Current Issues in Farm Business Management, Certificate

The primary emphasis of the Farm Business Management Program is to assist farm families in meeting their business and personal goals through quality farm records and sound business decisions. This program is primarily taught at the student’s place of business, but classroom and group instruction are also very important. Individualized instruction is used to the fullest extent. Students are enrolled in the program on a continuous, part-time basis. Normal credit load is 10 credits per year, for the equivalent of 1/3 of a full-time college student. The instructor visits the farm on a regular basis and understands the strengths and weaknesses of each student’s business. Developing a set of sound farm records is the basis for the program. Primarily, computerized accounting is used to handle the complex records, which must be kept in an efficient farm business. At the close of the calendar year, these records are summarized by the instructor and a computerized business analysis is prepared for each student to show how well his/her business did financially during the year. Each student also receives an area Farm Business Analysis Summary, which allows them to compare their information with averages of other Farm Business Management students (farmers) in their local area and around the state. The Farm Business Management Program offering consists of four certificate programs. The first three certificate programs are 30 credits in length. These three programs include Essentials of Farm Business Management, Applications in Farm Business Management, and Advanced Farm Business Management. The fourth certificate option is the Marketing Certificate, consisting of 25 credits.