The Farmer's Office, Second Edition: Tools, Templates, and Skills for Starting, Managing, and Growing a Successful Farm Business

Transform farming from financial guesswork into profitable business management. Complete toolkit of templates, systems, and strategies for tracking costs, planning cash flow, and building a successful farm business that provides both financial security and farming satisfaction.

Why Most Small Farms Fail Financially:

90% of small farms struggle not because of poor growing skills, but because of poor business management. This system provides the financial foundation successful farmers use to build sustainable, profitable operations.

What You'll Master:

• Financial planning templates for budgeting, cash flow, and profitability analysis
• Record-keeping systems that track true costs and identify profit opportunities
• Marketing strategies for direct sales, CSAs, and wholesale relationships
• Tax planning and legal structures that protect and optimize farm income
• Growth planning tools for scaling operations systematically and safely

Real Farm Business Results:

Farmers using these systems report 25-40% improvement in profitability, clearer understanding of true costs, and confidence in business decisions that previously felt like guesswork.

Turn your farming passion into a profitable business. Essential for anyone serious about making farming financially sustainable long-term.

Julia Shanks is a chef, entrepreneur, and business consultant who provides business assistance and coaching to new and established farm and food entrepreneurs. She has an MBA in entrepreneurship and is co-author of The Farmers Market Cookbook. She lives in Cambridge, MA.

Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife Maude-Helene Desroches are the founders of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an internationally recognized micro-farm famous for its high productivity-profitability using low-tech, high-yield methods of production. He lives in Quebec, Canada.