By Scout Nelson
A farm budgeting workshop will be hosted in Blue Hill, Nebraska, to help agricultural producers strengthen financial planning for the year ahead. The program will be organized by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Center for Agricultural Profitability and Nebraska Extension.
The workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 20 at the Blue Hill Community Center located at 555 W. Gage Street. The event will focus on the basic principles of farm business management for crop and livestock operations.
The training will concentrate on strategies for projecting production costs, setting breakeven prices, building marketing plans, and estimating farm profitability. These areas will help participants prepare for the 2026 production season with improved budgeting skills.
Topics will include key principles for calculating cost of production and breakeven values. Participants will review Nebraska crop budgets that include estimates for 2026 production costs. Recent sample cattle budgets will also be discussed to support livestock planning.
Another major topic will explain how enterprise budgeting can guide management decisions. This method will allow each part of the farm operation to be reviewed separately, helping improve planning and cost control.
The program will also introduce the free online UNL Agricultural Budget Calculator. The tool will offer customizable enterprise budgets, risk analysis, whole-farm profit and loss planning, and monthly cash flow tracking. The calculator will be available at https://agbudget.unl.edu.
Lunch will be provided at no cost through sponsorship support, allowing participants to continue discussions in a relaxed environment.
Following lunch, attendees will join a hands-on training session. This interactive demonstration will show how to use the Agricultural Budget Calculator program. Participants will learn how to start using the tool or improve their skills if they have used it before.
Attendees will be encouraged to bring a laptop or tablet with internet access to take part in the hands-on portion of the program. This will help ensure full participation during the demonstration session.
Registration for the workshop will be available through local Nebraska Extension offices. Participants will be able to register by Jan. 15 by calling Nebraska Extension in Adams County at 402-461-7209 or Nebraska Extension in Webster County at 402-746-3717.
The workshop will support stronger farm budgeting practices and long-term financial planning through simple education tools and guided training.
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Categories: Nebraska, Business, Education, Livestock, Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle