Economic Tools

Economic Data

One of the major goals of the WSU Riparian Buffer Research Project is to evaluate the economic impacts of riparian buffers on farming enterprises in the Skagit Valley. Toward this end, economic tools and accompanying user instructions have been developed for four farm types including: Dairies, Red Potatoes, Blueberries and Raspberries. These tools can be used by farmland owners to enter their own data and evaluate the impact of buffers on their specific farms.

Two additional tools which can be used by beef cattle and silage production enterprises are also included. These were not funded by the WSU Buffer Project, but are structured similarly and were created for the same purpose—to evaluate how buffers interact with farm production economics.

All the tools included here are applicable to farms located in NW Washington, west of the Cascade Mountain Range. Results from one farm should not be interpreted as generally representing farms of the same type.

This Excel workbook takes a standard annual dairy enterprise budget and looks at the annual cost and income effects of installing and maintaining riparian buffers along watercourses located on the farm property. The intended target audiences for this workbook are dairy producers and other agriculture professionals interested in the economic impacts of riparian buffers. A basic understanding of dairy enterprise budgets and a basic competence level in Excel are required to use this workbook.

The workbook is designed to work like a normal dairy enterprise budget with additional worksheets added to calculate buffer economic effects. The basic operational structure and enterprise budget on which this workbook is based is “1992 Dairy Enterprise Budget: 200 Cow Herd” (pdf) by John W. Bernard et al. It can be downloaded or ordered from the Washington State University Extension web site. This original budget has been modified and updated to better suit larger, modern dairies. The default numbers that appear in the worksheets do not represent a particular farm. Rather, they represent specific assumptions, prices and resulting costs and returns used for this budget. The exercise will only have meaning if farm operators enter their own information.

The user provides preliminary information specific to his enterprise and buffer situation, and the workbook produces a budget before and after the buffers are installed. The user can then compare these two budgets. The initial input of farm and buffer information takes approximately 45 minutes. Once the basic farm information is input, then a number of buffer scenarios can be evaluated.

This Excel workbook takes a standard annual potato enterprise budget and looks at the annual cost and income effects of installing and maintaining riparian buffers along watercourses located on the farm property. The intended target audiences for this workbook are potato producers and other agriculture professionals interested in the impacts of riparian buffers. A basic understanding of potato enterprise budgets and a basic competence level in Excel are required to use this workbook.

This workbook is designed to work like a standard Pacific Northwest red potato enterprise budget with additional worksheets added to calculate buffer economic effects. The basic operational structure and enterprise budget on which this workbook is based are information from Skagit Valley potato producers and a potato production budget in “1995 Estimated Red Potato Production Costs For Fresh Market in Northwest Washington” (pdf) by Richard W. Carkner and Dyvon M. Havens, and published by Washington State University Cooperative Extension, publication EB1801. The default numbers that appear in the worksheets do not represent a particular farm. Rather, they represent specific assumptions, prices and resulting costs and returns used for this budget. The exercise will only have meaning if farm operators enter their own information.

The user provides preliminary information specific to his enterprise and buffer situation, and the workbook produces a budget BEFORE and AFTER the buffers are installed. The user can then compare these two budgets. The initial input of farm and buffer information takes approximately 45 minutes. Once the basic farm information is input, then a number of buffer scenarios can be evaluated.

This Excel workbook takes a standard annual blueberry enterprise budget and looks at the annual cost and income effects of installing and maintaining riparian buffers along watercourses located on the farm property. The intended target audiences for this workbook are blueberry producers and other agriculture professionals interested in the impacts of riparian buffers. A basic understanding of blueberry enterprise budgets and a basic competence level in Excel are required to use this workbook.

This workbook is designed to work like a normal blueberry enterprise budget with additional worksheets added to calculate buffer economic effects. The basic operational structure and enterprise budget on which this workbook is based are information from Skagit Valley blueberry producers and a compilation of various blueberry budgets from Washington and Oregon States. The default numbers that appear in the worksheets do not represent a particular farm. Rather, they represent specific assumptions, prices and resulting costs and returns used for this budget. The exercise will only have meaning if farm operators enter their own information.

The user provides preliminary information specific to his enterprise and buffer situation, and the workbook produces annual budgets BEFORE and AFTER the buffers are installed. The user can then compare these two sets of budgets. The initial input of farm and buffer information takes approximately 60 minutes. Once the basic farm information is input, then a number of buffer scenarios can be evaluated.

This Excel workbook takes a standard annual red raspberry enterprise budget and looks at the annual cost and income effects of installing and maintaining riparian buffers along watercourses located on the farm property. The intended target audiences for this workbook are red raspberry producers and other agriculture professionals interested in the impacts of riparian buffers. A basic understanding of red raspberry enterprise budgets and a basic competence level in Excel are required to use this workbook.

This workbook is designed to work like a normal red raspberry enterprise budget with additional worksheets added to calculate buffer economic effects. The basic operational structure and enterprise budget on which this workbook is based are information from Skagit Valley red raspberry producers and a red raspberry production budget in “Red Raspberry Production Costs and Returns, Western Washington” (pdf) by Richard W. Carkner and William P.A. Scheer, and published by Washington State University Cooperative Extension, publication EB0930. The default numbers that appear in the worksheets do not represent a particular farm. Rather, they represent specific assumptions, prices and resulting costs and returns used for this budget. The exercise will only have meaning if farm operators enter their own information.

The user provides preliminary information specific to his enterprise and buffer situation, and the workbook produces annual budgets BEFORE and AFTER the buffers are installed. The user can then compare these two sets of budgets. The initial input of farm and buffer information takes approximately 60 minutes. Once the basic farm information is input, then a number of buffer scenarios can be evaluated.

This Excel workbook takes a standard annual cow-calf enterprise budget and looks at the annual cost and income effects of installing and maintaining riparian buffers along watercourses located on the farm property. The intended target audiences for this workbook are cow-calf operators and other agriculture professionals interested in the impacts of riparian buffers. A basic understanding of cow-calf enterprise budgets and basic competence level in Excel is required to use this workbook.

This workbook is designed to work like a normal cow-calf enterprise budget with additional worksheets added to calculate buffer economic effects. The basic operational structure and enterprise budget on which this workbook is based is “2002 Idaho Livestock Costs and Returns Estimate” by Robert Smathers et al from the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension web site. It is recommended that you download this budget as a reference, though this is not necessary to complete the workbook.

The user provides preliminary information specific to his enterprise and buffer situation, and the workbook produces a budget BEFORE and AFTER the buffers are installed. The user can then compare these two budgets. The initial input of farm and buffer information takes approximately 45 minutes. Once the basic farm information is input, then a number of buffer scenarios can be evaluated.

This Excel workbook takes a standard annual silage enterprise budget and looks at the annual cost and income effects of installing and maintaining riparian buffers along watercourses located on the farm property. The intended target audiences for this workbook are silage producers and other agriculture professionals interested in the impacts of riparian buffers. A basic understanding of silage enterprise budgets and a basic competence level in Excel are required to use this workbook.

This workbook is designed to work like a normal silage enterprise budget with additional worksheets added to calculate buffer economic effects. The basic operational structure and enterprise budget on which this workbook is based are information from Stillaguamish Valley grass silage producers and a grass forage production budget (pdf) for the Fraser Valley, BC.

The user provides preliminary information specific to his enterprise and buffer situation, and the workbook produces a budget BEFORE and AFTER the buffers are installed. The user can then compare these two budgets. The initial input of farm and buffer information takes approximately 45 minutes. Once the basic farm information is input, then a number of buffer scenarios can be evaluated.