Peter and Lena run a cotton farming operation in a dryland farming region of Texas. As newcomers to agriculture with no family background in farming, they faced the dual challenge of learning farming practices while simultaneously figuring out the business side of agriculture. "We're completely new to this," Peter explains. Their journey began in 2023 when Peter's mentor, a farmer he had worked for since 2019, offered him the opportunity to farm a couple sections of his land.
"He asked me one day, what do you want to do with your life? And I said, well, I want to farm. And I hadn't worked for him for maybe four months when he asked me that," Peter recounts. When he explained that his lack of family background in farming made it difficult to break into the industry, his mentor promised him an opportunity if he "paid his dues." In 2023, that opportunity arrived, and Peter and Lena began their farming operation.
The Challenge
Like many new business owners, Peter and Lena initially managed their finances with basic tools. "We did everything just pen and paper until a year in," Peter explains. This approach quickly became overwhelming as they tried to track their spending and prepare for tax season.
"We for sure didn't feel like hiring someone to watch our finances. I guess you could say we kind of have trust issues. We feel like we want to keep watch over things like that ourselves." Lena shares.
On the recommendation of his farming mentor, Peter tried QuickBooks but found it wasn't suited to their needs. "I didn't really like it. It didn't seem like it was farmer-friendly like I needed it to be," he shared.
The Solution
Looking for something better suited to their needs, Peter discovered Ambrook.
The ability to run their business from their phones has been a game-changer. "We can use it on our devices that we carry with us all the time anyway. You're not always sitting there looking for a receipt that you left in your truck. It's a lot handier to just keep up with one device instead of a bunch of papers that get lost," Peter explains.
On top of Ambrook fitting into their field-based lifestyle, Peter and Lena also appreciate Ambrook’s ability to help operators produce a chart of accounts that’s ready for Schedule F and tailored to their business. Being able to organize their financial information without needing to create their own structure from scratch felt like a jumpstart.
Even as relatively new users, Peter and Lena have already experienced significant benefits. "It has been super simple to keep track of everything that felt overwhelming and complicated at first," Lena explains.
Beyond time savings and organization, the system has given them better visibility into their financial position. They estimate they're saving about $500 a year by managing finances themselves rather than hiring someone. This clarity recently helped them make an important business decision about fertilizer application during a drought period when cotton prices were low. Having their numbers readily accessible helped them determine that skipping fertilization this year was the financially prudent choice.
For Lena, the psychological benefits have been just as valuable as the practical ones. "It has really just made going in the office and sitting down and actually doing the work that much easier. And actually in a way, it was almost a little bit exciting because you feel more productive and you feel on track and you feel like you've got this."
Looking Forward
Peter and Lena have ambitious plans for their growing operation. "We definitely plan on expanding quite a bit. We're looking to add some acres hopefully next year.”
As they continue exploring the platform's analytics features for deeper insights, Peter reflects on his own journey. Just as his mentor guided him into farming, he now envisions helping newcomers avoid the challenges he faced.
"I think it'd definitely be something worth looking into as you're getting started." Peter advises. "If I ever mentored somebody, I would tell them to get Ambrook from the very get go to make it a little bit easier on their operation."
For this couple, having the right financial tools is essential for building a viable business. In Lena's words, "Knowing your finances just makes you feel more in tune with your business and know right where you stand financially."
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