How to make – and stick to – a business budget

Jan 28, 2020

When it comes to budgeting for farm businesses, financial advisors say greater adaptability in managing variable income, carefully consideration of what constitutes a true farm expense and financial clarity can all go a long way.

Start with clear parameters

For Darrell Wade, founder of Farm Life Financial, an advisory and farm-planning firm based in Peterborough, Ont., transition planning provides a good opportunity for both incoming and outgoing generations to understand the parameters in which they must operate.

Budgeting for both parties, that is, starts with sharing a clear cash flow statement. That statement can then be compared to lifestyle expectations, projected changes in expenses and other variable factors to determine what is required to stay profitable.

“The only way it will work is if there is clarity on the financial side,” Wade says. “It’s not about what we make from an asset, it’s what we keep.”

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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.