Farm accounting, from the field to the bank.
Practical writing on crop budgeting, Schedule F, Form 4562, and the lender package your operation has to hand over every winter.
Latest posts
Farm Repayment Capacity: Debt Service Coverage Ratio Explained
Can this farm make its payments and still feed the folks at home? DSCR is how lenders find out.
Farm Solvency: Understanding the Debt-to-Asset Ratio
How much of your outfit does the bank already own? The Debt-to-Asset Ratio is how lenders answer that question.
Farm Liquidity Ratios: Current Ratio and Working Capital Explained
Current Ratio and Working Capital to Gross Revenues — the two liquidity numbers your lender watches most closely.
Why Most Farm P&Ls Don't Match the Tax Return (And How to Fix It)
Cash vs. accrual, missing categories, depreciation differences — here's why your P&L and Schedule F drift apart, and how to close the gap.
How to Calculate Break-Even Price and Yield for Corn and Soybeans
Break-even price and yield are the fence posts your marketing plan hangs on. Here's how to calculate them right.
What Agricultural Lenders Look for in a Balance Sheet
The Balance Sheet is the first page a lender reads. Here's what they're looking for and what raises concern.
Turning Shoebox Receipts and Bank Statements Into Clean Farm Books
Photo-in, categorized-out. A workflow that keeps your books current all season instead of once a year.
7 Common Mistakes Farmers Make When Building a Crop Budget
Seven ways crop budgets go wrong — and how to build one that actually reflects the operation.
Cash vs Accrual Accounting for Farms: Which Should You Use?
Cash is simpler. Accrual is more accurate. Most farms actually need both — here's how to split the difference.
How to Prepare for a Farm Operating Loan or Equipment Loan in 2026
Walk into the lender's office with a clean package. Here's exactly what they want and how to assemble it without a last-minute scramble.
Farm Accounting Software vs QuickBooks: What Corn, Soybean & Wheat Farmers Actually Need
QuickBooks works fine for a barber shop. Here's where it falls short for a row-crop operation and what a farm-built tool adds.
Form 4562 and Your Farm Balance Sheet: Why Depreciation Data Matters
Form 4562 is a ready-made asset list hiding in your tax return. Here's how to use it to build a defensible Balance Sheet.
Crop Budget Analysis: How to Project Profit Field by Field Before You Plant
Whole-farm averages hide losing fields. Field-level crop budgets make you look each acre in the eye before you plant.
How to Import Schedule F Into Your Farm Accounting System
Schedule F numbers are already IRS-accepted. Import them once and reuse them as a tax-verified baseline for your P&L.
How to Create Lender-Ready Farm Financial Statements (P&L, Balance Sheet & Cash Flow)
Your ag lender doesn't just want a tax return. He wants clean statements that show the operation can pay him back.
What Lenders Actually Look For in Farm Financial Statements
Working capital, current ratio, debt-to-asset. Here's what your lender is calculating from the statements you hand them.
Building Corn and Soybean Budgets That Hold Up at the Bank
Lenders don't fund optimism — they fund defensible assumptions. Here's the checklist that keeps your operating loan approved.
How to Turn Schedule F Into a Working Chart of Accounts
The IRS already gave you a chart of accounts. It's on the back of Schedule F. Here's how to use it.
Why Farm Accounting Software Needs to Understand Fields, Not Just Accounts
A farm isn't one business — it's dozens of small businesses, one per field. Here's why your books need to reflect that.