Cash Flow Management

Few businesses have such wild swings in cash flow as farms do.  Vegetable farms bleed cash in the winter and spring as they plan for the growing season; and it’s not until June when the cash starts to trickle back into the business. Similarly, chickens slow down in egg production in the winter; and if you don’t always have animals heading to the slaughterhouse, livestock operations also have cash flow swings.  Without proper planning you will get yourself into a cash crises.

In this section, we discuss strategies for managing cash flow — from tracking your cash balance to creating weekly cash plans.

At the end of this section, participants will understand:

• How to track cash balances so they always know how much they have in the bank
• How to create a weekly cash plan during the lean times.

For more on cash flow management:

• Review “Reading Financial Statements: The Balance Sheet.”
• Learn how to create a cash flow budget for longer term planning.