Websites with Useful Information for Outsourcing Feed and Fieldwork
The Cornell Small Farms Program has a variety of resources at its website, including production, marketing, and business management:
http://www.cals.cornell.edu/agfoodcommunity/afs_temp3.cfm
University of Wisconsin – Forage Resources
This website has lots and lots of excellent articles, spreadsheets, and decision-making tools. The home page is included in the Outsourcing Resources:
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/uwforage/uwforage.htm
Machinery Management Articles from Iowa State University can be found at, http://www.extension.iastate.edu/pubs/fm2.htm
PM 696 Estimating Field Capacity of Farm Machines
PM 709 Fuel Required for Field Operations
PM 786 Combine Ownership or Custom Hire
PM 787 Acquiring Farm Machinery Services: Ownership, Custom Hire,
Rental, Leasing
PM 952 Farm Machinery Selection
PM 1373 Joint Machinery Ownership
PM 1450 Transferring Ownership of Farm Machinery
PM 1860 Replacement Strategies for Farm Machinery
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture has many excellent business management tools (decision making tools and spreadsheets) at: http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/busdev/downtown.htm. They include:
Land Leasing Tools
The Building Rent Calculator
Hay Cost of Production Worksheet
Machinery Cost Calculator
The Land Cost Calculator
The Equipment Lease Analyser
Custom Farmwork Rate Calculator
Pricing Standing Hay
http://www.ontarioforagecouncil.com/forage_marketing.htm
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/pok/howmuchforstandinghay.htm
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/green/ag/pdf/greenagcalendar.pdf
Pricing Hay Based on Quality
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/HayPricing.htm – type in your quality values and it calculates a price. Except it is based on the old “Relative Feed Value” parameter which is accurate for alfalfa, but under-estimates grass quality,
“The Time Value of Money and Investment Analysis”
http://agmarketing.extension.psu.edu/Business/FinancialTools/TimeValueMoneyP2.PDF