Innovative agronomy tools and resources: Farm business
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EmailInnovation and adaptability are important for farm success. Explore these free tools and resources that can help improve farm business management and networking.
Being able to innovate and adapt is important for farm success, but it can be overwhelming to make changes. A good tool or resource should make your life easier in some way. It might inform decision-making, simplify calculations or analyze and organize data in a practical way. It should be user-friendly, affordable and reliable or trustworthy. The following is a list of free tools and resources that can improve farm business management and networking. It is not an exhaustive list but a starting point.
Farm business
The business side of farming can be overwhelming. Having a good mentor and reliable resources goes a long way toward improving management decisions and reducing stress. These tools and resources are subdivided into farmer network and profitability categories.
Farmer network
Midwest Grazing Exchange: Led by Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Wallace Center at Winrock International, this resource connects livestock owners wanting to graze with landowners looking for grazers. The resource page also contains guidelines on animal transportation and samples of grazing lease arrangements and contracts.
MI Farm Link: Partnering with the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts, this resource connects Michigan farm-landowners with farmers seeking land. Find resources for mentorship, working partners or succession planning.
Profitability
Crop Budget Estimator (All Crops): A downloadable spreadsheet developed by Michigan State University Extension used to calculate input costs and budget for various crops.
Farm Business Decision Tools: This MSU Extension website has various tools related to farm business decision-making.
Fungicide ROI Calculator: Developed by the Crop Protection Network, this tool estimates the return-on-investment (ROI) of applying fungicides to corn, soybeans or alfalfa. This is not necessarily going to reflect your personal ROI; it is just a tool to give you a rough idea and serve as a starting point.
Fun!
This bonus tool is a quiz to test your field crop identification skills. Take it yourself and send it to your friends and neighbors to improve agricultural awareness in a fun way.
Field Crops Identification Quiz: Take this quiz to test your field crops identification skills from afar. Focused specifically on field crops in southwest Michigan. Train yourself first with the article “Drive-by crop identification in southwest Michigan” from Michigan State University Extension.
