The Farmer's Office, Second Edition

Filled with excellent, real-life examples, this is the best book I’ve seen on the business side of running a small farm. Written by someone who clearly has first-hand experience and understands how market farmers think, The Farmer’s Office clearly illustrates the ups and downs and ins and outs of making the dream financially sustainable. This is a great book for both farmers just starting out, and experienced farmers looking to improve their businesses. —Josh Volk, Slow Hand Farm

This book will guide you from setting up your farm, to how to make tough business decisions when things aren’t going so great, and to scaling up when things take off again. Whether you love spreadsheets or barely tolerate them, you should read The Farmer’s Office! —Dan Brisebois, the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy, host, The Seed Growers Podcast, farmer, Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm

Every farmer aspiring to sharpen their business management skills should have this book in their toolbox. This latest edition offers a comprehensive overview of what to track, how to use data to make decisions and, most importantly, how to move forward with a minimum of pain and anxiety. All of which is illustrated with updated case studies of real farmers confronting real business challenges and figuring it out. —Mary L. Peabody, business coach, University of Vermont Extension professor emeritus

This comprehensive guide, filled with detailwwed graphs, spreadsheets, and charts, offers a clear pathway to mastering your finances and truly comprehending your farming enterprise. This isn’t just another business book, it’s a farming financial masterclass. —Michael Kilpatrick, farmer, The Farm on Central, educator, Growing Farmers

If you’re dreaming of starting a farm, then The Farmer’s Office just became your first official “must read.” I wish this book had existed thirty years ago when I started farming. —Forrest Pritchard, NYT bestselling author, Gaining Ground

Julia’s second edition is even better than the first. In addition to all its critically important and usable information, and its many new chapters, she’s added an easy-to-use guide to help you decide what chapters are most important for where your business is now. —Dorothy Suput, founder, The Carrot Project

Whenever I encounter a struggling farmer, I send them off to read Julia Shanks’s book. This is a must-read for anyone working in agriculture. —Lennie Larkin, author, Flower Farming For Profit

Farmers of every level of experience will find valuable ideas in this book. —Ellen Polishuk, Plant to Profit, author, Start Your Farm

Julia Shanks’s new edition of The Farmer’s Office gives us vital tools that can help new as well as old and experienced farmers survive, evolve, and hopefully thrive! —Brett Grohsgal, owner/farmer, Even’ Star Farm, co-author, The Farmers Market Cookbook

Julia Shanks is a chef, entrepreneur, and business consultant who provides business assistance and coaching to new and established farm and food entrepreneurs. She has an MBA in entrepreneurship and is co-author of The Farmers Market Cookbook. She lives in Cambridge, MA.

Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife Maude-Helene Desroches are the founders of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an internationally recognised micro-farm famous for its high productivity-profitability using low-tech, high-yield methods of production. He lives in Quebec, Canada.