LANSING, Mich. – The Beginning Farmers DEMaND (Developing and Educating Managers and New Decision-makers) series is a five-week, online program created to help beginning farmers learn about financial and business management strategies as they develop into the next managers and decision-makers on the farm. Created by Michigan State University Extension, this series offers articles, workshops and additional resources to help navigate managing a farm.

“Every year, inspired individuals enter the world of farming with passion, creativity and drive,” said Jon LaPorte, an educator with MSU Extension, series coordinator and one of the presenters. “This DEMaND series is a new program, all about financial and business strategies for the beginning farmer entering the business. To be successful, these people need to understand the business aspect of farming, how to be profitable, understanding cash flow and determining if one is growing their business.”

The webinar series begins Jan. 12 and continues each Wednesday night through Feb. 9. Sessions will be presented by members of the MSU Extension farm business management team. LaPorte will be presenting the final week.

“There has been continued interest among people wanting to get into farming and we’re seeing it continue to grow,” LaPorte said. “A lot of smaller-type farms are emerging and on the rise. We still have a lot of large farms and they’re always going to be there, but beginning farming interest is high these days. We’re seeing a lot of beginning farmers who are transitioning to become the next generation on an established farm.”

LaPorte will be focusing his message on farm business with an emphasis on farm business analysis, business transition, income tax education and general farm business management topics such as economics of technologies and return on investment.

Prior to joining MSU Extension, LaPorte was a Farm Loan Officer with USDA and later a certified crop adviser at a farm retail cooperative.

On Jan. 12, Florencia Colella, a farm business management educator with MSU, will highlight the importance of simple accounting and record keeping, itemizing what information should be tracked in farm records. She will discuss important details needed in farm record and best practices on how to track them.

On Jan. 19, Frank Wardynski will provide a basic overview of balance sheets and cash flow statements and how to use farm records to create them.

“A farmer should fill out balance sheets annually to show how much money he or she spends and how much they should take in to fill out the Schedule F and see how much money is made,” he said. “A balance sheet should include assets – all the things the farm owns, as well as the debts. Debts are divided among short-term, intermediate and long-term. Farmers should ask themselves three critical questions: is the farm profitable? Does the farm cash flow? What happened to equity and net worth?”

Wardynski’s session will also provide insight into why tax returns are not a good measure of farm profitability.

On. Jan. 26, Roger Betz will discuss farm financial analysis, providing insight into its uses for the farm. His session will also review what information is needed and resources available to help complete an analysis. Betz, an MSU Extension farm business management senior educator, has worked individually with more than 430 families throughout his 39 years of service, helping farmers keep accurate financial records.

On Feb. 4, Corey Clark will discuss Introduction to Taxes. When is revenue considered income versus capital gains? What is depreciation and what questions does it set up after capital purchases? Clark will answer these questions and more during the session. Clark was previously a farm business consultant for Clemson University, where she assisted farm and agribusiness owners in assessing their financial performance and increasing their effectiveness as managers.

The Beginning Farmers DEMaND webinar series is free. To register visit: https://events.anr.msu.edu/demandbeginningfarmers/. For more information, contact Jon LaPorte at laportej@msu.edu.