review his financials is so important, Clouston plans to keep
hiring this consultant even after the government stops sponsoring
this program.
Another way Clouston benchmarks his operations and
makes decisions is to compare with a trusted peer. He s involved
in a mentoring program sponsored by the provincial government
in Manitoba. They match young farmers with older, well-respected
farmers producing similar products.
Whenever I ve got a question I can just call him, says Clouston.
That resource is invaluable.
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Long-term strategies
Having the financial data for each of the enterprises also
helps Clouston create a long-term business strategy, using management
accounting to compare marketing options that will
maximize income and enhance revenues.
Clouston compared the net revenues from his directly
marketed product with commodities. His conclusion was
simple. The middleman is making money. Now I want to be
the middleman.
His goal is to eventually sell everything the farm produces
directly off the farm.
To do that, Clouston Farms is going to open its own on-farm
retail shop by the end of the summer. It will include storefront and
a commercial kitchen for Rick s mother, Donna. She ll manage the
shop which will sell her cooking, (Rick boasts that her homemade
perogies are amazing) and all the products from the farm.
Donna attended a couple of seminars on the 100-mile diet
and was shocked to hear a common question. Consumers
wanted to know where they could buy local flour. The customers
many on their way to the cottage love buying their
food directly from the farmer. This has jump-started Clouston
into investigating buying his own flour mill.
More management tools
He s also uses the Field Manager program to help organize
his cropping records. The other management tool Clouston uses
to keep the day-to-day operations running smoothly are dry-erase
boards for each production area. That way he can keep
track of which equipment they need to work on when, or monitor
the age of his layer flock or check a future s price.
Farmers that juggle many enterprises need tools to help them
multi-task and financial records to track how well each of the
balls is managing. Then they can decide when to throw away a
ball, add a new one or try to learn a new trick.
Clouston uses his financial records so much that he s in the
process of setting up an office closer to the fields, sheds and
barns. Having an office closer to the action will allow me to
slip in if I have to figure something out, instead of tromping
through the house or saying I ll do it later. CG
