Title: Explain the importance of establishing and maintaining a financial and production record-keeping system for an agricultural enterprise.
Course: Agricultural Production Technology (18301-I) > Section: Developing Business Aspects of an Agricultural Enterprise

Explanation should include

- keeping different types of records
  - financial records
  - production records
- recognizing the importance of record keeping
  - Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (e.g., proof of income, expenses, inventory, depreciation on tax returns)
  - decision aids
    - balance sheets
    - cash-flow statements
    - income statements
  - institutional requirements
  - environmental regulations
- selecting an applicable record-keeping system
- comparing paper and digital record-keeping systems
- importance of analyzing the agricultural enterprise’s records
- creating a production record-keeping system using computer software
- evaluating the enterprise using financial and production records.

Process/Skill Questions:

- What could be some of the consequences of not maintaining records for an animal enterprise?
- What are some of the record-keeping categories for health, breeding, and production?
- What systems are available to assist producers in maintaining records?
- What are expected progeny differences (EPDs) and why are they important to the agricultural enterprise?