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PIONEER POINTERS 



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Getting Off to a Great Start 



EDITOR'S NOTE 



Plant-growing is becoming more competitive 

 Financial sense is as important as growing 

 skills. So. in this issue, we welcome a new 

 column, "Pioneer Pointers," written by the 

 stall at First Pioneer Farm Credit, Bedlord, 

 that will give linancial advice geared toward 

 small agricultural business owners. You'll 

 also read in "From the Board" that the 

 NHPGA has joined the New Hampshire 

 Business and \ndustry ^sociation and that 

 Bob Rimol will be editing a column based 

 on inlormation Irom their newsletters. This 

 will begin in the April/May issue. So we'll 

 cover the broad picture as well. 



Looking over the columns and depart- 

 ments and the people who write them — 

 "The Green Spot" [Mike Cherim), "How 

 about Herbs" {Tanya ]ackson), "Griffin 

 Guru" {Kim fAiller], "Diagnostic \Jpdate" 

 (Dr. Cheryl Smith), "Z-Notes" {]im 

 lablocki) — we see many aspects ol the re- 

 gional scene viewed Irom knowledgeable per- 

 spectives. Readers may not always agree or 

 lind the inlormation litting exact needs ol 

 the moment, but hearing other viewpoints is 

 healthy and gives a broader base on which 

 to make your own business decisions. 

 So we welcome the new energy and ideas 

 and hope you find them useful. 



TIhe holidays are over, the last 

 checks for 1995 have been cut 

 and mailed, and you're a few weei<s 

 (hopefully) from being full tilt into 

 the 1996 production season! It's time 

 to sharpen the pencil, learn from ex- 

 perience, and plan for greater suc- 

 cess in the coming year. Here's a 

 short — but important — checklist. 



1. Take an accurate inventory of your 

 business as soon as you close out 

 the old year in order to compile an 

 accurate financial statement. This 

 should include calculating the fair 

 market value of inventories, supplies, 

 machinery & equipment, structures 

 and other assets, as well as listing 

 the year-end balance for bank ac- 

 counts, loans, open accounts, and 

 any accounts owed to you. 



2. Spend some quality time with oth- 

 ers involved in managing your busi- 

 ness — whether it's your spouse, the 

 next generation, or hired manage- 

 ment. Review what you did well in 

 1995 and what you need to work on 

 to do better in 1996. It's called stra- 



tegic planning! Write up a few key 

 areas for improvement in 1996, being 

 sure to make them as specific as 

 possible with due dates and who will 

 take the lead. Example: "|ohn will 

 develop specific recommendations 

 for how to reduce shrink no later 

 than February 15 with full implemen- 

 tation by March first." 



3. Develop a financial budget for 

 1996. Those who follow a road map 

 have greater likelihood of reaching 

 their planned destination than those 

 who just start driving "cross lots." A 

 useful budget can range from pretty 

 simple to very detailed — it depends 

 on your situation. 



Your records & tax specialist or 

 loan officer can give you a few point- 

 ers for getting started! 



For those who might wish to do a more lor- 

 mal job ol budgeting or strategic planning, 

 one ol First Pioneer's business consultants 

 can work with you on a lee basis. The 

 Bedlord olfice ol First Pioneer Farm Credit 

 IS at 2 Constitution Drive, the phone num- 

 ber there is 1-800-825-3252. 



FROM THE BOARD 



NHPGA ]oins BIA. 



Bob Rimol 



Recently the NHPGA joined the 

 New Hampshire Business and 

 Industry Association (BIA). The BIA's 

 mission is to address the problems 

 facing New Hampshire's business 

 community and to develop and pre- 

 sent constructive solutions that re- 

 flect balanced business interests 

 Ultimately, BIA's mission is to fos- 

 ter New Hampshire's economy to in 

 turn create more jobs and higher 

 income in the Granite State. 



Many smaller organizations such 

 as ours belong to the BIA in order 

 to pool resources and benefit from 



BIA's strengths in the area of public 

 policy. Each day, policies which di- 

 rectly affect New Hampshire busi- 

 nesses are formulated and legis- 

 lated in an attempt to serve the 

 best interests of the public. BIA 

 serves as a voice for their members 

 that insures that the best interests 

 of the business community are pro- 

 tected. 



Because of the limited resources 

 available to the NHPGA, member- 

 ship in the BIA will be. a great tool 

 to use to become more involved 

 politically. By the year 2000, horti- 



culture will overtake the dairy in- 

 dustry and become the leading ag- 

 ricultural industry in New Hamp- 

 shire. It's time to get involved in 

 public policy and stress the impor- 

 tance of our industry and it's im- 

 pact on New Hampshire's economy. 



(In subsequent issues ol The Plantsman, 

 Vll give a summary ol some ol the issues 

 {human resource management, environ- 

 ment, liscal health, insurance, etc.) that 

 could allect our industry. Feel Iree to 

 write me {Rimol Associates, 17 V^yndmere 

 Drive, Londonderry, NH 03053) or call 

 (603-425-6563) with your concerns.) 



THE PLANTSMAN 



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