The world has changed, is changing, and will continue to change. The world is much closer to us,
and we to the world. In the future, farmers will have to consider world events and world markets
much more than they have in the past. This is true whether they are involved directly in international
trade or marketing to local consumers. The world is here physically, technologically, and competitively.
It is a global economy, a global marketplace.
We have written this second edition because the global economy and marketplace continue to
force farmers to understand the impact of world events on the strategies needed on their farms, as
well as to learn new management tools and methods to respond to the increased competition from
across the road and around the world. Besides the basics of farm management, this book has new and
expanded sections designed to help readers understand the greater economic integration of countries
and markets around the world and the management options farmers have to deal with in a setting of
global economic integration.
This book covers the basics of management, budgeting, financial analysis, whole-farm planning,
investment analysis, land ownership and leasing, risk management, and human resource management.
Also included are expanded chapters, with discussion on risk management under climate
changing conditions, on topics relatively new to farm management texts: strategic management,
operations management, quality management, and production contract evaluation. As products and
marketing become more individualized and local, the idea of the marketing mix from general business
(that is, the “four Ps”: product, price, place, promotion) has been added to the chapter on
marketing basics. Since the size and financial complexity of farm businesses have grown, this book
also includes a chapter on farm succession and the development of written plans to transfer the farm
business from one generation to the next. In addition, this book includes background material on
lessons from microeconomics and macroeconomics and a survey of major agricultural policies in
countries around the world.
We have written for managers, not record keepers or producers. Managers need to understand
and use records and financial statements, but in this competitive world, a manager who emphasizes
record keeping over managing may not be in business long. Similarly, the person who just produces
because he or she “knows what needs to be done,” but does not manage the farm, will have trouble
surviving in the future.