2003 USERS CONFERENCE UNVEILS FUTURE OF AG BUSINESS

"This is where the future of the ag business is going and the only way we can really achieve true cost analysis is integrating all parts of the business."

Crop consultant/precision agronomist

"Excellent seminar…great networking and ability to see how others are using the software."

Ag-focused accountant

We appreciate those kind comments and the time invested by the presenters and participants in the 2003 FBS Users Conference and Advanced Training Seminar.  Our goal is that those two days will save many days of work and that the topics we covered are put to practical use in the operations represented.  We also plan to share excerpts from the seminar with e.farmsmart readers in the coming months.

Matt Mullenix describes accounting for a multi-entity cropping operation.	Setting sail that night for a 3-hour tour… a 3-hour tour.

Davit Waits from SST says, "Looky-looky at Stratus on my iPaq!"	Ev Chambers shares his vision for dairy managerial accounting.	Ken Wedig shows how to network computers through the Internet.

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Even if you don't raise pigs, your business will be affected by outcome of the National Pork Producer Production and Financial Standards.

•	These standards represent an unprecedented investment in time and money by the country's top production, financial and accounting experts.
•	They are painstakingly documented, offer the only software certification process and provide the only independent web-based benchmarking system.
•	Other commodity groups (corn, soybeans, beef cattle, cotton), under the guidance of the Farm Financial Standards Council, have been building on the NPPC data elements and managerial accounting foundation.
•	All livestock and crop commodities will eventually follow pork's standardized, integrated business model, as well as being affected by court rulings regarding pork's checkoff program.

Timeline:

•	1995.  Organizational meeting for Pork Production-Financial Standards by the National Pork Producers Council.
•	1998.  Pork Production Financial Standards first published in a special edition of National Hog Farmer.
•	2001.  As the result of a checkoff-related court settlement, the National Pork Producers Council and the National Pork Board separate into two organizations-the NPPC handling public policy and the NPB responsible for checkoff-funded promotion, research and consumer information.
•	2001.  FBS begins conducting training programs through South Central Technical College in Mankato, Minnesota.
•	May, 2001.  First e.CLIPSE managerial accounting installation.
•	September, 2001.  National Pork Board-sponsored three regional roll-out meetings to introduce the 350 producers trained in managerial accounting to the software vendors supporting these standards-only 25 producers show up.
•	June, 2002.  FBS e.CLIPSE certified as complying with NPPC Managerial Accounting Standards.
•	September, 2002.  FBS completes Smart Breeder  interface to national database through Pork Office software.
•	September, 2003.  FBS has now installed e.CLIPSE managerial accounting in 28 pork, beef and crop operations in the U.S. and Canada.

Current Status:

The National Pork Board presently owns the Pork Standards intellectual property, which consists of the National Pork Database, training materials and desktop software like the Return on Equity model and PorkOFFICE.  The NPB proposes to transfer these assets back to the NPPC provided that the database and standards remain under NPPC control and are accessible by the NPB.  Neither organization has the funds ($175,000) required for annual database maintenance, let alone new software development.  FBS and five other software vendors were recently asked to assume all these costs.  Without a funding commitment within the next 30 days, the whole Pork Standards project will be terminated.

Implications:

•	For Pork Standards to be sustainable, pork producers ultimately must voluntarily bear the cost (which if every U.S. pork producer "played," would translate to ¼ cent per pig or 5 cents per sow for a sustainable system).
•	Based on their past apathy when the Standards were well-publicized and free, most "family farms" (the NPPC's target audience) will continue to procrastinate until their clock runs out.
•	Lenders–once the drivers behind Pork and Farm Financial Standards–are not pushing compliance.
•	The fact that adopting new managerial accounting always takes longer than expected doesn't negate the value of this practice for individual producers or the industry as a whole–as we emphasize to our clients, "The journey is the destination."
•	The vision of "after-the-fact integration" of production and financial data from dissimilar programs appears no closer to reality than when it was first promised over ten years ago.
•	Without widespread accessibility by all software vendors and producers who want to participate, standards will not be standards.
•	FBS will continue to support and implement the NPPC Standards through our proven e.CLIPSE integrated, production-managerial accounting system regardless of what happens at "higher levels."

What do you think?

1.	Are the NPPC Standards worth continuing?
2.	Which NPPC intellectual properties National Database, Return on Equity Model, PorkOFFICE, Accounting Curriculum, Technical Resource Manual are vital to you or the industry?
3.	Are you willing to pay a "fair share" to have access to this information?
4.	If so, what's a reasonable value/cost?

We look forward to hearing from you!  Click here to respond.

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