PORK$HOP.09
SET FOR JUNE 2nd IN DES MOINES
The premier
management seminar of World Pork Expo week returns to the DeWaay Capital
Management headquarters in suburban Des Moines on June 2nd,
2009. PORK$HOP this year will focus on financial strategies
as well as unveil the latest Latta, Harris, Hanon & Penningroth Cost of
Production Benchmarks. Note that the seminar has been moved forward to
Tuesday as the World Pork Expo now runs from Wednesday through Friday.
We’ll publish the PORK$HOP agenda and headliners in next month’s
newsletter.
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KNOW BEFORE YOU GROW: WHAT LEVEL ARE YOU ON?
Most farm computer users are stuck in a rut, plodding along from year
to year on familiar roads that lead nowhere. This edition of “Know Before
You Grow” categorizes three primary levels of computer applications, describes
the challenges and benefits from climbing to the next level, and checks
to see if there are workable shortcuts. As we describe these levels refer
to the mountain vista above.
Compliance—What We Have to Do
Why do most farmers keep records? Simple. Somebody—usually the government—makes them. Here’s a brief summary of common compliance—level reporting:
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Tax returns |
| • |
Payroll / Tax deposits |
| • |
Accounts payable |
| • |
COOL/process verification |
| • |
EPA |
| • |
FSA/Crop insurance |
| • |
Landlords/farm managers |
| • |
Loan covenants |
While maintaining this information may seem a daunting (and often hated)
task in itself, there’s no direct management benefit to the farmer—other
than keeping him out of jail. Yet a majority of farm operators stay on
this broad (and apparently safe) road way down in the valley.
Decision Support—Where We Want to Go
“Flatlanders” don’t flock to the Rockies to admire the roadsides along
the valleys. All are drawn to the majesty of the mountain peaks. The timid
admire the view from a safe distance; the ambitious come prepared to conquer
the heights. The peaks in the management information world are “decision
support” and incorporate powerful tools such as:
| • |
Kaizen (continuous improvement) budgets |
| • |
Contribution margin |
| • |
Analytics (Statistical Process Control, Six Sigma, etc.) |
| • |
Benchmarking (financial and production measures and ratios) |
| • |
Real-time alerts |
| • |
External knowledge |
| • |
Consultants |
Timely, well-informed decision support should be the ultimate goal of
a computerized information system. However, just as it requires time and
effort to climb from the valley to the mountaintop, anyone planning to
move from compliance to decision support must pass through a challenging
middle level.
Business Processes—How We Get Things Done
Before decision support can be truly effective, all of the following business processes must be functioning and coordinated:
| • |
Accounting |
| • |
Production records |
| • |
Marketing |
| • |
Purchasing |
| • |
Inventory control |
| • |
Human resources |
| • |
Supervising/monitoring all the above |
These business processes are universal to every industry, yet production agriculture clearly lags other segments in formalizing, standardizing and implementing these practices. Reasons include:
| • |
Producers are accustomed to wearing many hats and storing most of their business details under them. |
| • |
Closely-held businesses are not required to document their internal processes or prepare GAAP financial statements. |
| • |
Few producers are adequately trained in accounting. |
| • |
Farmers are farmers because they like to do things their own way. |
| • |
Most operations don’t have access to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software used by other industries to streamline these processes. |
| • |
“Decision aids” (specialized analysis programs, spreadsheets or web-based) are widely available and often free. |
Shortcuts to the Top?
Why go to all the trouble to develop and maintain formal business processes
when it’s so easy to just “plug” your numbers into a spreadsheet and get
immediate answers? We’ll compare and contrast two radically different
approaches to decision support in next month’s newsletter.
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PREPARE FOR THE BIG SEASON WITH “SPRING TRAINING”
Make
the most of the upcoming farming season with “Spring Training” with
FBS. Unlike major league baseball you don’t have to travel to “grapefruit
country” to get in shape; our trainers will come right to your farm.
March is our busiest training month so contact us right now at 800-437-7638
or e-mail sales@fbssystems.com to schedule your appointment or to visit
about how we can help.
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WEBINAR SCHEDULES
Join us for these free webinars at 10:00 am CST:
| • |
LifeCycle Budget on Monday, March 2 |
| • |
Crop production and cost analysis on Monday, March 9 |
If you'd like to attend any of these virtual meetings, e-mail norm@fbssystems.com by 8:00 am CST on the day of the webinar to receive login instructions.
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|
SOFTWARE
Q&A – WITH Q'S FROM YOU, OUR CLIENTS!
Send
us your questions/problems–be they short, long, simple or downright
frustratin'!–about SeRVware
and we'll handle them right "on the air" for the benefit of all.
|
Q.
|
I have Crop Audit inventories (seed, chemicals, fertilizers) carried over from prior years. How do I get rid of them?
|
| A.
|
| 1. |
Products that are no longer used but still show up in inventory can be removed from inventory by selecting the appropriate year and going to Input | General and pressing the Crop Entries button, then the Search button and selecting Seed, Chemical or Fertilizer Inventory from the list. A list of January 1 inventory records will be displayed in the window on the bottom of the screen. Highlight the record and press the Delete key. |
| |
|
| |
Caution:
This quick fix will be undone if you ever recreate
Beginning Crop Balance entries for the selected year
(Utilities | Create Beginning Balances).
NEVER delete a product from a setup screen,
instead inactivate it by un-checking the Active box
in the setup screen. |
| |
 |
Note that you can use the same process for adjusting Feed and Drugs in Smart Feeder.
Next month we’ll cover more tips for correcting inventories.
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sales@fbssystems.com
800.437.7638
|
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©2008 FBS Systems, Inc.
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