2026 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2026 Page 15 make informed business decisions. This includes long term family and business planning, strategic business guidance, financial and production trend analyses, and benchmarking against similar farms. A benchmarking analysis will measure how a farm operation is doing in relation to a peer’s farm. Joel Kaeb & Chet Stock’s article “Looking Beyond Yield: What Benchmark Data Really Shows” said with benchmarking, “the goal is to compare data with other operators similar to you in size, age, soil type, and other factors. This process digs beyond the surface of yield data and can provide deeper insights into profitability, efficiency, liquidity, and long-term business health.” In addition, “Benchmarking helps farmers understand how their operation is working, whether they’re behind the pack in their region, and what changes they can make to improve profitability.” Services offered by FBFM To provide guidance to cooperators, FBFM offers many services. One valuable service FBFM provides is a comparative analysis report which “provides a comprehensive evaluation of your operation, helping you better understand overall performance. The comparative analysis report highlights key strengths and identifies opportunities to improve profitability and retain earnings within the business.” Other consulting services include analyzing trends in finance and production and keeping records of farm business and business management reports. These reports include an “Accrual Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows, Capital Debt Repayment Capacity, Economic and Production Benchmarking, Depreciation Schedules and Projected Farm Income Statement.” In reviewing financial records with a consultant, cooperators have a better grasp of their revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities and debts, which can help in planning for the farm operation’s future. FBFM’s accounting services offer monthly reports of “detailed business accounting” plus assistance with payroll and bill paying. More guidance can be provided in areas such as estate planning, retirement planning, cash flow projections, and other business planning needs. Resources like FBFM’s educational center offer financial advice and ideas on farm management and newsletters sent to cooperators during fall and winter provide an economic outlook for farms. To maintain a farmer’s confidentiality while maximizing research value, Westen said the raw data is aggregated and processed into anonymous farm business records before it is made available to university faculty and
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