The Farmer’s Edge
Grow a profitable farm that pays you a living wage and gives you quality of life.
Run your farm like a business!Join today!
You’ve already tried to fix this. Here’s why it didn’t stick:
QuickBooks felt like it was made for accountants, not farmers. You got overwhelmed and gave up
Your spreadsheets are kind of a mess, and you’re not even sure they’re right
You hired a bookkeeper who didn’t really get agriculture. You walked away still not knowing what your numbers were saying
Good News!
I help farmers with those same problems every single day. And if you’re like any of them, you’ve probably made some of the same mistakes…
Your Coach and Instructor: Julia Shanks
I’m Julia Shanks and I’m on a mission to help farmers build profitable, sustainable businesses that leave them with enough energy to enjoy life outside of the farm .
Since 2008, I’ve coached hundreds of farmers on how to create systems and gather data so they can make better decision and increase profits $25K, $50K, even $100K a year.
I created The Farmer’s Edge because I kept seeing the same thing: smart, hardworking farmers making decisions in the dark. Not because they weren’t capable, but because no one had ever given them a system built for how farms actually work. My approach isn’t about turning you into an accountant – it’s about giving you just enough to make informed decisions, sleep well at night, and run a business that supports the life you want.
If you’ve ever wished you could just click a button and get clarity to create a financial plan for your farm business – you’re in the right place.
Julia’s Books
Imagine…You have a plan for profits, and a clear path to paying yourself a salary
You base decisions on data; and you finally have the numbers to back it up!
You have a system that works with how you already think, and takes less time.
You know exactly which crops, products and markets are worth your time
You had a plan to get through the winter/slow season without getting in a cash crunch.
You could afford to take a vacation because you built that into your budget.
You knew what kind of sales you needed to achieve your profit goals.
All of that is possible inside The Farmer’s Edge!
The Farmer’s Edge is an online self-paced course that will help you transform your farm business.
Inside, there are more than 50, bite-sized video tutorials that ground you with accounting concepts, and cover practical topics like bookkeeping systems (and how to set it up), cost of production, pricing strategies, enterprise analysis, and cash flow budgeting. A bundle of Excel templates and calculators help you take the concepts and make them actionable with just a few clicks.
When you join The Farmer’s Edge before June 26th, you’ll also get a QuickBooks Chart Accounts Audit. Save 10+ hours not guessing if it’s right; and getting reports that tell you what you need to know.
Show me where my money is going!Join The Farmer’s Edge!
MYTH #1 – If I sell more, I will be more profitable.
It’s tempting to believe this is true, that if you can sell more, and generate more revenue, you will be more profitable.
The Truth: Sales don’t equal profits.
Sales tell you just what your customers paid you.
Sales don’t tell you want it cost to grow the case of vegetables, the bouquet of flowers, or pound of meat.
Inside The Farmer’s Edge, you’ll learn how to calculate your cost of production, and with custom excel templates; and how to set your prices for profits.
MYTH #2 – If I can file my taxes, then I have everything I need.
Certainly, you need to file your taxes; and having a bookkeeping system to organize all your business sales and receipts is key.
The Truth: Bookkeeping for taxes is different than bookkeeping for business management and decision making.
For example, for your taxes, you have one category for “supplies.” And for the IRS, that’s enough.
But that does not help you understand what you spent on farming/production supplies vs. office supplies vs. selling supplies (like packaging, farmers market signs, or scales).
If you wonder, how can I improve profits, then you need to know which expenses are out of control, and which expenses are in line. Just knowing what you spent on “supplies” isn’t enough. “Supplies could be so many things: for the office, greenhouse, selling, or field, so you want to have more details in your books. You want to know what you’re spending on payroll, so you know if you’re managing your staff efficiently, or if you need to make adjustments. And you want to know what you spend on selling so that you can evaluate if each of your sales channels bring in enough revenue to justify the expenses.
Much of this can be solved quickly and easily in how you set up your chart of accounts, using parent accounts and children (or sub-) accounts. This helps you organize all your expenses in easy to understand and easy to analyze chunks.
MYTH #3 – I have cash in the bank, so my business is doing well.
…And the corollary to this myth is that if you don’t have cash in the bank, then your business is tanking.
The Truth: Cash and profits are two different things. You can have cash in the bank because you got a loan or a grant. While these are helpful tools and may help you improve the profitability of your farm, they are not profits.
Similarly, you can have a profitable business – but no cash in the bank because you paid back a loan or purchased equipment like a new paper-pot transplanter.
