Putting together cash flow projections for farm clients can be tedious at times. What is a reasonable feed expense for dairy operations? Is the projected cost of production on corn acres in line with peers? These are a few of the questions lenders and other professionals may ask when putting together projections, especially for new customers. With that in mind, The Center for Farm Financial Management has put together two different cash flow planning tools. The Minnesota Price and Cost Summary and the FINPACK Livestock Budget Estimates are two aides FINPACK users may find useful in cash flow planning. These items and more are found in the FINPACK Knowledge Base.
Minnesota Price and Cost Summary
This document includes prices received last year and over the last three years for major crop and livestock enterprises. Also included is the cost of production for each commodity last year and over the last three years. These prices and costs are suggested as guides for planning based on historical costs and returns for Minnesota farms* included in the FINBIN Farm Financial Database.
FINPACK Livestock Budget Estimates
These budgets are intended to provide guidelines for developing FINPACK livestock plans. They are based on actual costs and returns of Minnesota farm producers* included in the FINBIN Farm Financial database in 2017. If available, farms are sorted into low/medium/high profit groups to show the range of results. The revenues included in these budgets are based on actual revenues for 2017. Be sure to consider any needed adjustments for future prices.
* Farms included in both of these tools participate in the MN State Farm Business Management program or the University of Minnesota’s Southwest Minnesota Farm Business Management Association. No attempt was made to predict future costs or prices; these are actual costs and returns reported for 2017 for these farms.
Dale is a major contributor to the design and development of the FINPACK farm software as well as the FINBIN Farm Financial Benchmarking Database.