knowing the numbers: a simple system for tracking small farm profitability
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- čas přidán 24. 06. 2024
- I have developed a method for keeping track of small farm finances that is easy and lets me know our farm’s daily financial health. With it, I know where we stand vs. our annual budget and how profitable each of our farm enterprises is every day of the year. It also tells me exactly what we sold and how much income we generated at farmers market, and it helps me make informed decisions about whether or not to make large purchases. Join me as I walk you through how the system works.
website: justafewacres.com/
I don't know but just listening to this guy really gives me the belief that I can actually do farming. Great simple instructions, thanks.
Pi
Pete. You are AWESOME!!! We love your channel! especially how it is very informative. So many channels just record themselves doing chores. YOU give us real, usable information to help us make decisions on our farm. We look forward to Tuesdays and Fridays. My wife gets mad if I watch you without her.
Thanks Chris! I try to remind my wife of that every day, but sometimes she's skeptical :). Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like me to cover in a video. FYI, my posting schedule is different this week; new video is coming tomorrow (Thurs) instead of the usual Friday schedule.
I watch a TON of CZcams content, many different subjects, and with many that are quite knowledgeable and talented in their scope.
This channel ranks at the tippy top of my experiences....FANTASTIC CONTENT.
That is the highest compliment. Thank you so much!!
Could not agree more- The content presented by Pete, and his family should be acreddited viewing by University Ag students. Pete has the gift or purveying knowledge with an ease that is rarely experienced.
I'm a business analyst, migrating to a farmer. I totally relate to this video. I'm in year 2 of farming and this is year 1 of keeping track of my expenses. I raise dairy goats, layers, meat birds and turkeys. First year of infrastructure was insane!
I love your videos.
From WNY.
I lived on a farm till I was 18 years old and then after I got back to Texas from the war. I got got word that we lost the farm. I've been trying to figure out how I could get back to farming. My wife ( a city girl) seems to think that only poor people are farmers. I need to prove to her that it can be a lucrative business. She's putting everything she's got into her college degree in nutrition. Do you think that farming is a lucrative business? And if you think so I would like to have some resources that you know of. Anyways. Good luck and God bless.
Pete, I've been watching you're channel for at least six months now, It's been good to me, so keep the videos coming.
finally someone ex-plains how they keep farm books, thank ya fer showin me,,thank ya fer the video
This reminds me of the saying..."two ways to farm...with money and for money." Most farmers dont know their expenses until the end of the year so thank you for the explanation. Keep the videos coming.
Love thsi
Holy cow I love the never-ending dad jokes hahha GOLD
LOL. My kids always groan at my jokes.
Thank you so much for this video! I have a good off-farm career and I know I can make more money off-farm than on-farm. But, I am committed to beginning and running a small family farm in addition. I am always trying to find real-life info about the economics of a small farm and your video is one of the very best videos or articles I've consumed in several years on the subject!
Hands down, the best small farm video on the down and dirty side of it all. Most people watch the fluffed farm videos on CZcams and think they can become a farmer. Its not easy. Its not just raising/growing a farm product. I think you missed , or just decided to overlook, items that are not very profitable or break even products, but they bring people in and they buy other profitable things. They vary by region of course. Love the videos. We are neighbors of a sort. I travel into your area fairly often from Bradford co PA.
Hi Simple Man, thank you! We have some cuts of meat that are not very profitable, like bacon because it costs us so much to have it smoked, but we don't really have any farm enterprises that aren't profitable. No time for them!
I'm really enjoying the info you share, and your helpful manner, Pete. As for Excel and Square data and visual graphing, one idea: At about 23:50 you show a Square page with day, week and by week for the year. You might wish to also add a "cumulative" graph, showing any item you wish -- income, expenses, net, or various components. Showing totals for year-to-date. When graphed using a line graph and also showing the prior year, this shows one whether the item exceeds, matches, and falls below the prior year on a year-to-date basis. It also shows whether gains or losses earlier in the year became worse, stayed above or below last year's line, or improved. Here's another trick to compare multiple weeks that may or may not have value to you: Show sums of 28-day or 4-week periods, not calendar months, because calendar months have varying numbers of days, and varying number of farmer's market sale-days from your perspective. One needs to train oneself to be accustomed to seeing 28 day or 4-week periods, but they are more comparable than calendar months. Finally, it's convenient that most years have 13 4-week periods almost exactly. 13 x 4 = 52. And 13 x 28 = 364.
I accidentally stumbled onto your videos and appreciate them (and hope you’re making $ off them). We’re moving to 65 acres in a similar life move that you made and will undoubtedly have more questions than answers. Thanks for giving us a start
What a great analysis of farm economics and record keeping. You guys are very disciplined (and you must be) with data entry. Great informative episode !
