"Big Hardware" meets "Big Software."

Dear Friend,

Which capital investment will generate the best return for your farm? If you're headed to one of the national "Big Hardware" farm trade shows this winter, make sure you explore the powerful benefits of MASA "Big Software."

In this month's news:

Message from the MASA Interim CEO.
Farm Financial Standards updates.
FBS/MASA Users in the news.
Winter trade show calendar.
Q&A: What Windows and FBS versions are supported?
SDG

Message from the Interim MASA CEO

If you follow this newsletter, you are aware that a group of FBS users called the Mutual Agricultural Software Alliance (MASA) have been investing heavily in FBS to bring the technology up to the latest standards. The culmination of that investment took place on January 2nd, when MASA purchased all remaining assets of FBS Systems from Norm and Cheryl Brown.

Norm remains an owner of shares in MASA and holds a position on the board of directors. After 44 years of leadership in farm financial management, he and Cheryl are moving away from daily involvement in the business and to a well-deserved new phase of life. The MASA board has launched a search for new leadership for the company (and please encourage any interested candidates you may be aware of to apply.) In the meantime, I have agreed to fill the CEO role on an interim basis. The rest of the crack FBS team remains in place to serve your software needs.

Besides capital needed to execute this purchase, MASA has raised additional funding to continue adding to the capabilities of FBS. There are two main priorities for these funds: 1) Add data connectivity and business intelligence tools to the core software features in a web-based environment, and 2) Invest in greater resources for customer service, especially around user implementation and integration across data sources. FBS is unquestionably the premier ERP-type accounting program for agriculture and these investments will only enhance its value to growth-oriented crop and livestock farms.

Brian Watkins
MASA Board Member
and Interim CEO

(brian@kenton.com)

Editor's note: Meet Brian in the MASA booth at the Commodity Classic (see article below).

FFSC Guidelines Cover 2024 Farm Financial Standards Council Releases 2024 Guidelines

The Farm Financial Standards Council has just released the 2024 edition of Financial Guidelines for Agriculture that includes updated guidance to Appendix B: Example of Accountant Prepared Financial Statements. The first update pertains to the measurement of expected credit losses on certain financial instruments. The second update reflects recent changes to the Independent Accountant's Review Report.

Click here order the Financial or Management Accounting Guidelines.

FBS/MASA Users in the News

What Is No-Till Soil Truly Worth?

Roy Pfaltzgraff presents at National No-Tillage Conference

Haxtun, Colorado grower, Roy Pfaltzgraff, reported how a transition from tillage to no-till has impacted his 2,200-acre dryland farm’s bottom line at the 2024 No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis. Taking his crop and input data from tillage done in 1991-96, no-till with fallow from 2011-16 and no-till with soil health focus in 2017-22, Pfaltzgraff compiled a side-by-side comparison of the ROI of these three systems and discussed factors beyond the numbers to determine if adding new methods are worth it.