BF 203: Holistic Financial Planning

Building Farm Profit into the Picture

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Building Farm Profit Into the Picture

If you’ve been struggling to make your farm operation profitable without driving yourself into the ground, this financial planning course is for you. Ultimately, it will help you with the delicate balancing act that all farmers must succeed in: balancing healthy profits with healthy land and a healthy farm family and personal life. You will learn how to make financial decisions toward farm & family values and goals, and how to build profit into your plans up front, rather than hoping there is something left once expenses are subtracted from income. If you have been struggling with the financial statements in your business plan, this is a great course to help you focus in on these and get clear on your numbers.

Target Audience

ALL LEVELS: This course is intended for farmers with at least one season of management experience and some record of their farm’s income and expenses (even if this information is stored on scraps of paper in a shoebox). This course will move at an intense pace, with time to catch up at the end. If you have not yet started farming, you are welcome to take the course, but you MAY need to do extra legwork to research realistic potential expenses and income for your planned enterprises.

Course Objectives

If you complete all aspects of this course, you will:

  • Write a holistic farm and family goal that expresses what matters most
  • Practice a framework for making decisions that moves you towards your goals
  • Create an annual budget that prioritizes your goals and limits your expenses

Webinars

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments here in Teachable, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, live webinars will be woven into the online interface for 6 weeks each Fall to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from presenters and ask questions in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.

Webinar Schedule

In 2025, this course will be offered live for 6-weeks on Tuesdays from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Eastern) from January 14 – February 18. While we encourage live attendance, so you have the opportunity to engage with presenters and ask questions, all webinars are recorded and posted in the online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely, and can return to participate in the live webinars in future offerings of the course if you wish. Join us!



Your Instructor


Phil Metzger + Allyson Angelini
Phil Metzger + Allyson Angelini

Phil Metzger is a farm and natural resources development consultant, retired from a 31-year career as a Resource Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Phil instructs on various topics including: biological monitoring, land planning, farm, personal & business financial planning, goal setting, and improved decision making. He is a certified educator of Holistic Management (HM) and has personally practiced HM for over 20 years.

Allyson Angelini has a degree in Sustainable Agriculture from UMass Amherst and has worked on dozens of farms in New England and Italy. She owns and operates Full Heart Farm, which she purchased in 2012 at the age of 24. She serves as a mentor for Holistic Management International and is a member of the National Young Farmers Coalition. Allyson was named one of CT Magazine’s 40 Under 40 in 2015, as well as eWomen Network’s Emerging Leader of the Year for 2015. In BF 203, Allyson shares the details of how she plans and manages her farm’s finances using Holistic Financial Planning.


Student Testimonials

"This course gave us the support we needed to get started on designing a whole farm budget, assessing our net worth, setting goals, and making decisions; and a set of tools to help us as we define profit for ourselves and our farm."
"Both Allyson and Phil did a great job at managing the technical aspects of the course, as well as going through the material. There was ample time and space to ask questions and they were responsive to email/forum inquiries."

Course Curriculum


  General Course Resources
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  Week 1: Getting Started with Holistic Management
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  Week 2: Assessing Last Year and Identifying Weak Points
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  Week 3: Planning Income and Profit, Laying Out Your Net Worth
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  Week 4: Planning, Prioritizing, and Cutting Expenses
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  Week 5: Balancing the Plan, Checking Monthly Cash Flow and Determining Ending Net Worth
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  Week 6: Proactively Monitoring Your Plan
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course officially starts and ends on the dates given above, when the instructors get involved and begin hosting live weekly webinars. If you are registering after the webinars have concluded for the year, you will have immediate access to all the course materials, and will be able to participate in the next year's webinars if you choose to.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 7 days and we will give you a full refund.

Get started now!