Articles

Funding renewable energy and energy efficiency on your farm

Improving energy efficiency and generating renewable energy on the farm can significantly reduce energy expenses over the long term. Thanks to new and expanded funding, agricultural producers can now significantly reduce the upfront cost for clean energy projects on their farms.

Business structures

Take the next step by checking out the Farmers’ Guide to Business Structures Guide UW Center for Cooperatives Farm Commons Starting a Business – WI Department of Revenue Wisconsin One Stop Business Registration Portal Starting and Running a Business – Legal Food Hub Start Your Business – Small Business Development Center IRS – Nonprofit Resources […]

Federal Milk Marketing Order Hearing: Briefing and proposed reforms

The Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) is a program overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that regulates the dairy industry. It includes 11 milk marketing orders and applies to about 75% of total US milk production. Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) are a regulatory framework established by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 to stabilize milk prices and ensure a steady supply of milk to consumers.

Financial statements for your food or farm business

In this video, Katie Wantoch, Extension Farm Management Outreach Specialist, talks about the importance of financial statements and how they impact the future of the business.

Recordkeeping for your food or farm business

In this video, Katie Wantoch, Extension Farm Management Outreach Specialist, talks about the importance of recordkeeping and introduces the farm business financial model.

Wisconsin Beginning Farmers Resource Guide

This guide was developed jointly by UW-Madison Extension, USDA agencies, and DATCP to provide producers just getting started in agriculture with a well-rounded resource. Set up as a road map, it walks beginning farmers through a variety of resources available to support them through their journey of starting an agriculture operation, farm, or food business.

Community is important for emotional well-being

Community is especially important in farming, as living and working in rural communities can feel isolating. Community can be defined many different ways, but in its simplest form, it is about connection. Community is about more than a group or organization. It is the feeling of belonging, being accepted, and having similar values and beliefs […]

Family Tree and Family Spotlight

This article is one of a series of articles about worksheets in Cultivating Your Farm’s Future: a workbook for farm succession planning in Wisconsin. Cultivating Your Farm’s Future: a workbook for farm succession planning in Wisconsin was developed as a companion piece for Extension farm succession programs. It is designed to help family members and […]

Farm Profile

This article is one of a series of articles about worksheets in Cultivating Your Farm’s Future: a workbook for farm succession planning in Wisconsin. Cultivating Your Farm’s Future: a workbook for farm succession planning in Wisconsin was developed as a companion piece for Extension farm succession programs. It is designed to help family members and […]

Accessing land for your farm business

Some takeaways for today’s presentation include accessing land where do you begin, navigating lease agreements, negotiation for success, and resources to get you connected?

The messy middle of farm succession planning

How would you describe your attitude or emotions to the words “farm succession planning”? Excited, hopeful, motivated? Or maybe the words that come to mind are apprehensive, stressed, or conflicted. Perhaps at different times all these words can be used to describe your attitude about farm succession.

Price discovery and what to charge

Setting a price for a new food product in the marketplace is no easy task. In this video, we’re going to help you think about all the different facets that you need to consider to do it right.

Knowing your market

Market characteristics is who typically makes the decision to purchase your product, this may or may not be the person who has ultimately consumed the food product that you have. As an example, a product may be appealing to young kids, but they’re not the ones purchasing the product, so you want to reach their parents.

Estimating Custom Rate for 2023 Wisconsin Farm Operations

As the 2023 crop season get started, landowners and custom service providers are negotiating custom rates, but the newest Custom Rate Guide for Wisconsin is from 2020[1]. Prices have increased a lot over the past three years.

Solvency: Relationship between total farm assets and liabilities

The second measure of financial position is solvency. Solvency is the ability of a farm business to pay all its farm debts if the business was sold tomorrow. Solvency is important in evaluating the financial risk and borrowing capacity of the farm business. Debt-to-Asset Ratio The Debt-to-Asset ratio compares a farm’s total assets with total […]

Profitability: Seed for a farm’s future

The first measure of financial performance is profitability. Profitability is the difference between the value of farm goods produced and the cost of the resources used in the production of those farm goods. In other words, profitability is what’s left after the farm business has paid all of its bills. Profitability measures the financial performance […]