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OGRAIN Compass: A tool to help farmers assess the financial impact of converting to organic production

About the Webinar


Planning for financial success on a grain farm requires understanding how various crop rotation and production decisions will influence financial returns. Those transitioning to organic may be especially unsure as they move into new realms of production and management. The new OGRAIN Compass is a planning tool to help producers understand the financial implications, at both the crop and whole-farm level, of their cropping decisions.

In this webinar OGRAIN Compass developers John Hendrickson of the University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and Jim Munsch of Deer Run Farm will review the concept and function of this valuable new tool. They will show how it works to predict financial results on a given piece of land over a ten-year planning period. OGRAIN Compass yields detailed financial results for the totality of the operation, including the impacts of cropping decisions in a proposed rotation, the cost of equipment, provision for investments to make the enterprise financially sustainable, and the full burden of overhead expenses. Users can easily adjust yield and price scenarios to view how these uncertainties affect the bottom line.

About the Presenters


John Hendrickson coordinates research and education programs to help specialty crop producers at the Center for Integrated Agricultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is part of a team of people who have created several “Compass tools”—downloadable spreadsheets—including the well-known “Veggie Compass.” The current stable of Compass tools also includes a Livestock Compass, OGRAIN Compass, and a forthcoming Fruit and Nut Compass.

Jim Munsch: A grass-fed beef farmer, Jim is involved in a variety of organic and sustainable agricultural activities and has a passion to help farmers make data-driven decisions for pricing and profitability. He has helped many individual farmers make more informed financial decisions by using cost accounting systems for diversified fresh market vegetable growers, livestock and grain producers.

 





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoxseUm0Skc

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About the Extension Foundation

The Extension Foundation was formed in 2006 by Extension Directors and Administrators. Today, the Foundation partners with Cooperative Extension through liaison roles and a formal plan of work with the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) to increase system capacity while providing programmatic services, and helping Extension programs scale and investigate new methods and models for implementing programs. The Foundation provides professional development to Cooperative Extension professionals and offers exclusive services to its members. In 2020 and 2021, the Extension Foundation has awarded 85% of its direct funding back to the Cooperative Extension System, 100% of funds are used to support Cooperative Extension initiatives. 

This technology is supported in part by New Technologies for Ag Extension (funding opportunity no. USDA-NIFA-OP-010186), grant no. 2023-41595-41325 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Extension Foundation. For more information, please visit extension.org. You can view the terms of useat extension.org/terms.

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