Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics has announced plans to offer a popular online course that helps producers develop strong financial skills and make informed decisions that impact the farm’s bottom line.
K-State Extension farm economist Robin Reid said the course, Finances and the Farm, has been taught since 2021, but has recently been updated “to provide a more interactive learning experience for participants.”
“The need to manage farm financials may be greater than ever before because of historically high input costs and lower commodity prices, creating uncertain profitability margins,” Reid said.
“The Finances and the Farm online class provides education for managing financial risk of the farm business; focusing on good record keeping as the foundation, using those records to develop financial statements, conducting benchmarking and performance analysis on those statements, and then using that information to make management decisions.”
The cost is $100, or $300 if the participant wishes to receive Farm Service Agency borrower’s training financial credit, which is approved for Kansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Coursework will be graded, and a certificate will be provided upon successful completion of the final exam. Registration is available online.
The course covers seven lessons:
- Record keeping.
- Balance sheet.
- Income statement.
- Enterprise budgeting.
- Cash flow.
- Managing family living expenses.
- Goal Setting.
Reid and K-State farm analyst LaVell Winsor are the primary instructors. They said participants will better understand the structure of a balance sheet, income statement, enterprise budgets and cash flow; and learn financial management techniques for their own operation, among other lessons.
Two case studies – one a row crop and beef cattle farm, and the other a vegetable, egg and honeybee farm – are designed to help students check their understanding of the material and practice using financial statements.
The self-paced course includes short videos, interactive reviews of content, quizzes and working with paper sheets and Excel documents. “This course is designed with the learner in mind, with the convenience of completing this course at their own pace, from their home or office,” Winsor said.
Participants can take up to six months to complete the materials, though Reid and Winsor urge students to get it done in 2-4 weeks.
