Country Farm and Business Management
Business administration and country farming encompasses every aspect of managing a successful agriculture enterprise. It involves identifying consumer demands that the farm is able to meet and determining the best method to mix basic resources such as land, labor and capital to reap the highest returns. It is also about making decisions which balance social, economic and environmental aspects and taking care of agritourism-related regulatory issues.
To become an expert in agribusiness first, you need to come up with an innovative big idea. You should also create and practice an “elevator speech”. Next, develop a business plan to make the big idea become a reality. Determine and analyze the risks associated with agribusiness that could affect your plan. Lastly, find the financing solution that best meets the needs of your business.
Good farm managers regularly look at new technologies and determine the effectiveness of existing practices. They also prepare for the future. They must be able quickly to collect and interpret data. This could include inputs from other farmers, extension workers as well as private agribusiness firms, researchers, libraries and friends. They should also be able to think creatively and conduct mini-trial and error experiments.
Budgets are an essential instrument for analyzing the performance of a farm’s business, however their reliability is impacted by the high degree of variation. Therefore, budgets must be complemented by probability distributions for weather events and prices. This will allow the operator to assess the risk and analyse the impact of different options.
