Farm Records in Horticulture – SS1 Horticulture and Crop Production Lesson Note (Second Term)

Farm records are written documents that show everything that happens on a farm.

• Five types in horticulture: farm inventory, production, input, labour and sales records.
• Main uses: they show profit or loss, help planning, and give a bank proof before a loan.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. define farm records and give reasons for keeping them;
2. describe the five types of farm records and state what each one tracks;
3. state the four golden rules of recording;
4. calculate profit or loss from simple farm records;
5. explain why records are important in horticulture.

What are farm records?

Farm records are written documents that show everything that happens on a farm, such as what is bought, done, harvested and sold.

• Shop example: a shop owner who does not write down the cost and selling price of bread cannot tell if the shop makes money.
• Horticulture example: a farm handles many small items, such as seeds, fertilisers, daily watering and seasonal sales.
• Why writing is needed: nobody can remember all these details, so they must be written down.

Why do farmers keep farm records?

Farmers keep records to remember details, know profit or loss, plan ahead and qualify for loans.

• Memory support: nobody can recall how many bags of fertiliser were used two years ago. The record does.
• Profit or loss: it shows clearly whether a tomato business is making money.
• Planning: last year’s harvest figures help the farmer plan better for next year.
• Getting loans: a bank in Nigeria usually asks to see farm records before it lends money.

What are the types of farm records in horticulture?

There are five main types of farm records in horticulture: inventory, production, input, labour and sales records.

1. What is a farm inventory?

A farm inventory is a list of everything the farm owns at a given time.

• What it contains: land, buildings, tools (hoes, cutlasses, sprayers), and crops in the field.
• Use: it shows the total worth of the farm.

2. What is a production record?

A production record shows what the farm actually produces.

• What it contains: baskets of tomatoes harvested, flower bouquets sold, or the weight of harvested peppers.
• Use: it shows which crops are doing well and which are failing.

3. What is an input record?

An input record shows everything that is brought into the farm to produce a harvest.

• What it contains: seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, manure, and water used for irrigation.
• Use: it shows which inputs are becoming too expensive.

4. What is a labour record?

A labour record shows who worked on the farm, for how long, and what they did.

• What it contains: names of workers, dates, jobs done (for example weeding or transplanting), and wages paid.
• Use: it shows how much is spent on manpower.

5. What is a sales (receipt) record?

A sales record shows every sale made and the money received.

• What it contains: date of sale, item sold, quantity and price.
• Use: it is the most important record for calculating profit.

What is the summary table of farm records?

The table below compares the five records by what they track and why they are used.

What does a sales record look like?

A sales record is usually a simple table with one row for each sale.

• Note: the figures above are only an example to show the layout.
• Total amount: quantity multiplied by price per basket.

How do records show profit or loss?

Profit is the money left after all costs are removed from the money received from sales.

1. Add up all money received from the sales record. This is the total revenue.
2. Add up all costs from the input and labour records. This is the total cost.
3. Subtract: profit = total revenue minus total cost.
4. If the answer is negative, the farm has made a loss.

• Example: revenue of ₦200,000 and costs of ₦150,000 give a profit of ₦50,000.
• Example of loss: revenue of ₦100,000 and costs of ₦130,000 give a loss of ₦30,000.

How do you keep good farm records?

Good farm records are accurate, and a simple exercise book or diary is enough to keep them.

1. Write it now: record a sale or an expense the moment it happens, because waiting leads to forgetting.
2. Be honest: if a goat eats half the seedlings, record it as a loss and do not hide it.
3. Be specific: write “Bought 1 bag of NPK 15-15-15” instead of “Bought fertiliser”.
4. Keep it safe: keep the record book away from water, oil and small children.

Why are records important in horticulture?

Records help horticultural farmers manage crops that are harvested often and spoil quickly.

• Managing perishables: tomatoes and flowers spoil quickly, so records show which ones must go to market first.
• Succession planning: records show when to plant the next batch of lettuce so it is ready as the first batch finishes selling.
• Health check: if pepper fails in the same month three years running, the records show a pattern.
• Finding the cause: the farmer can then check whether the weather or a particular pest is to blame.

Evaluation

1. What are farm records?
2. List the five types of farm records in horticulture.
3. Name four things an input record tracks.
4. Why should you write down a sale or an expense the moment it happens?
5. How do records help a farmer who grows lettuce in batches?

Assignment

Draw a sales record table for tomatoes with three entries. Give the date of sale, item sold, quantity, price and total amount for each entry. Below the table, write two sentences explaining why a bank may ask to see such a record before giving a loan.