Thanks so much for this explanation. My wife and I are retiring (age 69) and buying 11 acres in East Texas and trying to figure out what we want to do with it. Your videos have been a great help.
Thank you! Very very helpful!! Please don’t stop making these farm business videos..
Watched this several times and taking notes. Very well presented on the five enterprises and how the point of sale integrates with your farm. Great info on most and least profitable and bulk savings. Thank you again!
Pete, I hope this is your name. I took it from the comments. I am starting a small farm myself and I enjoyed this video. It was very well produced. Great Job and keep it up, this type of quality production will keep me coming back. For me, I enjoy direct straight to the point information. Not a lot of filler dialog. Some is good. Your view of the split screen as you walked us through the process was gold! Again-production was great. (Lighting/Sounds/Graphics/writing-content/examples without giving out numbers/relevance to farming operations) Thank you again for sharing and training us here in CZcams world. R/ Keith (KP3 Ranch)
He starts every video with "Hi I'm Pete."
You are by far the most helpful "do it yourself farming" channel I've found so far. You do a Great job on all of your videos! And unlike many "homestead channels" the videos aren't just for entertainment, I've learned many helpful things that (Lord willing) will help me one day when I have a small farm.
More people need to watch videos like this!!! Good Job!!! Keep doing what you are doing. Love your videos. I love the number crunching with each aspect of the farm.
Great video, Pete! Really enjoyed seeing how you keep your "books."
We are in Richville NY on my family farm, my husband and I are in our second year of farm to table. My biggest struggle has been how to keep good records. We were dairy farmers and sold the girls last year but my record keeping system needed a overhaul. I’m so thankful for this video you have no idea! Now, to learn excel and how to link all the things! Truly appreciate your insights!
This is brilliant, makes me think about farm cash flow in a whole new way. Easy and useful. Thanks!
new subscriber here and I love your channel. I think you may have been a teacher in a previous life because you have an awesome ability to break things down and explain the details. and the dad jokes. every one I hear gets passed to my kids 😂 keep up the awesome videos and god bless Just a Few Acres Farm
Mr. Pete, Love your channel. I was raised on a small family farm and still have a small farm. As I’m getting older want to go back to my roots. I’m getting my ducks in a row and thanks to you on how to do this and be profitable while chasing my dream. Thank you and your family for putting yourselves out here for me and my family to learn from.
Very helpful video. Thanks for taking the time to post.
Thank you for this info we are just starting out.we are not going to use our farm as a income we want to use it to sustain us a family to cut living expenses. This was informative
You should have called this video, small farm book keeping for dummies! This was great and I'm rather dyslexic. Thanks
Appreciate you showing how you keep books for your farm.
You've delivered this with unbelievable clarity. Am happy I stumbled on your video.
I really appreciate the information you put out in this video, it really helps me figure out how to put my own system together.
This is awesome! Very informative, thank you Pete!
These are excellent tips for any small enterprise. Keep your records simple and up to date. Don’t be frightened of the numbers. Let them guide you in running your business.
Thank you for your channel! I have been learning so much! And I love that you are so honest about how things work. Especially with the fiances! I feel that often this information is a vital piece people don't take enough time to learn. Keep up with the amazing videos!
You're welcome Rachel! I agree, often not enough time is spent keeping track of the money on small farms.
This is an excellent video! Thank you!
While i watch you often I just now stumbled on this video. You should put your blank spreadsheets online (even sell them at at modest price). I am looking for something basic and simple to use as we grow multiple type of livestock and sell both meat and animals. Yours seems simple and straight forward.
Excellent information. Thank you. Little do people think about the amount of intelligence, analysis, and logical thought it takes to make farming profitable.
Very good video Pete. This is so important to a successful farm.
Good to see how things are categorized with a multi dimensional, multi level, multi animal farm.
Thank you Jesse!
Hi Pete, a BIG THANK YOU for your channel, I have been learning so much from you.
This is so perfect! I was just trying to figure out how to learn about the accounting aspect for our teeny tiny farm! I'm an Excel lover, so glad to see this working and how simple it can be! Thank you!!
I'm an Excel lover too; I used it a lot at my old job so it was just natural to keep farm books on it. Glad the video helped!
@@JustaFewAcresFarm i cant find the sheet. can u uppload it please? u r great
Well done! Thank you. Much appreciated. 🙏😊
Great video, thanks for sharing. I like all the things you talk about and now I'm looking into the Dexter cows for my milk and meat needs. You know a lot about them and make a good point about making sure that your farm is set up right.
Thank you for taking the time putting this video together. I have been listening to people preach about keeping records, but this is the first example I have seen that seems to be relevant to my future plans. I appreciate it.
This was very well put together, thank you!
