Farm Business & Financial Management
Farm Financial Benchmarking Guide
A guide to benchmarking farm finances, showing how to pick measures, find comparison data and act on what you learn. For owners who want to see how the farm stacks up.
Download free PDF1 page, US Letter, prints clean in black and white
GuideFarm Business & Financial ManagementFree PDF
The steps on this page
- Select the financial measures you will track
- Prepare your own statements
- Find comparison data from trusted sources
- Group farms by type and size
- Compare results measure by measure
- Note where you lead or lag
- Look for causes behind gaps
- Choose a few changes to test
- Repeat each year
How to use this guide
Walk a new hand through the steps once, then let them use the page on their own. Add your own notes as you learn what works.
Where to check the details
This sheet is a general template, so confirm specifics with your own manuals, labels and local rules. For current official guidance, start with USDA Economic Research Service and farmdoc daily.
For more in this area, see the farm loans, grants and taxes. Between chores, farm.FM has farm humor, including Farm Accidents Aren’t Fun, and agribusiness farm stories.