Farming and ranching requires timely decisions to keep the business
operating efficiently and profitable. Most farms and ranches have
primary decision makers who routinely make the farm business decisions.
It is important however, that others have access to information to
proceed if the key decision maker(s) are unable to make decisions.
This
project created an online short-term operating plan to help
farm and ranch families continue operating their businesses with minimal
interruptions when the primary decision maker(s) be unable to make
short-term decisions. The plan is very helpful when an unexpected
situation such as hospitalization or military deployment occurs.
The plan
was developed by the University of Missouri. The online
tool was built by the University of Minnesota, Center for Farm
Financial Management and is a template on the AgPlan
platform. The project utilized the experience of a team with many years
of online work.
Through a series of workshops and presentations, University of Missouri Extension shared the plan with 324 participants, with a total of 257 starting and/or completing a short-term operating plan to reduce risk.
This project included developing the online tool and revisions of a paper copy (pdf) plan. These items are available to all farmers.