Thanks for sharing. I use an Excel spreadsheet as well. Pretty much a similar system. Like you said, "there is probably a better way", but it is my way and it works.
I would love a copy of your spread sheet
I really enjoyed the Video. How the spread sheet is set up, and how you explained it was very good and contained a lot of information.
Great video. I’ll be adopting something similar and changing to fit our farm as we grow.
As always, such useful information. Thank you.
I’m in school for accounting but have recently turned corners and have been seriously considering becoming a farmer. These videos are perfect for someone with a passion for a more “simple” life. My family is filled with white collar professionals so the turn for me is a big one.
Hi Joseph, I was in a similar situation as you, except I spent 20 years in the white collar world before coming back to farming. Have you seen this video? czcams.com/video/o8Y68uK5KlU/video.html
Joseph Adkins Do it! The world needs more farmers, not accountants.
Listen to these guys, if you really want to go into farming, or any other venture. Better yet, print Jj s reply and paste it on your door or someplace you can read it everyday. I am a 71 year old nonpracticing accountant. There's nothing wrong with learning accounting and then becoming a farmer. Go ahead follow your passion, but also make sure enough water is there, before jumping into a pool. Good luck.
This is an awesome video, and awesome channel! My grandparents had a decent sized cattle operation growing up (few hundred head) and never really got the chance to talk to them about how their ranch operated, especially when it came to financials. I'm sure it wasn't exactly like your methods (as they didn't have a computer) but this was very insightful. I often romanticize about re-starting the ranch and your channel has TONS of valuable info if I ever wanted to pursue that. Thank you.
Thanks so much Tyler! I know a few farmers who still carry a little notepad in their shirt pocket, and I'll bet just about all the financial info they need to know is written in there!
That was very informative and easy to understand, thank you 👍
So helpful to see the details of how you keep track of things, as a project manager considering a life on a farm, this is the first part of the process that doesn’t seem so overwhelming! 😂
Brilliant- Thank you!
Very helpful! The content of your videos are very practical and it's great!
Thanks Stephen!
Great video! Very well explained!
Just found your videos, great job! Binged watched all of them. Just wondering if you have your spread sheets available? I checked your web site didn’t see them. Keep’em coming!
This channel has been really helpful. I've been studying for almost two years now on livestock/agriculture and getting some practical experience where i can. I think the next step for me is to find a part time job in this field to get proper experience before getting my own animals going.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience
This is great. I love this so much saving and subscribing.
Thank you so much! I just bought a farm 2 1/2 months ago in Cynthiana Kentucky 8 acres. I’m raising a few goats and some of the information is invaluable what you have shared with me already. I will do the legwork you talk about finding out things here in Kentucky. If there’s a possibility of me talking to you personally I would really like to pick your brain. Thanks again for your expertise
If it is convenient for you and your accountant can use it to determine your bottom line, then your where you need to be. It's much better than taking a bankers box full of receipts and invoices into the accountant and saying here you go this was all of last year. The more information that you can give the accountant in clear terms, the easier they can put the information together to prepare your P & L and Balance Sheet for the year. Then you save the money for all the time that they didn't have to spend getting the information in order. Time is money in your pocket this time. It sounds to me that you have found a good way to keep all your ducks in order for the Big Bad Tax Man. 8-)
Love this video thanks for all the wisdom.
Thanks for sharing this!
I'm learning from you soo much .thank you
This was so interesting. Thank you..
Great video Pete , very informative
Awesome video thank you.
thanks PETE great video, just updated my spreadsheet :)
Thank you!
Great video. Wish I had a copy of your excel computer program.
Loved the informative video and love your style! There is one thing I didn't quite understand. Infrastructure expenses should be spread out throughout multiple years because of depreciation but in the summary worksheet it seemed you were applying everything to the single year. I think you touch on this at around minute 5:00 when you say that you "picked an average" but I'm not too sure...
I lived on a farm till I was 18 years old and then after I got back to Texas from the war. I got got word that we lost the farm. I've been trying to figure out how I could get back to farming. My wife ( a city girl) seems to think that only poor people are farmers. I need to prove to her that it can be a lucrative business. She's putting everything she's got into her college degree in nutrition. Do you think that farming is a lucrative business? And if you think so I would like to have some resources that you know of. Anyways. Good luck and God bless.
Thank you
Another awesome video Pete. I have a question, can you not download the data from Square into an excel friendly format? Data entry is a tedious task and permits possible entry errors.
Awesome tutorial of basic farm 101 this was a huge help… Need to market the Excel sheets for us not so computer user type farm guys :-) Great working with tools not so much on Excel…
What did the farmers feed their chickens at the turn of the century or the depression? Same with pigs? Couldn't you find a food processor that would give you their out of date or cast off produce? I love how you manage your fields of grazing and hay. Seems like that is a huge cost of operation. I'm sure you save a bunch in food costs for your family. Do you go out to eat much?
