A recent study by Farm Management Canada found that 63 per cent of Canada’s producers say they understand and can use financial information for decision-making purposes.
Further, producers who have a financial plan and use their financial information to inform decision-making were found to increase their profitability by up to 525 per cent, according to Dollars and Sense.
In recognition of the need for greater financial literacy among Canada’s producers, Farm Management Canada (FMC) and MNP have joined forces to offer a new program for producers, the Farm Financial Fluency training program.
“Increasing farm financial literacy is the key to unlocking important information about the farm’s risk and potential,” says Heather Watson, executive director of Farm Management Canada, “and we are excited to find a partner who is just as devoted to supporting farm financial literacy as we are.”
The program also is targeted at helping farmers be better business managers, to help increase profitability, family and farm team harmony, confidence in decision-making, and peace of mind.
Stuart Person, senior vice president, agriculture at MNP says that producers are and always have been business owners. “Over time, the dollars at stake have steadily increased, raising the potential reward, but also enhancing the risk of failure. This has made the financial management side of the business become increasingly important.”
Together, FMC and MNP will host and deliver six virtual Farm Financial Fluency training programs from October 2021 to March 2022. The program will be specifically designed to help producers understand, interpret, and use financial tools such as balance sheets, statements, cash flow, budgets, and financial plans.
Producers taking the program will learn how their financial information can be organized for quick and easy analysis, the organizations say.
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