
Farmers prefer to spend their time in the tractor or barn… and less time to develop financial statements. Because of this, many farmers and ranchers struggle when preparing financial records for their businesses. Here are two questions we often hear from farmers and ranchers:
“How do I develop my financial statements?”
“How do I interpret my financial statements?”
To help farmers answer these questions the Center for Farm Financial Management created Developing & Interpreting Your Financial Statements and Measures to help producers improve their financial management skills. This free tool consists of two online courses which give producers information needed to become better financial managers of their business.

Developing Your Financial Statements and Measures
Discover the building blocks of which financial records to collect, how to organize those records into financial statements, and how to calculate the important ratios used in farming operations.
In the Developing Your Financial Statements and Measures course you learn about accounting and record keeping while showing how to prepare the four main financial statements:
- Balance sheet
- Income statement
- Statement of owner’s equity
- Statement of cash flows

Interpreting Your Financial Statements and Measures
Find out how to interpret and better use financial statements for farm management and gain more self confidence in the area of finance.
The Interpreting Your Financial Statements and Measures course builds on skills learned in DYFSAM—taking them to the next level. This course focuses on interpreting financial statements and measures in order to better manage day-to-day operations of a farm business. The same four main financial statements are evaluated, as are the most important agricultural ratios and measures.
Learn how to create financial records and what to do with them-today
Grow your financial management skills with Developing & Interpreting Your Financial Statements and Measures. This tool is perfect for farmers, ranchers, and ag professionals.
- Discover how to create financial records
- Find out how to interpret and use financial statements
- Learn at your own pace
Start taking those daily farm financial records, build them into quality financial statements, and learn to interpret and effectively use them to improve farm management. Developing & Interpreting Your Financial Statements and Measures is available online, free, and easy to use, free, and available online.