Horti-Business Management

Nature and Characteristics of Farm Management

1. Farm is a firm: As in any business, some resources are used for production in the farm and maximize net revenue from the farm. Micro-Economics principles applied for managing a firm is applied for efficient management.
   
2. Risk management: Crop and livestock production is a biological activity, which is influenced by many uncontrolled natural factors such as rainfall, temperature, wind etc. Fluctuation in market price for harvested produce is also common. Therefore farm management has to tackle both production and marketing risks.
   
3. Maximize profit: Farming is the livelihood of farmers. The net income generated from the farm should be able to meet the consumption, savings and investment needs of the farm family. Hence the major objective of the farm management is to maximize profits from various activities in the farm.
   
4. Applied Science: scientific principles in business management, crop management, crop protection, environmental science etc., have to be applied for effective management of farm activities to maximize profit from the farm.
   
5. Integration of enterprises in the farm: Crop cultivation, milch cows, goat, sheep, poultry, and silkworm rearing, bee keeping, etc., are some of the enterprises commonly observed in the farms. These enterprises have to be integrated by using the output / residues from one enterprise as input for the other (eg: fodder for cattle and cow dung as manure). This integration has to happen in a scientific manner looking at the farm in a holistic manner, with focus on economic efficiency.
   
6. Generalist: Farm manager has to be a generalist who should be aware of technical aspects of crop cultivation and a business manager with skills in negotiation, marketing, human resource management, financial management etc.