Effective, profitable farms tend to know how much the farm makes and spends on each enterprise and have clear systems to pay the farmer and manage labor. Recordkeeping puts the information in place to make good decisions.

Need help with technology? Mountain BizWorks offers beginning QuickBooks courses as well as a short course on QuickBooks payroll.

Organic Growers School offers on-farm trainings on management topics through their CRAFT program. Also, OGS is an excellent resource on labor issues. Contact Meredith or Andrea with your questions about labor regulations and labor management on the farm.

A great book on farm recordkeeping, regardless of the type of farm, is Richard Wiswall’s The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook: A Complete Guide to Managing Finances, Crops, and Staff and Making a Profit. Find it online, at your local bookstore, or by sending a check or money order for $32 to:

Are you already handy with Excel and wanting to plan a long season of mixed produce, timed for markets, such as for a CSA? There is no better investment of $25 than in the spreadsheet offered by another New England farmer, Dan Kaplan of Brookfield Farm. Buy his record-keeping marvel at brookfieldfarm.org/CropPlanning.cfm.

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