Workshop: Farm Financials

Most farmers keep some sort of financial records in order to file taxes and/or apply for a loan.  Within the numbers are details about the farm’s operations — its efficiency and profitability. Being able to create financial statements is the first part. Next is learning how to use the statements to garner important information about your business and plan for growth. In this workshop, we will discuss the basic layout of the Income Statement and Balance Sheet.  We will go over each statement to understand how to read them: not just “Is my business profitable?” but more richly, “What can I do to improve profitability,” “How can I improve cash flow,” and “Can I afford to make capital improvements or take out a loan?” With a basic understanding of the financial statements, we’ll talk about how to use your historical data to create projections for the purposes of business planning and applying for loans. Finally, we will discuss how the financial projections fit into the bigger picture of business planning. We will review real financial statements and leave plenty of time to address the specific questions and concerns of the attendees.

For more information visit the Stone Barns Center website.

Workshops are free and open to the public. To register, contact Laurie at laurief@stonebarnscenter.org.

Julia Shanks prepares food businesses and farms for growth through business planning, cash-flow planning and financial feasibility studies. A frequent lecturer on sustainable food systems and accounting, she sits on the advisory board of Future Chefs and is the regional leader of Slow Money Boston.