The following Agriculture article printed in the 2016 spring edition of our quarterly newsletter.

Should I Keep Farm Records?

Recordkeeping is a necessary element of both small and large farm businesses. Good recordkeeping makes tax preparation less painful. More importantly, analyzing your records provides crucial information needed to make business decisions relative to land leasing, equipment purchasing, break-even prices for products, etc.

Farm Record Books and Pocket Size Beef Record Books are available at the Extension Office. There are also several good recordkeeping and financial analysis resources online. Here is a list of several:

• UT Extension, Establishing a Financial Record-keeping System (a good guide that covers the basics)
• UK Ag Economics (Information & Analysis Tools)
• Vegetable production recordkeeping
• Kentucky Farm Business Management Program – this service provides many benefits to members, including a recordkeeping system, enterprise analysis, and comparative benchmarking with similar size and type of farm businesses.

Written by Traci Missun, Oldham County Agriculture Agent. Edited by Lauren State, Oldham County Extension Staff Assistant.