Farm records can the defined as systematic documentation of all activities taking place in a farm enterprise over a given period. It is an act of writing down every activity engaged on the farm in every production season and at different stages of the production process up to the final disposal of the goods and services to the ultimate consumer.
In all spheres of life, adequate information is necessary for decision-making. This is also the case for farming decisions, and this is one of the reasons why farm records are essential in any farm management operation.
Records are statements of fact or data concerning a specific subject which may be specified in physical, monetary, mathematical, or statistical terms. Farm records pertain to information recorded on the day-to-day operation of a particular farm.
Farm records are simply the records of all the activities that take place on the farm within a period say a farming season or year. It can also be defined as all written documents showing major activities going on in the farming business. Farm record keeping is more than just keeping track of what crop was planted in what field; it is a concept applicable to the entire farm operation.
A complete farm record will include all daily activities and transactions and with a proper accounting system, it should be possible to have a complete estimate of the profit or loss statement at the end of the year. By keeping a complete farm record every year it is possible to have a comparison between years and thereby determine the rate of growth or deterioration of the farm.
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There are three basic types of farm records:
1. Resources inventories.
2. Production account of livestock and crop operations.
3. Income and expenses records.
As a farmer, you use resources such as land, labor, machinery, breeding stock management, and financial capital. You must assign value to these resources and maintain current inventories so that you know the foundation from which you operate, from this resource base, you produce food and fibre.
The production account of livestock and crops shows how this resource base is combined with other inputs to yield physical output. Consequently, production records, such as the relationship of feed to weight gain, cow to number of calves, fertilizer to crop yield, or land to total production, are most critical to your farm’s profits.
Because farmers interact in a market economy, the cost of the feed and revenue from the market value or the cost of the fertilizer and the price of the grain are equally important. These income and expense records are related to each other and translate production accounts into Naira and Kobo.
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Principles of Farm Records Keeping
Some general principles apply to all forms of record keeping and these are as stated below:
1. All records, to be of value, must be accurate, neat, and full. One way of making sure that records are accurate is by filling them in as soon as possible after the operation or transaction and by checking regularly.
2. All the results of record keeping should be compared with some standards which may be the results of previous years or the results for other farms. By comparing results and discussing problems together, farmers can help each other to improve their management.
3. The record-keeping system should fit into the farm organization or framework.
4. The person responsible for keeping the records should develop a habit of regularly and accurately posting transactions.
5. All financial transactions should be made through the bank and the monthly statement should be reconciled with the checkbook and record-keeping system.
In summary, farm records can be defined as the systematic documentation of all activities taking place in a farm enterprise over a given period. There are three types of farm records: resource inventories, production records, and income and expense records. For all records to be of value they must be accurate, neat, full, current, and simple.