In The Farmer’s Edge, you learn how to organize all the different transactions of your business, so you understand your cash flow (and make sure you don’t get yourself in a cash flow jam), understand your profitability, and know if and how you’re working towards paying yourself and taking time off.
MYTH #4 – Bookkeeping takes too much time.
Bookkeeping without the right system takes too much time – farmers inside The Farmer’s Edge have a clear map of what to do and when; get their tracking time down to a manageable weekly rhythm; often saving as much as an hour a week!
Imagine what you could do with the extra time.
MYTH #5 – I’m not good with math or numbers.
People often believe they’re bad with numbers because they didn’t do well in math in school, or maybe they made a mistake, and got themselves into debt.
More often, it’s not that people are bad with numbers, they just don’t know how to organize them. That is, how do you organize all your costs so that you can calculate your cost of production? How do you organize your income statement so you can understand what the numbers tell you?
As one client said, I know I’m supposed to look at my numbers every week, and I do. I just don’t know what I’m looking at.
In The Farmer’s Edge, I’ll show you how to organize all your numbers so you can calculate your cost of production, set sales goals, understand if you need to borrow money (and if you can afford to pay it back).
And if you are truly bad at math (which I don’t believe!), then you can use excel templates and tools that have the formulas already built in, so you don’t even have to do the math.
Who is this right for?
Beginning & Aspiring Farmers
If you want to start your farm business on the right foot, then having a solid system for tracking and managing your cash is key. You can set yourself up for real sustainability (and profitability) in your business from the very beginning! What we consistently hear from our students is this: “I learned so much from the class – not only about farm finances but I figured out very quickly what I didn’t know.”
Established Farmers
Already have an established business and solid bookkeeping system? Great! Many of our students are established farmers, and they get a TON of value from The Farmer’s Edge because they get a clearer picture of their farm finances and so they can confidently make informed decisions on how to grow a successful business.
Coaches and Consultants
If you already work with farmers and want to better support them with business and financial management, The Farmer’s Edge will catalyze your farm financial coaching career. The course includes antidotes and case studies of real farms so you can begin building your skills immediately.
Ultimately, this is for you if…
You want to understand your business numbers and improve profits.
You need a system to get started.
You maybe have a bookkeeping system (QuickBooks, Wave, or Excel), but you’re overwhelmed by how much time it takes and how little it makes sense.
You know want to grow your business and maybe hire employees, but you’re overwhelmed figuring out if you can afford it.
You want an easy, straightforward system for bookkeeping and number-crunching that doesn’t take hours and hours.
This is not for you if…
You’re looking for a magic bullet or a guarantee that skips the work.
You’d rather piece together lessons from free YouTube videos rather than real farmer-focused, actionable strategies from experts.
You’re not interested in growing and scaling your business, nor improving profits.
You don’t want to look at your numbers because you’ll realize you’ve been losing money this whole time
You’re confident you’re doing everything right, and the reasons your business isn’t doing better is beyond your control.
What they’re saying about The Farmer’s Edge:
“It’s absolutely essential knowledge for running a business. And it’s all oriented to farming”
“I was intimidated by the material, but the course was presented in a way that helped me learn and feel confident.
“I was immediately able to up my game in terms of QuickBooks organization, budgeting, and working with my numbers.”
“I valued the real-life scenarios and word problems. The course kept my interest the whole time.”
“This class is a soup-to-nuts guide to setting up farm finances, tracking them, and planning for the future”
“This program gave me the best overall exposure to how to run a small agricultural business.”
“This course is phenomenal. I thought I knew how to manage money in my business, but The Farmer’s Edge gave me so many new skills and ways of looking at my business!”
“Thank you for breaking down confusing concepts into bite-size pieces. This is just what the doctor ordered for this numbers-avoidant farmer.”
“The Farmer’s Edge was an invaluable program for not only creating a clear picture of my farm’s finances but also for planning future production.“
What’s inside The Farmer’s Edge?
9 modules with step-by-step video instructions to create your systems, analyze your numbers, and create a plan for growth and profits + excel templates and calculators to help you organize and crunch numbers
Phase
1
Get Grounded
You’ll build the financial foundation every farm business needs – learn the language, the concepts, and the frameworks that helps everything else make sense. No accounting degree required.
Phase
2
Build Your Systems
You’ll set up a bookkeeping system that works for your farm – whether that’s QuickBooks or our AgriLedger Tool – so you’re always working with clean, reliable numbers instead of digging through a pile of receipts or guessing from memory.
