From Crop Yields to Cash Flow: Linking Farm Management to Loan Success

Running a profitable farm today requires more than good soil and strong yields. It takes clear insight into how every seed, sale, and expense shapes the bottom line. For agricultural lenders, understanding this connection between farm management and cash flow is essential to supporting financially healthy borrowers.

That’s where FarmRaise comes in. Through partnerships with organizations like USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and BTC Bank, FarmRaise is helping producers connect day-to-day financial management with long-term loan success.

When farmers track income, outflows, and assets consistently, they can generate accurate cash flow statements, income statements, and balance sheets that tell a complete story of their operation. This gives lenders the visibility they need to make informed decisions and structure loans that support both profitability and sustainability.

Why Cash Flow Management Matters

Even a high-yield season can mask serious financial shortfalls if expenses are untracked or mistimed. Cash flow management helps farmers measure when cash inflows from sales or subsidies arrive compared to when cash outflows like operating expenses, family living costs, and debt service are due.

A cash flow projection shows whether the farm can cover loan payments, pay living expenses, and maintain working capital during low-income months. It also helps identify when a line of credit might be needed to smooth out seasonal fluctuations.

For lenders, these records provide confidence that borrowers understand their financial picture and are prepared for changes in commodity prices, weather, or input costs.

Turning Crop Data into Financial Clarity

Many farmers already track production, yields, acres planted, and fertilizer use, but they often lack tools to connect those metrics to profitability. FarmRaise Tracks bridges that gap by syncing bank transactions, categorizing them into cash inflows and cash outflows, and generating financial reports automatically.

With up to two years of historical transaction data, farmers can benchmark their progress and compare one year’s farm income and expenses against the next. They can also track non-farm income, such as off-farm jobs or agritourism ventures, to get a full picture of their farm finances.

For lenders, this clarity reduces the risk of errors and improves loan accuracy. When borrowers can walk in with a ready-made cash flow budget, it streamlines the loan application process and supports more accurate repayment terms.

Supporting Financial Planning Year-Round

FarmRaise’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) ensures that even small or beginning farmers can access resources to improve their financial management and loan readiness.

Through the FSA Educational Hub, farmers can access free financial education and an extended trial of FarmRaise Tracks, which helps them build cash flow projections, understand costs of production, and improve their recordkeeping, all without a credit card or subscription barrier.

This initiative allows farmers to strengthen their financial stability before seeking loans, and it helps lenders evaluate borrowers based on consistent, real-world data rather than estimates or paper spreadsheets.

The Lender’s Advantage

For community banks and credit unions, partnering with FarmRaise is about more than technology.  It’s about deepening relationships with producers. When farmers manage their finances through FarmRaise, loan officers gain cleaner data and more complete insight into their clients’ farming operations.

Here’s how it benefits lenders:

• Better Decision-Making: Real-time financial reports and accurate cash flow statements help banks assess liquidity, profitability, and repayment capacity.
• Time Savings: Automated reporting reduces the time spent chasing missing documents or verifying numbers.
• Lower Risk: Accurate financial data means loans are structured to match actual operating expenses and income cycles.
• Improved Relationships: When farmers understand their cash flow, they can communicate more effectively with lenders and make informed decisions about loan programs, interest rates, or new capital assets.

BTC Bank’s partnership with FarmRaise illustrates how these efficiencies create real-world results. Producers using FarmRaise Tracks arrive at their lender’s office with their books already balanced and organized, making loan approvals faster and documentation cleaner.

From Short-Term Loans to Long-Term Sustainability

A strong cash flow budget is more than a tool for short-term survival; it’s a roadmap to financial sustainability. When farmers plan for both high and low commodity price cycles, they can better handle repayment, invest in their operations, and avoid shortfalls that strain family life or working capital.

FarmRaise’s tools support this ongoing financial planning by helping producers monitor depreciation, manage capital assets, and allocate funds between production, family living, and future investments.

This kind of proactive farm management transforms what used to be a stressful annual chore into a routine process that builds confidence for both the farmer and the lender.

Building the Future of Agrifinance

As BTC Bank’s leaders discovered, the future of agribusiness banking lies in continuous collaboration between lenders and technology providers. Instead of reviewing outdated spreadsheets annually, loan officers can now base their decisions on current, accurate data shared directly by farmers through FarmRaise.

This new approach supports smarter financial planning, reduces loan risk, and builds trust across every level of the agricultural finance ecosystem.

With the right tools and partnerships, farm businesses can connect their crop yields to their cash flow, and lenders can support them in achieving both short-term success and long-term sustainability.

Final Thoughts

Every successful loan begins with a clear picture of a farm’s financial health. FarmRaise helps farmers turn daily management into meaningful insight, and it helps lenders make faster, more confident lending decisions.

Whether through the FSA Hub or partnerships like BTC Bank, FarmRaise is transforming the way the agricultural finance community approaches lending, one cash flow statement at a time.

Learn more about how your institution can partner with FarmRaise to strengthen rural lending and help producers reach their full potential.