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:
• Tax returns
• Payroll / Tax deposits
• Accounts payable
• 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 (which we'll cover next month).