Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

First Advisor

Dr. Chyi Lyi (Kathleen) Liang

Abstract

The small farmers in the United States face challenges from market uncertainties and climate variations. Many small farmers do not keep consistent financial records, thus making it difficult to analyze their profitability and make decisions in planning. This research is to use a real farm production stimulation from Goldsboro, North Carolina, to collect data from 2017 to 2018 for farm financial analysis that mimics a small-scale certified organic mixed vegetable production. The goal is to use the stimulating information from Goldsboro, North Carolina to help small-scale organic mixed vegetable farmers to identify the main strengths and weaknesses of farm operation; to predict, compare, evaluate profitability and make the right decisions. We gathered data from Goldsboro North Carolina for four seasons, certified organic mixed vegetable operation; FALL 2017, SPRING 2018, SUMMER 2018, and FALL 2018 farm input and output records data for each season were collected. Each season data was entered using Microsoft Excel 2013 to develop an integrated farm financial statement to build a Startup Cost, Use of Funds and Source of Funds, Cash Flow Statement, Income Statement, and Balance Sheet. The fixed assets were depreciated using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) depreciation schedule. Equipment and tools were depreciated using five years. The results of the research will support small-scale organic mixed vegetable farmers to establish a consistent record-keeping system. The results will also support the small farmer to develop and monitor the net cash flow, net earnings, and the debt to equity ratio from the financial statement. The financial statement helps farmers to understand what they possess on the farm and what they do not have, to determine things that need to be removed from the farm as well as to the efficiency level.

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