In this Issue:

Greetings!  

 Termites and Teamwork

• Read about the speakers and topics at the FBS User Conference.  
• Respond to the FBS User Conference deadlines.   
• Our free, weekly one o'clock webinar addresses timely and time-saving tips for getting more done in 2013.
• The Q&A of the Month discusses alternatives for accessing your FBS data through the Internet. 
•  Read about how information gateways are cracking open in the Farm Management Software Blog. 

                                                                                      SDG

2013 User Conference: Cultivate Data So You Can Harvest Knowledge

For better or worse, 2013 is the year that "big data" has popped above the horizon.  How can you harvest knowledge from the bounty of data on outside and inside of your farm and apply it to make timely, precision decisions? 

That's the theme of this year's FBS User Conference, August 28-29 in Moline, Illinois.  We've summoned an unprecedented team of expertsto help us apply new technology and best practices to accumulate and cultivate quality data within our operations, benchmark with your peers and manage your resources wisely. 

Here's the current lineup of guest speakers and their topics:  

Paul Neiffer,C.P.A., is an Agribusiness adviser with CliftonLarsonAllenLLP Agribusiness Group.  He is best known as "TheFarm CPA" with Farm Journal Top Producer.  Paul will be presenting the keynote address as well as breakout sessions covering Hedge Accounting recommendations from the Farm Financial Standards Council.

Robert Wolfe, C.P.A.., is Senior Audit Manager with Frost, PLLC, Little Rock, Arkansas.   Robert is engaged primarily in audit of food and agricultural clients and will be conducting a breakout session on Producing What Auditors Need Through FBS Accounting. 

John McNutt, M.B.A., is past president of the National Pork Producers Council and a business analyst and consultant with the CPA firm Latta, Harris, Hanon & Penningroth, LLP.   John will be presenting the Crop and Pork Cost of Production Benchmarks and will explain how to set up and track Multiple Accounting Entities. 

Jack Makowski, M.B.A., serves as Vice President Sales and Marketing at Conservis, which provides mobile cloud-based tools for tracking crop inputs and grain movements that integrate with FBS Software.  Jack will participate in the "Looking Forward" Panel.

Joe Gooding, M.S., serves as Swine Analytics Consultant with Elanco focusing on value added services for customer production
and marketing data.  Joe will be presenting a breakout session on Managing Marketing Data & Variation to Achieve Full Value Pigs.

Blake Hollis, M.B.A., is a Northeast Iowa corn, soybean and hog producer at Lanehaven Farms, which embraces leading edge practices and technology to systematically standardize, flawlessly execute and continuously improve processes. Blake will share his experiences and goals in the"Looking Forward" Panel. 

Bernard Peterson is partner in Peterson Farms, a 13,000 acre Kentucky family business with roots that go back to the 1700's.  He will describe his operation's ongoing quest for better management information and control in the "Looking Forward" Technology Integration Panel. 

In addition to the guest speakers, FBS staff members will be conducting these plenary and breakout sessions:

• What's Coming in FBS Software.
• Making Precision Decisions in the Era of Big Data.  
• Standard Operating Procedures. 
• Going Paperless.
• Tapping Into Electronic Crop Data.
• Customizing Financial Reports.
• FBS Basics.
• Better Ways of Viewing and Interpreting Your Data. 
• Farm/Trust Manager Software.

Learn how other users are managing more effectively through new technology.

 The FBS User Conference also includes these informal networking forums:

• New User/Experienced User Idea Exchange.
• Lunches and breaks.
• Mississippi dinner cruise.  

Prime time and prime rib on the Mississippi.

Regardless of your business focus or experience level with FBS, you'll benefit from this unique, once-a-year conference:

• New users will learn tips and procedures directly from FBS staff and experienced users to make their adoption smoother.
• Experienced users will enhance their effectiveness through sharing solutions to common problems with peers and learning new skills that utilize the information stored in their system.
• Potential users will learn how FBS compares to their current accounting software directly from users who have already made the transition.
• Consultants, accountants and advisers will meet potential clients and be better prepared to assist their current clients of taking advantage of the analytical power of FBS.

This year's Conference will be held on August 28-29 at the River's Bend Conference Center in Moline, Illinois.  Click here to register.  Please note the deadlines in the article below.

Sarah Dixon, FBS Technical Services Manager.

 Q.  I want to be able to access my FBS program and data through the Internet using my laptop or tablet.  Is that possible?      

A. Yes.  There are three different ways you can do this:  

1. Switch to "Hosted" software through the AgCompass server.  If you sign up for this option you access your data through a remote desktop connection (RDP).  This connection can be established anywhere you have access to the Internet through acomputer or mobile device.  By using the hosted version you don't need to worry about updating your program files or making backups as AgCompass does that for you as well as providing password security for your data.   

2.  The second option is to purchase a network license from FBS and install Terminal Server on your own server.   This usually requires some outside technical help to configure and maintain, but once that is done you'll have a true multi-user system that can be accessed from anywhere.   

3. If no one else needs to use your computer while you're working on FBS, there are also several other remote access programs such asGoToMyPC and LogMeIn that provide remote access to your pc through any device.  

Just a reminder:   options #2 or #3 will likely require specialized technical help beyond the scope of what the FBS Software Support Department provides. 

FBS Systems