The Farmer's Office, Second Edition - 2nd Edition by Julia Shanks (Paperback)

About the Book

"The Farmer's Office, Second Edition is the complete guide to starting, managing, and growing an agricultural or farm business. Fully updated and expanded to include tutorials on basic farm financial management, QuickBooks, business planning, navigating uncertainty, business growth, and thinking like an entrepreneur."--

Book Synopsis

Transform farming from financial guesswork into profitable business management. Complete toolkit of templates, systems, and strategies for tracking costs, planning cash flow, and building a successful farm business that provides both financial security and farming satisfaction.

Why Most Small Farms Fail Financially:

90% of small farms struggle not because of poor growing skills, but because of poor business management. This system provides the financial foundation successful farmers use to build sustainable, profitable operations.

What You'll Master:

• Financial planning templates for budgeting, cash flow, and profitability analysis
• Record-keeping systems that track true costs and identify profit opportunities
• Marketing strategies for direct sales, CSAs, and wholesale relationships
• Tax planning and legal structures that protect and optimize farm income
• Growth planning tools for scaling operations systematically and safely

Real Farm Business Results:

Farmers using these systems report 25-40% improvement in profitability, clearer understanding of true costs, and confidence in business decisions that previously felt like guesswork.

Turn your farming passion into a profitable business. Essential for anyone serious about making farming financially sustainable long-term.

Review Quotes

Filled with excellent, real-life examples, this is the best book I've seen on the business side of running a small farm. Written by someone who clearly has first-hand experience and understands how market farmers think, The Farmer's Office clearly illustrates the ups and downs and ins and outs of making the dream financially sustainable. This is a great book for both farmers just starting out, and experienced farmers looking to improve their businesses.
--Josh Volk, Slow Hand Farm

This book will guide you from setting up your farm, to how to make tough business decisions when things aren't going so great, and to scaling up when things take off again. Whether you love spreadsheets or barely tolerate them, you should read The Farmer's Office!
--Dan Brisebois, the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy, host, The Seed Growers Podcast, farmer, Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm

Every farmer aspiring to sharpen their business management skills should have this book in their toolbox. This latest edition offers a comprehensive overview of what to track, how to use data to make decisions and, most importantly, how to move forward with a minimum of pain and anxiety. All of which is illustrated with updated case studies of real farmers confronting real business challenges and figuring it out.
--Mary L. Peabody, business coach, University of Vermont Extension professor emeritus

This comprehensive guide, filled with detailwwed graphs, spreadsheets, and charts, offers a clear pathway to mastering your finances and truly comprehending your farming enterprise. This isn't just another business book, it's a farming financial masterclass.
--Michael Kilpatrick, farmer, The Farm on Central, educator, Growing Farmers

If you're dreaming of starting a farm, then The Farmer's Office just became your first official "must read." I wish this book had existed thirty years ago when I started farming.
--Forrest Pritchard, NYT bestselling author, Gaining Ground

Julia's second edition is even better than the first. In addition to all its critically important and usable information, and its many new chapters, she's added an easy-to-use guide to help you decide what chapters are most important for where your business is now.
--Dorothy Suput, founder, The Carrot Project

Whenever I encounter a struggling farmer, I send them off to read Julia Shanks's book. This is a must-read for anyone working in agriculture.
--Lennie Larkin, author, Flower Farming For Profit

Farmers of every level of experience will find valuable ideas in this book.
--Ellen Polishuk, Plant to Profit, author, Start Your Farm

Julia Shanks's new edition of The Farmer's Office gives us vital tools that can help new as well as old and experienced farmers survive, evolve, and hopefully thrive!
--Brett Grohsgal, owner/farmer, Even' Star Farm, co-author, The Farmers Market Cookbook

About the Author

Julia Shanks brings a broad range of professional experience to her clients; from pilot, to chef, to serial entrepreneur, she combines the practicality of an accountant with the creativity of a chef. Julia's career started at the FAA as an aviation analyst, and quickly took a turn into the culinary arts. Julia worked as a chef for 15 years, launching several food businesses. After earning an MBA in entrepreneurship, she taught graduate and undergraduate accounting at Babson College. As a business consultant and coach, she supports owners of small- and medium- sized food and agricultural businesses to achieve and maintain financial and operational sustainability. Together with Brett Grohsgal, she co-authored The Farmers Market Cookbook. Julia lives in Cambridge, MA.