financial education resources for beginner perennial food farmers

i'd like to educate myself in the financial aspects of perennial food farming. any advice to a beginner on where to start learning about how to fit in with the current economic system while farming perennials profitably?

I wish I had an easy answer for this... I will be doing a workshop or two on this topic this year and I've been repeatedly asked to write an introductory book on it...
Keep an eye on our website http://www.forestag.com/book.html or my facebook page...

For starters, print a copy of IRS Schedule F and IRS Schedule C and study them carefully.... Try to see how they fit together...

Is this Nissa as in NISSA ? Rotten beef Nissa?

Mark Shepard wrote:... IRS Schedule F and IRS Schedule C and study them carefully.... Try to see how they fit together...

If someone would kindly say what this is to foreigners....

Xisca Nicolas wrote:

Mark Shepard wrote:... IRS Schedule F and IRS Schedule C and study them carefully.... Try to see how they fit together...

If someone would kindly say what this is to foreigners....

Internal Revenue Service forms(USA) ie: the tax man.


Schedule F is to report profit or loss for farms. Schedule C is a profit/loss form for privately owned business(I assume small business, but I could be wrong...tax codes suck).

Schedule F
Schedule C

If in the USA, check with your local USDA or growers association as most offer business plan classes specifically for the ag industry - no charge. You may also check with any community college; they usually have a free intro to business management/planning.

Allan Babb wrote:Schedule F is to report profit or loss for farms. Schedule C is a profit/loss form for privately owned business(I assume small business, but I could be wrong...tax codes suck).

Thanks allan!

How useful is it to read it before doing anything?

Xisca Nicolas wrote:
How useful is it to read it before doing anything?

Those forms are only useful for people in the US. But I think the bigger point Mark might be trying to make is to encourage people to think what of the inputs to their farm might be expenses to offset income and how to develop additional businesses around the farm operation which can use farm products as inputs. Also what aspects of the operation of the home could be turned into businesses and also contribute inputs or expenses to the total operation. In this way the home, farm, and businesses all become a nearly closed loop in which the primary input is $$ from sales. Taxes are kept as low as possible because inputs are expenses and all aspects are part of a business or multiple businesses.

Ok thanks, I can understand this as I did something close to it in Europe,
and that is why I asked him about his % of income between agriculture and other business.

I have some experience in pedagogic farm and the allowed % of non agrarian business was 30% of all the "money coming in", no matter the expanses.
Thus the business should me something with little investment, all the investment being done for the farm.
And yes you can plan your farm according to this, 1 investment for 2 incomes is great, and then you also deduce your costs, machines etc, for years.

I guess you also have reduced taxes on agribusiness and not on the commercial part....

said nissa here. mom and i are having some meat from savanna gardens/new forest farm this evening, in fact. glad to know about the schedule f and schedule c... some real leads here. also brainstorming ways, such as computer programming, to generate an income remotely with a computer and an internet connection. expenses would be less living "out there," but you gotta make something, and i have student loans to pay off.