Explain the importance of establishing and maintaining a financial and production record-keeping system for an agricultural enterprise.

Explanation should include

• keeping different types of records
  • financial records
  • production records
• recognizing the importance of record keeping
  • Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (e.g., proof of income, expenses, inventory, depreciation on tax returns)
  • decision aids
    • balance sheets
    • cash-flow statements
    • income statements
  • institutional requirements
  • environmental regulations
• selecting an applicable record-keeping system
• comparing paper and digital record-keeping systems
• importance of analyzing the agricultural enterprise’s records
• creating a production record-keeping system using computer software
• evaluating the enterprise using financial and production records.

Process/Skill Questions:

• What could be some of the consequences of not maintaining records for an animal enterprise?
• What are some of the record-keeping categories for health, breeding, and production?
• What systems are available to assist producers in maintaining records?
• What are expected progeny differences (EPDs) and why are they important to the agricultural enterprise?