B2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 27,1982
Liz Brown talks over some financial information with clients Yvonne and Larry their accounting systems and provide valuable financial information.
Mummert, East Berlin. Liz visits farmer-clients in their homes to help work on
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Farm financial consultant proves it's not just a "man's world
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Correspondent
Elizabeth S. Brown spends her
days thinking about depredation
schedules, taxes, net worth
statements and cash flow, and
enjoys every minute of it.
As a consultant for Agways’
Farm Planning Department, she is
deeply immersed in the figures
and accounts whcih make a farm
operate, and she says, “I like
working with figures because there
is always an answer.”
In many ways, Liz is a woman
working in a so called ‘man’s’
world. Among Agway’s 22 con
sultants, Liz is just one of two
women. Her work is to help far
mers with their accounting
systems, but she notes, “Seventy
five percent of the women keep
records, so I generally work with
both men and women.” Since they
keep most of the records, it is the
women who know where to find the
information needed for Liz’s work.
Not surprisingly, Liz feels a
service like hers is even more
valuable in the economic times we
Her trusty adding machine goes with her everywhere, and
here Liz uses it to do some figuring while visiting a client. She
says people are surprised that she uses her adding machine
tapes on both sides, but it is part of her frugal nature.
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ajre experiencing. She said, “With
the high interest rates today,
farmers cannot afford to make
mistakes. They must pay closer
attention to detail.”
She added that good records
become more and more of a
necessity in tight economic times.
“Many lending agencies are
making it mandatory to have
financial records. In such a capital
intensive business, it is very im
portant for a farmer to know where
he stands on more than a yearly
basis.”
Liz said one of her hardest jobs is
to tell a person he is in a bad
financial position. “Farmers may
grumble about paying taxes, but at
least then they know they are
making money,” she smiles.
“Farmers are very tenacious.”
Despite working in a field
dominated by men, Liz says, “I
wasn’t looking for prejudice and 1
didn’t find any. I might have had to
prove myself more than a man. I
am rather conservative and I think
that has been helpful in being
accepted. When you grow up on a
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farm, you have a certain set of
values which holds you in good
stead. The vast majority of my
clients are Christian people and
easy to work with. My clients are
my friends.”
Thoughtfully,' she adds, “My
greatest satisfaction is the people’s
confidence in me, and all the
responsibility people have given to
me in trust. It is very important to
me that my clients trust and
respect me.”
While her primary work is
helping farmers with their ac
counting systems, she notes, “I am
often a sounding board for clients.
Sometimes they are able to ver
balize ideas with me. I don’t want
to make decisions for people. I give
them the facts, and let them make
decisions.” She added that
sometimes people just want an
outsider to talk over ideas and as
they talk they come to a decision
on their own.
Liz points out that her work is
strictly confidential. She works out
of her home and is involved with
Agway stores only as liaison.
“None of my information goes to
any other department at Agway,”
she stresses.
A big asset to Liz as she visits
with farmers is her own farm
background. Having grown up in
Crawford County on a poultry
farm, she can understand some of
the situations she encounters. Her
father, Raymond Sperry, and two
brothers still operate a poultry
operation with over 150,000 layers
and have a replacement hen
operation.
With a family that has long been
cooperative supporters, it is
probably not surprising that Liz is
working for a cooperative. Her
family was one of the first to
become clients with the farm
planning division. “My father was
co-op minded,” Liz states.
When choosing majors in
college, Liz recalls, "I was in
terested in agriculture and 1 could
see that it wasn’t a bad field to
enter because of the peripheral
jobs available.” She majored in
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general arts and sciences, but took
her major credits in accounting
with ag economics and other
management courses. “That
major has served me very well and
I have never regretted it,” she
says.
After graduation, she began
working with an Agway store, and
has been with the farm planning
division for 4 1/2 years. She says
she never regrets having started
out working in a store because
that’s where she met her husband,
Allen, who is involved in sales and
service for Enterprise feed, seed
and fertilizer for Agway.
She said since they do not share
the same clients they do nof have a
conflict with their jobs. But she
added, “We share concerns and
talk a lot about fanning. He helps
keep me abreast of a lot of things.”
The Browns have a nine-month
old son, Andrew, and Liz says she
was “overwhelmed” with the
kindness expressed to her by her
clients when the baby was born
last January. She also recalls that
since January is a busy month,
what with taxes and all, she had
her husband bring some of her
work to the hospital and kept on
working so she wouldn’t fall too far
behind. She did take a five-week
maternity leave when Andrew was
born, but her work at home didn’t
stop.
A former 4-H’er and a former
Miss Pennsylvania Rural Elec
trification, Liz worked in the
Crawford County extension office
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between her junior and senior year
in college. She says, “All these
things have helped me.”
Liz must drive in all kinds of
weather since winter is a busy time
for anyone connected with taxes,
but she says, “I’ve never gotten
hung up in snow.” She did have one
accident, however, in the center of
East Berlin, a place notorious for
accidents. She can now say with a
laugh, “I was the last accident
before they put up the lights.”
Her job is interesting, she adds,
“because I meet one on one. Every
day 1 meet the same kind of
problems but a different set of
people and different per
sonalities.”
She now has so many clients she
cannot take on new people, but
remembers when she first came tfcl
the area with just 35 people signed
up for the program. “I would go to
annual meetings, and talk to
anyone I knew. I drove in lanes and
made many cold calls.” As she
reflects, she says she is surprised
at her boldness, but her per
sistence paid off. “It’s surprising
too how word of mouth works,” she
reflects.
Her 100 client-farmers are
located primarily in Adams and
Franklin counties, and 90 percent
of them are within 40 miles of her
home in Chambersburg. She rarely
travels more than 80 miles a day,
and last year put 13,000 miles on
her car. she has become very
familiar with the roads she must
(Turn to Page B 4)
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