm Management
• Employee Management
• Labor Efficiencies

Please bring pen and paper, a calculator, and the following information from your farm if you have it: last year's total farm sales (or top five selling items) broken down by product and/or account, last year's expenses broken down into different types of expenses (seeds/fuel/labor/insurance/repairs/ etc.) and your checkbook balances for the last two years ending on December 31st.  All of your farm's information is for your benefit only and is solely for you to see.

Take home materials will include a CD of farmer-friendly business tools for keeping records and making decisions from Richard Wiswall's book. You will also go home with budgets for several farm enterprises, a market analysis for your farm, and a roadmap of how to achieve your financial goals.

First twenty-five farms to register will receive

a copy of Richard Wiswall's book!

Be sure to "order" the book under the Book and Membership Options section of the registration form. It is FREE for the first 25 farms to register!

Contrary to popular belief, a good living can be made on an organic farm. What’s required is farming smarter, not harder.
In The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook, Richard Wiswall shares advice on how to make your vegetable production more efficient, better manage your employees and finances, and turn a profit. From his twenty-seven years of experience at Cate Farm in Vermont, Wiswall knows firsthand the joys of starting and operating an organic farm—as well as the challenges of making a living from one. Farming offers fundamental satisfaction from producing food, working outdoors, being one’s own boss, and working intimately with nature. But, unfortunately, many farmers avoid learning about the business end of farming; because of this, they often work harder than they need to, or quit farming altogether because of frustrating—and often avoidable—losses.
In this comprehensive business kit, Wiswall covers:
    •    Step-by-step procedures to make your crop production more efficient
    •    Advice on managing employees, farm operations, and office systems
    •    Novel marketing strategies
    •    What to do with your profits: business spending, investing, and planning for retirement
A companion CD offers valuable business tools, including easy-to-use spreadsheets for projecting cash flow, a payroll calculator, comprehensive crop budgets for forty different crops, and tax planners.

"What a breath of fresh air! Richard Wiswall challenges the conventional notion that there's no real money in farming. He argues that farmers should be well-compensated, and then he shows how to make that happen. Every farmer--organic or not, beginner or experienced--should read this book."
—Lynn Byczynski, editor and publisher of Growing for Market, a journal of news and ideas for local food producers

about our presenter: Richard Wiswall

Richard Wiswall started Cate Farm in East Montpelier, Vermont, where he has farmed since 1981. Known for his work on farm profitability and appropriate business tools, Wiswall consults with other farmers, and writes and speaks frequently on organic-farm business issues. To learn more about Wiswall and Cate Farm, visit www.catefarm.com.

Workshop Schedule

8:30 am Introductions
9:00 am Planning for Profit
10:30 am Break
10:45 am Marketing and work session
11:45 am Question period
12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm Farm Budgets Made Simple
2:30 pm Break
2:45 pm The Efficient Farm Office   
3:45 pm Key Financial Statements
4:15 pm Break
4:30 pm Employee Management
5:15 pm Closing