Farm Business (FBM) generally refers to the techniques and information required in managing primary agricultural production, on-farm processing and client marketing activities.
The major elements of Farm Business are:
- Farm Business Planning
- Financial Management
- Human Resource Management
- Marketing
- Production Management
Farm Business Planning
Refers to the process of setting goals and objectives for the farm business and devising ways and means to accomplish these. This is the first step in business planning. It focus on the organization of resources, such as land, labour and capital, as well as “management” ability, and uses decision-making processes to achieve the goals and objectives of the farm manager or owner/operator.
Financial Management
Involves the application of financial resources (capital) such as equity and credit (debt), to generate income for the farm business. Financial management includes: record keeping (61 KB); financial management; tax management (52 KB); risk management; and a number of decision making processes and techniques for optimizing the financial performance of the farm business.
Human Resource Management
Describes the methods used in managing the labour or human capital of the farm business. This can involve hired labour, other managers or supervisors as well as unpaid family labour and ownership sharing. The use of farm management teams, such as spouses, parents and children or siblings are included in this area. Intergenerational transfer, estate planning and some business structure considerations are all included in human resource management for the agricultural business.
Marketing
Encompasses the process of selling products to consumers and the associated pricing, processing, distribution and timing decisions required. Market planning involves the identification or development of a target market and the determination of a strategy to penetrate that market. The 4 P’s of marketing are: Place; Price; Product; and Promotion.
Production Management
Describes the processes involved in physically producing an agricultural product. These include: land management; crop and livestock production; the use of machinery and equipment; the application of fertilizers, pesticides and other controls on pests and diseases; breeding; feeding and record keeping.
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