AGB 330 - Farm Business Management

1. Determine long and short term goals influencing decision making
   1. Define a goal
   2. Summarize the seven attributes of a goal
   3. List examples of general goals shared by most farm families
   4. Name the five steps in setting goals
2. Explain how economic principles influence farm business decisions
   1. Summarize opportunity costs
   2. Review the total physical product curve
   3. Describe average physical production
   4. Describe marginal physical production
3. Describe how a farm business is organized
   1. Outline the characteristics of a proprietorship
   2. Identify the characteristics of a partnership
   3. Define a corporation
4. Apply budgeting concepts to make practical farm management decisions
   1. Define a budget
   2. List the various types of budgets
   3. Describe a cash flow budget
5. Prepare inventories, budgets and cash flow for specific enterprises
   1. Demonstrate the ability to prepare an inventory
   2. Estimate a cash flow budget for a swine enterprise
6. Identify the economic resources employed in farming and compare alternative means of acquiring control over them; and organizing them
   1. Investigate how capital is acquired
   2. Explain the concept of leverage
   3. Describe available sources of credit
   4. Prepare a loan application
   5. Calculate credit costs
   6. Review the use of outside equity in farming
7. Compare different production systems and determine the best type for existing facilities and equipment
   1. Examine alternative production systems for an existing farm
   2. Calculate capital needs for each alternative production system
   3. Calculate labor needs for each alternative production system
   4. Compare profitability between production systems
8. Plan efficient use of facilities and land
   1. Identify the farm resources
   2. Investigate enterprise alternatives
9. Explain capital management and capital budgeting
10. Determine break-even costs for marketing
11. Develop the ability to keep farm records
    1. Select the right accounting system
    2. Review the purpose of farm accounting
    3. Explain the difference between the cash and the accrual method of accounting
    4. Name the parts of an accounting system
    5. Review a computerized accounting system
12. Explain how to conduct a farm business analysis
    1. Select desirable measures of profitability
    2. Identify desirable measures of capital position
    3. Select desirable measures of cash flow adequacy
    4. Determine desirable measures of business size
    5. Select desirable measures of productivity and efficiency
13. Use farm records to evaluate the performance of the farm business
14. Identify the relationship of taxes to the farm business
    1. Show the importance of records for tax purposes
    2. Summarize tax advantages obtained with complete and accurate records