Farm budget manual 1971

The Lincoln College Farm Budget Manual is revised and published annually to assist people involved in the preparation of farm budgets. This1971 edition has been heavily revised and a considerable amount of new material added. Whilst no claim is made that the contents are exhaustive they are, we feel, quite comprehensive. In a period of rapid cost inflation and short term price freeze the expenditure section has been especially hard to prepare. To the best of our knowledge the prices quoted were those operating at 9th February 1971.

The Lincoln College budget is designed primarily as a teaching aid and thus lays considerable emphasis on formalizing the farm programme for the budget year. The Society of Accountants budget on the other hand is designed for use by accountants whose main interest lies in the finances of the farm rather than the details of the farm programme. Both of these budget layouts contain too much detail for some purposes, and for some people. The third budget that used by the New Zealand Dairy Board is an example of a budget layout reduced to its bare bones. For a seasonal supply dairy farm with only a small number of variables to be considered it is quick to use and easy to understand. In addition to the three layouts reproduced in this manual there are many more in use servicing the agricultural sector. The general layout of this manual follows the layout of the Lincoln College budget. Section I is devoted to data required to plan the physical operation of the farm over twelve months. The succeeding two sections contain the revenue and expenditure data required to convert the physical programme into a financial one. Section IV contains some relevant notes on taxation as applied to farming enterprises. In the final section a considerable number of gross margins have been reproduced for the benefit of those people who may be interested in analysing individual enterprises.