Farm Finance Advice from the Expert

This week on the Farm Traveler podcast, I sit down with Michelle Patten, an agribusiness consultant who helps farmers better manage their finances and bookkeeping. Michelle covers a wide range of financial topics in farming, like how to manage risk as well as balancing the budget and family on the farm. One of her biggest pieces of advice is in terms of transparency. Michelle advises to be transparent with everyone your working with, especially family, to ensure everyone is on the same page.

"I think the number one thing that everyone can do is work on your transparencies. Anyone involved in the business really needs to know what's happening in the business. YOu may not all have the same goals and that's fine. But if you are open and honest about what you want, everyone is going to be a lot happier in the end."

Most farming operations tend to diversify at some point. Michelle encourages farmers to do research and ask other farmers who might have tried similar strategies. Above all, make a plan, and try to stick to it.

"Do a little bit of research. Then after you have done your on the ground research to see if it is something that would even be feasible. It would be good to put together some financial projections and determine if it would even be profitable. What is your overhead going to be?"

To hear more of my interview with Michelle, and for other Farm Traveler episodes, just search Farm Traveler on your favorite podcast player of choice.