Setting up a financial farm plan

You can use Field Manager PRO to set up financial plans for your business. By entering fixed and variable costs and estimating your projected income, you can analyze different options to help make the most profitable decisions.

If you use AgExpert Analyst, you can also import fixed costs from your accounting records. To do this, you must first create an export file in AgExpert Analyst.

Note: You can create multiple farm plans for each year to compare different scenarios.

Note: You can start a new farm plan using a copy of an existing plan. Click New and then click Yes when asked if you want to start from an existing plan.

• Click Save & Close to save your information and close the dialogue box.
• Click Save to save your information.
• Click Undo to cancel adding or editing the entry.

To create a new farm plan:

1. Click  or select Financial Farm Plans from the Records menu.
2. Click  on the toolbar. You’ll be asked if you want to start from an existing plan. Click Yes or No.
3. Enter the plan details.
   • Description - Enter a name for the farm plan.
   • Treat Operations Costs As - Choose how to treat your operation costs. If you selectFixed,your operation costs will appear on the Fixed Costs tab. If you select Variable, they’ll appear on the Variable Costs tab. If you select Both, they’ll appear in both places.
   • Cultivated Area - Enter the cultivated area for the plan.
   • Unallocated Area – Enter the unallocated area for the plan.
   • Crop Year - Select the plan’s crop year.
4. Select the Fixed Costs tab and enter the applicable information or select Import From AgExpert Analyst.
   Note: Fixed costs don’t depend on farm production. They’re standard living expenses and upkeep costs used to help manage financial resources (for example, property tax and insurance).
   • Enter the fixed cost Amount for each Item. To change the name of the fixed cost, edit it in theItem column. Enter your fixed costs for the farming operation as a whole. You can find these costs in AgExpert Analyst or another accounting program.
   • Click Clear to reset the fixed cost values to zero.
   • Click Import from Analyst to import fixed costs from AgExpert Analyst. The Open dialogue box appears. Locate the file you want to import and click Open.
   • Click Open In Excel to open the fixed cost grid in Microsoft Excel. You must have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer to use this feature.
5. Select the Variable Costs tab and enter the applicable information.
   Note: Variable costs depend on farm production, including the type and variety of crop (for example, spraying and fertilizer costs).
6. Click Clear to clear the entire grid or a selected crop.
   • To clear a single crop, select the crop and then select Selected Crop from the Clear drop-down menu.
   • To clear all crops, select All Crops from the Clear drop-down menu.
7. Click Add Crop to add a crop to the grid.
   • Choose the crop from the drop-down menu or enter the Crop Name if it doesn’t appear.
   • Enter the crop’s Variety.
   • Enter the Land for the crop.
   • Enter the Area Seeded.
   • Select the Yield Units.
   • Enter the Expected Price for the crop.
   • Enter the Projected Yield for the crop.
   Note: Once you’ve entered the Expected Price and the Projected Yield, the Projected Revenue is automatically calculated.
   • Enter any Variable Costs for the crop. These are entered on a per area unit basis. Include information on seed cost, fertilizer, chemicals etc.
   • To change the name one of the variable costs, click it and enter the name.
   • Repeat steps a) to i) for all variable costs you’d like to include.
8. Click Delete to delete the entire grid or a selected crop.
   • To delete a single crop, select the crop you want to delete and then select Selected Cropfrom the Delete drop-down menu.
   • To delete all crops, select All Crops from the Delete drop-down menu.
9. Click Open In Excel to open the variable cost grid in Microsoft Excel. You must have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer. 
10. Click Save or Save & Close.

To edit a farm plan: 

1. Click the  Financial Farm Plans icon or select Financial Farm Plan from the Records menu.
2. Select the plan you want to edit from the Choose Plan column.
3. Select an item in the details section, click the Edit icon and make your desired changes.
   Note: You can also edit items in the Fixed Costs or Variable Costs tabs.
4. Click Save or Save & Close.

To delete a farm plan:

1. Click the  Financial Farm Plans icon or select Financial Farm Plan from the Records menu.
2. Select the plan you want to delete from the Choose Plan column.
3. Click the Delete icon on the toolbar or press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Last updated on August 25, 2014 by FCC AgExpert