Business administration and country farming encompasses every aspect of managing an agricultural business that is successful. It involves identifying the needs of customers that the farm is uniquely placed to satisfy and determining how to combine the most basic resources (land and labor, as well as capital) to maximize profits. It also requires making decisions that balance economic, social and environmental considerations and also taking care of agritourism-related regulatory issues.
To become an expert in agribusiness first, you need to come up with an original big idea. You should also write and practice an “elevator speech”. The next step is to create a business plan that explains how to transform the big idea into reality. Find out and analyze the risks associated with agribusiness that could impact your strategy. Finally, you must find a financing solution that best fits the needs of your business.
Good farm managers continually evaluate new technologies and assess the effectiveness of existing practices. They also prepare for the future. They should be able gather and interpret information quickly. This could include inputs from other farmers, extension workers, private agribusiness companies, librarians, researchers and their friends. They should also be able to think in a creative manner and conduct mini-trial and error experiments.
Budgets are an essential instrument to evaluate the farm’s operations, however their reliability can be hampered by the large degree of variability. Budgets should be complemented with probability distributions for weather events and price. This will enable the manager to assess the risk and analyze the effects of the various alternatives.