The farm business plan that farmers develop reflects their expectations about the external environment and how it will impact the strengths and weaknesses of the farm business. In particular, farmers will be using the output prices and input costs developed in this section when they begin developing cash flow projections and enterprise budgets in later steps. To complete this worksheet, farmers will enter values they believe will exist. However, nobody is more familiar with local market conditions than the people who live and work there. Therefore, this process has to reflect your farming situation, especially since you are responsible for implementing your plan.
Many farmers obtain their outlook information from various sources.
Some of the most popular sources include U.S. Department of Agriculture publications and conferences, land-grant university outlook publications and extension meetings, and private industry newsletters, magazines and meetings. Successful farmers of the future will probably need an ability to scan a variety of publications and synthesize the important points of each. Relying on a single source of information is hazardous because it could be biased or narrow in its evaluation. Most farm publications have specific columns or articles devoted to the outlook information. During off-season months, numerous meetings present guest speakers who comment on market opportunities and directions.