Is a Farm Book Keeper valuable?

Sometimes business owners are reluctant to spend even the most minimal amount on a product or service if the return on investment isn’t immediate or easily calculated. Book keeping on the farm is often categorized in the same regard.  Crop farmers should look no further than outside their window for an analogy that might open their minds to investing in a quality book keeping service.

In the 1960’s when adjuvants were introduced into the pesticide application process, many farmers balked at the expense. At times, it was difficult to see the results in-season, or the yield improvement couldn’t be attributed to the investment, even though the cost was minimal.  This continued well into the 1980’s until data emerged to prove the products were effective, and farmers could see a history of yield improvement in tandem with the data.

In the same way, a quality book keeper can be very additive to your farming operation most often at a very affordable price.  This person, whether an employee, or an outsourced service, can save you money…and in fact, increase your income on the farm. A good book keeper provides you with organization of business data…from correct expense categorization necessary to determine cost of production, to optimization of the use of the data that is manifested in crop farm management systems.  This person will save a significant amount of time, not only in administrative functions (entering data, running down receipts and communication with accountant, banker, etc.) as you operate in the field, but also as you sit down to review crop profitability and plan for next growing season.  These job functions are CAUTION – nerd finance word, “accretive” to the business operation, and gradually add incremental value to a business. 

Just as a few pennies per acre cost of an adjuvant are minimal investment spent to protect yield effectively, hiring a good book keeper can add to your bottom line.