Whether you are trying to figure out if
starting a farm is right for you or you are trying to get financing for your farm, you’ll need a farm business plan. Just like any business, you need an idea of what you’ll need to get started and have a vision of where you see the farm going in the next 5 years or so.
Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click Here.
Writing your plan doesn’t have to be complex. You just need to get your ideas on paper so that you can figure out if it’s right for you or not.
What’s Your Mission?
You’ll want to start with your mission. What’s the goal for your farm? Do you plan on
making a profit? How large do you see your farm getting? The mission should incorporate where you see it going in the next few years as well as the goals you want to accomplish with it. The mission will give you an idea if you will grow in the future, or if you will keep it as a small farm meant specifically for a side income or your family’s own consumption.
What are Your Goals?
After you write the mission, you’ll need goals. These are the things that will help you measure your success. You should include both short and long-term goals. Short-term goals can be achieved in a year or less and long-term will take longer than one year.
Each goal that you set should have a timeline that you will achieve them in and a way to measure their success. For example, if your goal is to own 10 cows in the next 3 years, you have a timeline and a way to measure the success. Make sure your goals are achievable and that they can be changed if necessary.
What is Your Experience?
In this section, you’ll detail what type of experience you have. Did you farm as a kid? Did you work as an adult on a farm? Is farming in your family? What specific experience do you have farming? Who taught you your experience? Do you have a formal farming education? These questions can help you figure out what to write down as far as your experience. If you are looking for financing, this section is going to be very important.
What is Your Inventory?
Investors want to know what you have on hand to help you get started. Are you starting from scratch? Do you have equipment already that’s been passed down to you or that you bought yourself? Do you own land? How much land do you own?
Click to See the Latest Mortgage Rates.
A list of your inventory and how you use it will help investors see your success so far and what you need moving forward. They can compare the inventory to your goals to determine how much money you might need and to see how attainable your goals may be.
What are Your Strategies?
Next, you want to talk about your strategies as they pertain to marketing and farming. You’ll want to do some research for this part. For example, do your goals fit into the current supply and demand? What are the industry trends? Have you researched competitors and how they have done in the past?
You’ll also want to include strategies for marketing your products. You can grow all of the crops you want, but if you don’t have buyers, you won’t succeed. Again, you’ll need to do some research and include things on topics such as pricing, advertising, and where/how you will sell your items.
What are Your Finances?
Finally, you’ll need to talk finances. What is your current
financial situation? What type of financial help will you need moving forward in relation to your goals? Talk about your current expenses and forecasted expenses based on where you see your farm going.
Your farm business plan is basically a blueprint of where your farm is now and where you see it going. It helps you formulate a plan to reach those goals and to help you see if it’s attainable. It’s a document that any potential investors will want to see so that they can be on the same page as you and determine if your farm is a good risk for them.
Click Here to Get Matched With a Lender.