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Even with years of experience and degrees in environmental horticulture and economics, Becky and Phil Brand still found themselves unsure of their farm鈥檚 overall health. With some help from UNH Extension, they gained the insight needed to plan for a stronger future.

The Brands, who operate Brandmoore Farm in Rollinsford, are pretty typical of New Hampshire farmers, says Jesse Wright, a field specialist with UNH Extension. Farmers are drawn to the field by the lifestyle or by the desire to provide fresh products to their community, and less so by a desire to maximize profit.

Passion doesn鈥檛 pay the bills, though. When it comes to building a successful and resilient business, farmers can call in Wright, who focuses on agriculture business, sales, and marketing. Any farmer in the state can access her support, and those who do will often work with her, off and on, for years.

The farmers she鈥檚 worked with sometimes let their hearts lead them to irrational choices.

鈥淵ou would never open a hardware store and sell a hammer for less than it costs you to bring it in, but it happens over and over again on farms,鈥� Wright says. Many New Hampshire farmers grow a diversity of crops, and might sell to a wholesaler, direct to consumers, to restaurants, and use their produce to create value-added products听such as pickles or jams. A single farm can contain multiple enterprises, yet few owners have a clear understanding of how those enterprises are performing from year to year.

鈥淚 work with farms on setting up and refining records keeping so they can make data-driven decisions about the management of their farms,鈥� Wright says.

Often, the farmers who reach out for help in one instance end up re-engaging with Wright again and again, such as was the case with Brandmoore Farm.

The Brands had been farming for a while before they first reached out to Wright. Their farm, on about 200 acres, produces vegetables and berries, beef, pork, and eggs, as well as dairy products and hay. Becky said they were making ends meet but the complexity of their operation made it difficult to think about evolution.

鈥淲e were at the 10-year mark in our business, and we weren鈥檛 sure where to put our energy,鈥� Becky says. Should they go all-in on dairy? Specialize in another product? 鈥淵ou have so many different enterprises, you鈥檙e trying to figure out how they all fit together.鈥�

That was two years ago. By then, the Brands had added parenthood to their list of responsibilities, and they wanted to make solid financial decisions.

Wright taught them how to compile an 鈥渆nterprise budget,鈥� which enabled them to see the costs and revenue for individual products as if each were its own business. That budget guided them in the short-term by helping them to ensure their prices were set appropriately and in the long term by giving them the confidence to plan for their future, both as a business and as a family.

鈥淥ur margins are very small, and we were nervous about our future ,鈥� Becky says.听鈥淲orking with Jesse gave us confidence to move forward.鈥�

The Brands farm on an historic, conserved property, and spent their first decade living in the small farmhouse on site. Thanks to their work with Wright, once they gained a more granular understanding of how their farm operates as a business, they felt empowered to take on a mortgage and purchase a home nearby, providing their children with more stability and privacy.

The Wheat From the Chaff

There can be so much information considered over the course of a farm鈥檚 operation that it can be challenging to separate the signal from the static. Wright helps farmers dial into their operation by meeting them where they are and taking it step by step.

鈥淭he short way to say it is I work with farms on setting up and refining farm record-keeping, so they can make data-driven decisions about the management of their farms. Which crops to plant, where to sell, if they can afford to hire someone, if they should take out a loan to pay buy equipment,鈥� Wright says.

Depending on the farm, Wright might start with a basic accounting system and a goal that can be achieved within a year.

鈥淎fter one year, we鈥檒l do a different goal and get better. I see my relationships with farmers to be ongoing, which is wonderful,鈥� Wright says. Along the way, she comes to understand the farmers as well as their farms. Accounting conversations can open the door to improved marketing, and Wright can refer her clients to colleagues that specialize in sustainability, pest management and many other topics.

鈥淥ne of the most interesting aspects about Extension is our wrap-around services,鈥� Wright says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e connected to each other and all kinds of other services which adds significantly to how we鈥檙e able to help people in the state.鈥