题目：于农场财务危机中生存SurvivingaFarmFinancialCrisisPlanningFarmfinancialsurvivalreliesupongoodmanagementskills,includingasuccessfulproductionandfinancialplan.Aspecialeffortindevelopingacarefulprepared,thoughtfulplancanbewellrewarded.Intimeswhennetreturnsdecline,theneedforcarefulplanningbecomesespeciallycriticalbecausetheroomtoovercomeproblemsandstillmakemoneybecomesslim.Twofundamentaltoolswhichcanhelporganizethedecisionmakingprocessandprovideawrittenrecordingoftheplanningprocessareenterprisebudgetsandthecashflowbudget.EnterprisebudgetsDevelopingenterprisebudgetsisacriticallyimportantpartofasuccessfulproductionplan.Whilealotofdataisrequiredforanenterprisebudget,reviewingpastfarmrecordscanbehelpfulinhighlightingareasforimprovement.ThebudgetspublishedbytheKentuckyCooperativeExtensionServiceprovidecostandreturnestimatesthatserveasanexcellentbasefordevelopingyourownenterprisebudgetsaswellasprovidingdataformakingcomparisonsbetweenenterprisesonyourfarm.Althoughenterprisebudgetshavelimitationscreatinganeedtoconsidersuchadditionalfactorsasriskmanagementandwholefarmimplicationsoftheenterprisemix,enterprisebudgesarehelpfulin1)focusingattentiontodetails,2)evaluatingproductionalternatives,3)analyzingdifferentproductionpractices,and4)providingdataforotherplanningtoolsuchasthecashflowbudget.CashFlowBudgetsThecashflowbudgetisanotherexcellentplanningtoolusefulinfarmfinancialsurvival.Itishelpfulinestablishingadebtrepaymentplananddeterminingborrowingneeds.Examiningthecashflowbudgetmayhighlightwaystorestructuredebtorrearrangepurchasestoimprovecashflowandreduceinterestexpense.Financialproblemsmightbedetectedearlyenoughtoreducetheirimpact.Thecashflowbudgetisalsoatoolthatcanhelpyoudeterminethefinancialfeasibilityofmakingamajorinvestmentbyexaminingtheadditionalcashinflowsandoutflowscreatedbytheinvestmentitself.Whilethecashflowbudgetdoesn’tprojectprofits,butrathernetcashflow,itcanassistinprovidingdataforotherimportantareassuchastaxplanning.AnalysisAgricultureisusuallyconsideredahigh-riskindustry.Afinancialwaytocharacterizethesesourcesofriskistoviewthefirmintermsofitsbalancesheet.Traditionalbusinessrisksarefoundmostlyontheassetsideofthebalancesheet.Manyoftheseriskscanbetracedtoweatherrelatedfactorsandthusarebeyondthecontrolofthefarmer.FarmerscandevelopstrategiestominimizetheeffectsofthesebusinessrisksbuttherisksarestillpresentFinancialrisks,bycontrast,aredirectlycontrollablebythefarmer.Theserisksarefoundontheliabilitysideofthebalancesheetandaredeterminedbythedegreeoffarmerborrowing.Mostfarmersusesomeamountofdebtcapitaltoprovideoperatingfundsandtofinancenewinvestments.However,farmersneedtobecarefulthattheydonottakeontoomuchdebt.Debt/AssetRatioThereareseveralfinancialratiosthatcangiveanindicationofwhenafarmermaybetooheavilyleveraged.Abalancesheetmeasureisthedebttoassetratio.Thisratiocomparesthetotaldebtobligationsowedagainstthevalueofthetotalfarmassets.Ineffect,thissingletimepointratiomeasuresthepercentageofthebusinessassetsclaimedbysomeoneelse.Becausetheagriculturalsectorhasaheavyrelianceonnondepreciableassets(i.e.,land),debttoassetratiosappearlowrelativetoothereconomicsectors.Typically,thedebttoassetratioforagricultureis15to18percent.In1998,theratiowas15percentbuthadbeenabove20percentinthemid1980swhenfarmrealestatevaluesfell.Debttoassetratiosmayvarybasedonthefirm’ssize,tenureposition,ageof...
