New Florida Bilingual Guide Boosts Farm Planning

Sep 23, 2025
By Farms.com

UF IFAS launches resource for business planning

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension has released a new bilingual online guide to help farmers strengthen their operations through effective business planning. The platform, Building Your Florida Farm Business Plan / Construyendo tu Plan de Negocios Agrícola de Florida, provides step by step guidance, practical tools, and expert insights for both new and experienced farmers.

“Farming is more than growing crops or raising livestock—it’s running a business,” said Luis Rodriguez, UF/IFAS Extension Polk County agent and member of UF/IFAS CAFÉ Latino, “A solid business plan is a living roadmap that helps producers make informed decisions. And if farmers need local support, we can connect them with Extension agents across the state.”

The guide covers every key element of a farm business plan. Farmers can learn how to write a clear business description, create a marketing plan with nine actionable steps, and build operational and human resource strategies. It also explains how to prepare essential financial documents, including income statements, cash flow records, balance sheets, and break even analysis. A final executive summary brings all components together.

Business plans are essential for everyday decision making and for financial support. For example, the USDA Farm Service Agency requires a detailed plan for loan applications such as direct loans, guaranteed loans, and land contracts. Without a plan, applications cannot move forward.

Rodriguez added that having a plan ensures farmers are ready to borrow money to expand, sustain, or improve their operations. By offering the resource in English and Spanish, UF/IFAS Extension makes business planning more accessible to Florida’s diverse community of farm operators and entrepreneurs, connecting them with local Extension agents for additional support.

Photo Credit: pexels-fauxels

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.