Good morning Pete,
It is funny how you can watch someone's life through CZcams videos and over 1 1/2 years believe you know them as a friend and never meeting them in person! Absolutely love your channel and watch all you posts, now moving back through the years, watching, and learning your path.
My wife and I have an 8-Ac 130-year-old farmhouse in Michigan, looking to expand in the "Farming" arena just on a much smaller scale. Last night I finished watching the video of "knowing the numbers", and I am a numbers person and really enjoyed your breakdown of the cash-in and out Excel file. Is this Excel file something you developed or is this something that was obtained?
This method of tracking is something that I relate too and can follow. Is this something that you can share? If not I understand, going through the video again to recreate something similar.
Hope we are able to meet you next year; my wife and I are planning a trip out your way for flea markets and farmer markets, yours is one we want to experience.
Thank you and keep up the good/quality work.
Love your channel. Seeing all you do and your different margins. Have you ever thought about harvesting and butchering your pigs for market???
Thank you! Legally, we have to send our pigs to a USDA inspected butcher to sell pork by the cut at market.
Peter thin your videos are very informative. Please don't get tired l will be getting in touch on your to ask a few things if you don't mind thanks
I really like listening to you. You make it sound so easy. Do you just do everything month by month or sale by sale??
Do you happen to have a populated excel sheet from a calendar year? We are looking at getting into small farm life and are trying to figure out which animals would be the most profitable. I live in excel at work and you are the first person I have found that tracks their data so well. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks again for the great content.
Too toggle back and forth between sheets hold the alt button down and hit tab
This is great. My weakest area
How much are your butchering costs for pigs and your dexters?
Very informative video, Pete! Can you share where you found the spreadsheet? :)
Hey Pete, just discovered you and your channel. Is there anyway you could share that spreadsheet as a Google doc link? Great info! We just bought 60 acres but almost all of it is forest and mountains. Trying to figure out what makes the most sense to raise.
that spreadsheet is awesome where did you get it
Hi Pete, love your videos. It's nice to see a smaller farm can still make a living in this day and time. I'm wondering about how you market your cuts of meat. Word of mouth , farmers market? What is your price based on? Is your price set by inputs or do you try to compete with others in the market ?
Hi, everything sells directly from the farm & at our local farmers market. I have some other videos on how we price our products. I use both our expenses and what competitors are charging to help me set prices.
Ok I will look for your other videos. Thanks
Pete, I love your channel and value your advice I’ve dabbled in farming my entire life but with the birth of my son in the last two years I have decided to go all in.
A bit of a random question, but I am curious as to whether you eat the cost for a square transaction at the market and with individual sales or whether that cost is added to the top of the sale? Thanks for any input.
Hi Matt, we absorb credit card costs. I guess I just figure they’re part of doing business these days.
Do all your meats have to be FDA processed. ie...the chickens and turkeys.
Glad I found ya , I’m playing catch up on your videos , do you let people visit ya , I live in Newfane and I am from Honeoye lake , I am in your area atleast once a year or so.
Hi Todd, we try to limit visitors a bit because we're busy all summer long, but we do have a open farm day sometime in August TBD (not sure how COVID will affect that this year). Visits from customers are always welcome :)
Hi there I want to thank you for your channel, it’s really helped my up and coming farm! Is your excel template available? I love the simplicity of it but also it’s organization that it offers. It’s very obvious that you spent time and effort in its creation and would be more than willing to pay for it! Hope to hear back, Thanks again!
Is this a document that you may want to share. I really like this and how you explained everything.
Sure Michael. Email me at the address in the video description.
Hi Pete :) These videos are sooo helpful! I have a question: How do you document the cost of your breeding animals in your budget? I'm trying the same thing as I'd like to have a "closed" farm (is that what it's called?!) where we just produce our own and don't buy new animals every year. So those calves and piglets have to pay for their parents and more... just curious what category this is! Many thanks!
Would love a template copy of the spreadsheets
So does your phone app POS (point of sale) migrate to the spreadsheet or do you need input that by going thru each receipt from the market?
Pete, you never mentioned hay expenses or maybe I missed it. Assuming you must use hay in the colder months. Does that go toward overhead or accounted for under Cattle Expenses?
His hay expenses consist of cutting, bailing and transporting it to the barns. He did not mention it but I just assumed he considered it in his fuel expenses which would be in overhead.
Thanks for the "Farmducation" i really want to know the name of the app you use and can you plse share a summary of your excel sheet. Iam in Uganda.
I liked this one too!!! Can I send my son to live with you for a few years?