Learn farm budgeting essentials at the Planning for Profit Workshop

Jonathan LaPorte<laportej@msu.edu>, Steve Whittington<whitti34@msu.edu>, Cheri Burk<burkcher@msu.edu> and Richard Price<priceri1@msu.edu> Jr. , Michigan State University Extension - October 12, 2026

A program hosted by MSU Extension, MSU Institute of Agricultural Technology Program and Montcalm Community College.

for decoration — Participants will learn basic economic concepts and enterprise budget components to help make sound and timely decisions in their production systems.

MSU Extension is partnering with Montcalm Community College and the MSU Institute of Agriculture Technology Program to host a free Planning for Profit Workshop. This workshop is designed to address many farm profitability topics in production agriculture. It will be offered on Friday, December 4, 2026, at the campus of Montcalm Community College.

This one-day workshop will begin with an overview of enterprise budgeting and cost of production concepts in agricultural economics, which will help producers with farm business decision-making and evaluate the profitability of current or new enterprises. Next, farm marketing will be discussed, including how to cover costs, creating margin goals, alternative markets and marketing price considerations. Farm recordkeeping will be discussed and how effective recordkeeping can assist in making farm decisions. The workshop will also feature instruction on digital agriculture and technology and integration of practices into an operation for increased efficiencies. The workshop will conclude with a practical application “Back of the Envelope” enterprise budget to practice evaluating current or future profitability.

The Planning for Profit Workshop is free, but registration is required. To register, visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/planning-for-profit-montcalm

Workshop Agenda

8:30 – 8:45 a.m.	Check-in/Registration
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.	Introduction to Enterprise Budgeting and Cost of Production – Steve Whittington, MSU Extension Field Crop Educator Understanding enterprise budgets and economic profit Opportunity costs Cost of production Depreciation and margins
10:15 – 11:00 a.m.	Marketing Discussion – Jonathan LaPorte, MSU Extension Farm Business Management Educator Marketing and covering costs Margin goals and cost of production Recordkeeping to determine cost
11:30 – 12:30 p.m.	Lunch
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.	Farm Recordkeeping for Your Farm – Cheri Burk, MSU Extension Farm Business Management Educator
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.	Precision and Digital Agriculture, Richard Price, MSU Extension Conservation Systems Agronomy Extension Educator
2:30 – 3:15 p.m.	Practical Application – “Back of the Envelope” Enterprise Budget Putting it all together with the concepts learned in the workshop Participants will construct an enterprise budget to evaluate profitability of a current or future enterprise on their own farm
3:15 – 3:30 p.m.	Wrap up, Evaluation Survey, Dismiss

For more information, contact please contact Steve Whittington: 309-502-9595, whitti34@msu.edu or Jon LaPorte: 269-414-6418, laportej@msu.edu.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

MSU Extension Farm Management