By the end of this module, you’ll have all the information you need to start digging in the numbers and harvesting the data you need to make informed business decisions.
Phase
3
Digging into the Numbers and Harvesting Data
As a former student/farmer/client Laura said to me, “I used to think numbers were black and white and boring; but they are magical and powerful teachers, and they are the keys to the kingdom.”
This module will show you what she means!
Find out exactly what you’re earning – by product, by crop, by sales channel – and calculate your profit per hour so you know where your time and energy are actually paying off.
You’ll use your real cost of production to set prices that cover your costs, pay you fairly, and hold up when a customer pushes back.
Phase
4
Planting the Seeds for Growth
You’ll build a cash flow budget, evaluate investments before you make them, and create a plan for the year ahead – so growth feels intentional, not accidental.
You’ll walk away with the clarity, the tools, and the confidence to make data-driven decisions; for this season, next season, and every one after that.
I’m Ready for a Profitable Farm that Pays Me!
Join today!
You also get a bundle of templates and calculators to do the number crunching for you!
Opportunity Cost Calculator
($500 VALUE)
Can you afford to reduce your prices if you sell in a different market? The opportunity cost calculator helps you see the impact of your pricing strategy on profits.
Product Pricing Calculator
($500 VALUE)
You need a profit. And if you sell to a distributor, they do too! This calculator helps you set prices based on your profit goals and cost of production, as well as the profits the distributor needs.
Agri-ledger – Cash Flow Tracking Tool
($1,500 VALUE)
Not ready for QuickBooks? You can still track sales and expenses in an easy to use excel template. This isn’t just for taxes, it also summarizes all your numbers so you can easily create an annual profit and loss.
Profit Planning Calculator
($750 VALUE)
Set a sales goal that gets you to your profit goals; and pay yourself a salary. It can be hard to wrap your head around the number when all your expenses vary in different ways. This tool will calculate that number for you based on the realities of your business.
cost of production calculator for vegetables & livestock
($1,500 VALUE)
Knowing your cost of production is key to setting prices and achieving your profit goals. Use this template to organize your numbers to easily calculate your cost of production for vegetables as well as livestock.
Evaluating Risk in a Time of Climate Change – Masterclass
($750 VALUE)
Climate change is real and it’s here. As you consider improvements to your farm’s infrastructure or adjustments to your crop plans, we give you tools to evaluate whether it makes sense for you and your risk tolerance. We provide an excel template to help you organize your numbers.
investment prep mini-course
($1,000 VALUE)
If you’re apply for a loan to grow your business, you need to understand what lenders looks for and how to organize your financials so it’s easy for the lender to say “yes”!
qb chart of accounts quick creator
($500 VALUE)
A powerful tool that will help you set up your chart of accounts in less than an hour.
excel for farmers tech tutorial
($150 VALUE)
Video tutorials on how to get the most out of Excel (google sheets). We’ll go over basic formatting and formulas, as well as some more advanced concepts that can help you crunch your numbers.
Live Feedback
($1,000 VALUE)
Join an exclusive community with your fellow farmers and get direct feedback and coaching from Julia.
Total Value: $14,600
Join Today!
Stop wasting hours guessing if it’s right and get reports that give you answers.
Get started today for just $1,050
or 5 monthly payments of $240
Pay in full
Payment Plan
Join today!
Got questions? We’ve got answers!
14-day Money-Back Guarantee
As a business and financial coach, I don’t want you paying for a program that doesn’t work for you. Within 14 days, and after completing the first module, you decide this program isn’t a good fit for you, just send us an email, and we’ll issue you a full refund.
Exception: If you complete the course, and/or used this program to fulfill the FSA Borrower Training Requirement we will not issue refunds.
After 14 days, you’re stuck with us! (Though I think you’ll see that’s a very good thing.)
If you’ve read this far…
You have two options:
✗ Spend hours on spreadsheets you don’t know are right; make big decision based on gut feelings, and question if you’ll ever be able to pay yourself a salary.
Or,
🎯Finally have a proven system that works how you already think, so you know exactly which crops, products, and channels are worth your time, and have a plan for profits – and a clear path to a salary that doesn’t depend on a good season.
Imagine where you could be just one
month from now…
You’re ready to stop getting stuck in analysis paralysis.
You’re ready to start taking action to improve your farm profits.
You’re ready to work smarter not harder.
You’re ready to get there with less stress, less overwhelm, more joy, and more profits!
You’re ready for The Farmer’s Edge.
Invest in yourself and your farm today!
Still have questions? Feel free to shoot us an email.
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