Austin Varty runs a family farming and cattle operation in North Dakota. His agricultural journey began in high school with cattle, and he expanded into farming about 13 years ago. The operation now includes roughly 250 head of cattle alongside crop production, making it a diverse family operation.
"It's just a family deal here," Austin explains. Working alongside his father-in-law and with his wife's part-time support, Austin has created an operation that fully integrates his three daughters into the daily activities. "My girls, they'll go cut hay and bale and feed cows and the whole nine yards."
The Challenge
As his operation matured, Austin struggled with financial management. Like many agricultural producers, he excelled at field work but found himself procrastinating on financial recordkeeping.
"I would be really good at doing the bookwork from January to about the middle of March. And then that's when I got busy," Austin recalls. "Then here comes October, I start playing catch up, putting everything in the computer."
His previous accounting software, QuickBooks, presented its own challenges. "QuickBooks just seemed so congested. There were so many things you had to go into," he explains. The complexity of the software meant that important financial insights remained hidden within graphs and reports he couldn't easily interpret.
With his operation expanding—recently acquiring additional farmland—Austin needed a solution that could provide clearer insights into the profitability of each aspect of his diversified business.
The Solution
After seeing recommendations from other farmers about Ambrook on social media, Austin decided to make the switch at the beginning of the year.
"The biggest thing was reading other people's comments on Facebook ads," Austin explains. "When people were saying that it's way easier than QuickBooks and it simplifies for you... that one guy said, 'Yeah, I can [track] each field.' I thought, geez, that's really nice."
Even his tax advisor—who happens to be his uncle—encouraged the change. "I told him about Ambrook and everything, and he looked at it and he said, 'Yeah, no, you need to switch to that. That seems like a good deal.'"
Despite initially hesitating about the monthly cost, Austin concluded: "The price is reasonable, it's still cheaper than having somebody else do it for you."
The Results
After just a few months using Ambrook, Austin already sees significant benefits. The mobile capabilities have transformed his workflow, allowing him to maintain financial records even during his busiest seasons.
"When I'm checking cows or if I got some down time doing that... during planting and stuff, let's say I get a load of fertilizer, as I'm in the tractor, I can handle my books as I'm going," he explains.
The simplified interface has enabled a team approach to financial management. "I told my wife, this is so simple, you need to learn to do this," Austin says. "That way I don't have to always do it." This collaboration helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks during busy periods.
Another major improvement is the responsive customer service. "If I have a question, you go in there and type in the message box, and it's between a half hour and an hour, even on the weekends—somebody will get back to you. That's very helpful."
Looking Forward
With his recent land acquisition, Austin is eager to use Ambrook's enterprise tracking to assess profitability across his operation. "I always tell people I have cows to pay the farm and I have the farm to pay the cows. They intertwine with each other. But now with this, I can break it up to see."
This clarity will be particularly valuable as he integrates his newly acquired farmland. "I picked up a little bit more farmland this year... Each quarter of land is a different amount of money. Now when I put that into each individual enterprise, I can see which fields are actually gonna make me money versus which ones won't."
Austin sees the system as essential for his operation's continued growth. "It's management. And I think Ambrook's really going to help. That's the biggest thing—what Ambrook's going to do to help me manage and see what is costing me."
His advice to fellow farmers considering the switch is simple and direct: "People waste a hundred dollars on worse things in a month, but why not spend it on something that you're actually going to use every month?"
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