Whole Farm Planning: Combinging Family, Profit, and Environment

I. Introduction

Minnesota farmers are facing tough questions:
Should I expand my livestock operation?
Would direct marketing or a value-added enterprise work with my farm?
How can we bring a son or daughter into the business?
How can I spend more time with my family?
How can we increase community respect for our farm and agriculture?

After struggling with these questions and others, several Minnesota farm families heard about Whole Farm Planning and used the concepts to alter their farm management, bringing more financial stability, improved stewardship, and a better quality of life for their families. They have discovered what most business managers already know: It is difficult to succeed without goals and a plan of how to get there.

Whole Farm Planning, also known as Comprehensive Farm Planning, can help you:

• Develop a vision for your farm ten, twenty, or fifty years into the future.
• Improve the profitability and efficiency of your farm operations.
• Bring respect from the community for your work in protecting the environment.
• Make the farm a safe and healthy place for you and your family.

This publication describes Whole Farm Planning and some tools available to assist with your planning needs. It discusses strengths and weaknesses of these tools, and lists people who can provide assistance and training in their use.

What is Whole Farm Planning?

How is Whole Farm Planning different from the planning you already do on your farm? Most farmers do some kind of planning on their farms nearly every day. Whole Farm Planning is distinct from other farm planning approaches because it ties all the planning you do together for the whole farm and bases it on the long-term vision your family has for itself and the farm in the future. It is farmer controlled, voluntary, and flexible. The plans are owned by the farmer and the information contained in the plans is confidential.

Benefits of Whole Farm Planning include maintaining or improving profitability while enhancing sustainability. Whole Farm Planning can also lead to protection and enhancement of the quality of soil, water, and other natural resources on and near the farm. More important, the planning process helps the farm family define long- and short-term goals which lead to an improved quality of life, and a better relationship with the community.

*Whole Farm Planning: What it Takes.
1997. Whole Farm Planning Working Group.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture, St. Paul, MN. p. 3.

Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of Minnesota Extension.

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