Accredited Farm Managers (AFM)
Farm Managers offer professional management services to farmland owners to help them optimize the returns from their asset. Using their expertise in working with people, crop and livestock production, commodity marketing, soil conservation, financial analysis and accounting, and real estate brokerage, farm managers help their clients maintain and improve the value of their asset and generate cash returns that meet their client’s objectives.
Managers associated with the ASFMRA follow a code of ethics and strive to provide high quality services that include leasing and tenant selection, crop production planning and supervision, improvement project management, commodity sales planning and execution, record keeping and investment analysis. An ASFMRA Accredited Farm Manager has achieved the highest level of professionalism and education in the industry.
An AFM possesses the skills, experience and education to provide land investment analysis and management of day-to-day operations for ag enterprises. The AFM designation is available only through the ASFMRA and is awarded to those individuals that demonstrate experience and complete a rigorous education program to enhance professional skills and knowledge of land management and production agriculture.
The AFM:
- Has specialized expertise to keep an operation profitable and sustainable
- Practices sound business to manage production inputs to improve margins
- Has an understanding of environmental issues for compliance with governmental regulations
- Has the knowledge of government activities that affect agriculture including taxation, regulations, legislation and subsidies
Expertise in:
- Cash flows and partial budgets
- Internal rate of return analysis
- Crop/livestock and futures marketing
- Farm plan preparation and implementation
- Operator selection
- Analyze all risk management practices to maximize profitability
- Lease terms and negotiations
- Seed, fertilizer and production input selection
- Precision farming
- Insurance programs
- Irrigation technology and analysis
- Biotechnology recommendations
- Government program analysis
- Environmental compliance
- Tax regulations
- Land/property purchases and sales
- Expert witness testimony
- Permanent plantings
- Soil conservation
