Financial Resources

Money is one of the top stressors of Americans. Many American families are experiencing financial stress such as having difficulty paying bills, not being able to save, and putting off health care needs. American farmers and ranchers are struggling with financial pressure such as declining farm income, increasing production costs, and low commodity prices.

On the family farm, personal finances and farm finances often overlap. The following links provide information and resources to help manage personal finances during financially challenging times.

Topics covered include understanding your situation, tracking your money, coping with financial stress, managing income and spending, to name a few.

Creating Thriving Farms: Tools you can use with Farmers, Professionals and Communities - This webinar was originally a 75-minute Professional Development session for the 2020 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference. 

Managing Money in Tough Times: Taking Charge in Challenging Times - More Americans feel added stress and anxiety about their financial future as talk of rising consumer debt, falling housing prices, rising costs of living, and declining retail sales bring up worries about the nation’s economic health. Learning positive money management techniques can help you and your family adapt to tough economic times. From eXtension.

Managing Your Personal Finances in Tough Times - This website is designed to share proven resources used and/or developed by Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Financial Education professionals. It is designed to help people make sound financial choices in tough times. All materials are free for personal use. From University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension.

Getting Through Tough Financial Times - Whether you have lost your home or job or are concerned with the decreasing value of your assets, you must rethink your money management strategies to minimize the impact of the current financial situation. This website is designed to help you make good decisions during these tough financial times. From University of Illinois Extension.

The following fact sheets were developed by the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maryland.

• Diagnosing Your Farm Financial Health - Fact Sheet 538
• Assessing and Improving Farm Profitability - Fact Sheet 539
• Assessing and Improving Farm Solvency - Fact Sheet 540
• Assessing and Improving Farm Cash Flow - Fact Sheet 541
• Developing and Improving Your Farm Records - Fact Sheet 542
• Analyzing Investment Opportunities—The Time Value of Money in Farm Decision Making - Fact Sheet 543
• Marketing: Critical to Effective Farm Management - Fact Sheet 544
• Enterprise Budgets in Farm Management Decision Making - Fact Sheet 545
• Cost and Revenues Considerations in Farm Management Decision Making - Fact Sheet 546
• Using a Partial Budget to Analyze Farm Change - Fact Sheet 547
• Using Economic Principles to Manage Your Farm - Fact Sheet 548
• Leadership and Management of Farm Businesses - Fact Sheet 667
• Focusing Your Dreams: Creating a Mission Statement - Fact Sheet 668
• Discover Your Priorities: Develop a Needs Assessment - Fact Sheet 669
• Strategic Planning: Drafting a Blueprint for Your Farm Business - Fact Sheet 670
• Time Management: Making the Most of a Limited Resource - Fact Sheet 671
• Milk Production costs: How Much Does it Cost You to Produce? - Fact Sheet 790