Project Type: Research and Education
Funds awarded in 2016: $199,246.00
Projected End Date: 09/30/2019
Grant Recipient:
U. of Wisconsin-Madison
Region: North Central
State: Wisconsin
Project Coordinator:
Michael Bell
Dept. of Community and Environmental Sociology, U. of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-Coordinators:
Leah Potter-Weight
Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, UW Madison
Description:
The Fruit and Nut Compass is a farm business planning tool to help both new and experienced producers project the financial costs and returns from an enterprise focused on perennial crops. It is available as a free, downloadable Excel file. The Fruit & Nut Compass is very different than a standard crop enterprise budget because it enables a person to examine the complete costs and expected returns of up to 12 crops, simultaneously, as part of an integrated farm plan over a 15 year time period. The tool is designed as an “open workbench” where the user enters information based on their specific plans to assess whether their enterprise will be profitable. It does NOT include any assumptions about crops, yields, costs or selling prices…those are all data entry tasks for the user. The main questions this tool helps the user answer are: how deep of a financial hole will I be digging and when might my perennial crop farm become profitable?
Type:
Decision-making Tool
Target audiences:
Farmers/Ranchers; Educators
This product is associated with the project "The Fruit and Nut Compass: Developing a Tool and Guiding Principles for Diversified Farms"
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.