Running a Viable Farm Business with Julia Shanks & Dan Brisebois
This half-day session will dive into the essentials of running a successful farm business. Julia will focus on three crucial considerations for farm viability: operations, financial management, and marketing. Attendees will learn how to evaluate operational efficiency on their farm, set up an effective recordkeeping system for accurate financial tracking, and develop a pricing strategy that aligns production costs with market demands.
Julia Shanks, author of The Farmer’s Office, is a business strategist, analyst, and educator for agricultural entrepreneurs. With diverse experiences as a pilot, chef, and entrepreneur, Julia merges accounting precision with culinary creativity. Her consulting helps food and farm businesses optimize profits through business planning, feasibility studies, and operational audits, alongside financial management training for farmers. Julia’s book, The Farmer’s Office, guides farmers to think like entrepreneurs for financial sustainability. Julia began as an FAA aviation analyst, shifted to culinary arts, and later earned her MBA and taught accounting. She holds a BA from Hampshire College and is a QuickBooks certified pro-advisor.
Dan Brisebois is a founding farmer at Tourne-Sol co-operative farm in Les Cèdres, Quebec. Tourne-Sol grows organic seeds for an online seed store and a wholesale rack program; and grows organic vegetables for 500 weekly veggie baskets. Dan also has a secret agenda. He wants you to grow seed on your farm! Dan is the author of The Seed Farmer and Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers; and the host of the Seed Growers podcast. Dan runs the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy and blogs about farming and seeds at www.danbrisebois.com.
