Farms, ranches & agritourism
Books and taxes for small dairy and creamery farms.
A monthly milk check from the co-op, a batch of cheese aging in the cave for months before it ever sells, and a herd that has to be milked twice a day no matter what. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
June came in at $7,900. The aged cheddar batch that finally sold this month started aging back in February, so I matched its cost against this month's sale.
- Co-op milk checkRaw milk sales
- Farmers market cheese salesCreamery product sales
- Feed and mineral supplementFeed and hay
- Cheese cave refrigeration repairCreamery equipment
- Cheese wax and packagingPackaging
Why your books are different
Small dairy and creamery books go wrong in the same few places.
A generalist sees a farm with a milk check. Your business is really two things stacked together, a dairy herd that has to be milked and fed every day whether or not anything sells, and a creamery turning that milk into cheese that might not sell for months. When the books do not separate those, you cannot tell what a batch of cheese actually costs against what it earns.
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1
Raw milk sales and creamery product sales get rung up together
A monthly co-op milk check and a Saturday market sale of aged cheese both look like farm income, but one comes from selling raw milk and the other from months of aging and labor turning that milk into something else.
What we doKeeps raw milk sales and creamery product sales in their own lines, so you can see what each side of the operation actually earns. -
2
An aging cheese batch's cost gets lost before it ever sells
A wheel of cheese that ages for six months carries milk, labor, and cave storage costs the whole time it sits there, but if those costs are not tracked against that specific batch, the sale months later looks like pure profit with no cost behind it.
What we doTracks a batch's costs from the day it is made to the day it sells, so the accountant can match months of aging cost against the sale. -
3
The cheese cave and creamery equipment get filed as farm supplies
A walk-in cheese cave, a pasteurizer, or a cheese press can cost tens of thousands of dollars and last for decades, but on a bank statement it can look like just another farm equipment purchase.
What we doFlags creamery equipment purchases the month they show up and logs them as their own category, not general farm supplies. -
4
Milking and feeding costs run every day, batches or not
The herd gets milked twice a day and fed year-round no matter how creamery sales are going, so if daily herd costs are not tracked against total income over the whole month, a slow sales week can look like the dairy itself is losing money.
What we doTracks feed and milking costs against total monthly income, not just creamery sales, so a slow sales week reads correctly. -
5
A spoiled or lost batch gets no clean record
A batch that gets contaminated in the aging cave has to be tossed, and without a note, that loss just reads as a slow month instead of the specific batch and cost that were actually lost.
What we doNotes spoiled or lost batches the owner flags, so a bad month reads as what it was, not a mystery in the numbers.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a small dairy and creamery.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Raw milk salesMonthly co-op milk checks or direct raw milk sales where legal.
- Creamery product salesAged cheese, yogurt, or butter sold at market, the farm stand, or online.
- Wholesale creamery salesCheese or dairy products sold to local restaurants or specialty shops.
- Farm tour and tasting feesVisitors paying for a farm tour or a cheese tasting experience.
- Breeding stock salesDairy animals sold to other small dairy operations.
Money out
- Feed and hayHay, grain, and mineral supplement to keep the milking herd producing.
- Creamery equipmentPasteurizers, cheese presses, and aging cave systems, logged so they get written off right.
- Veterinary and herd healthMilking herd checkups, vaccinations, and breeding care.
- Cultures and rennetStarter cultures, rennet, and other cheesemaking ingredients.
- PackagingCheese wax, wrap, and labels for finished product.
- Milking equipmentMilking machine parts and parlor maintenance.
- State inspection and licensingDairy and creamery inspection fees required to sell product.
What we watch for you
- Raw milk vs. creamery mix
How much comes from selling raw milk versus finished creamery product, so you know which side to grow.
- Cost per aged batch
What a specific batch of cheese cost in milk, labor, and cave time, tracked against what it sold for.
- Daily herd cost
What feed and milking cost each day, tracked against monthly income to keep the picture honest.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax season is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things small dairy and creamery owners ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
Yes. I track that batch's cost from the day it was made, so the accountant can match months of aging cost against this month's sale.
Usually it can. I logged it as creamery equipment, not a general farm supply, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.
Flag it for me and I'll note it, so that batch reads as a loss with a cause, not just a mysteriously bad month.
The tax side
The tax side of a small dairy and creamery.
Most of what goes wrong here is matching a batch's cost to the month it finally sells. Aging costs lost before the sale, creamery equipment filed like supplies, and a set-aside nobody started until tax season.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Schedule F farm incomeRaising dairy animals and selling milk generally lands on Schedule F instead of the Schedule C a typical small business files, which changes how income and certain costs are handled.
- Creamery equipmentPasteurizers, presses, and aging cave systems can usually be written off, sometimes the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for creamery helpAnyone not on payroll who you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for milking, cheesemaking, or market help gets a 1099-NEC by January 31.
- State dairy and creamery licensingSelling milk and creamery products often requires state inspection and licensing that varies widely, so Gus flags this for the accountant rather than guessing at a specific rule.
Deductions small dairy and creamery farms miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Hay and mineral supplement feed
- Starter cultures and rennet
- Cheese wax and wrap
- Milking machine parts
- Aging cave refrigeration repair
- Veterinary and breeding care
- Farmers market stall fees
- State inspection fees
- Product labels
- Parlor cleaning supplies
- Liability insurance
- Delivery vehicle fuel
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A small dairy and creamery year, kept every month.
Milking never stops, but cheese sales follow their own aging schedule. Your taxes come on their own schedule too. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the creamery help 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so milk and cheese income funds it evenly.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed with no gap in the daily milking and aging schedule.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at midyear, and whether cheese batches started earlier in the year are aging toward a strong sales season.
- October
Before winter
Gus looks at creamery equipment worth adding before winter and flags what this year's numbers say about pricing.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for small dairy and creamery farms. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions small dairy and creamery owners ask first.
Can Gus tell raw milk sales apart from what we make in the creamery?
Yes. He keeps raw milk sales and creamery product sales in their own categories, so you can see what each side of the operation actually earns.
How does Gus handle a cheese that took months to age before it sold?
He tracks that batch's cost from the day it was made, so the accountant can match months of aging cost against the month it finally sold.
Do I have to change how I sell milk or cheese?
No. Sell milk and cheese exactly the way you always have. Gus works from your bank statement, and a co-op check or market sale he cannot place gets one question, remembered from then on.
A slow sales week made it look like the dairy is losing money, but the herd costs the same either way. Is that a problem?
It shouldn't be. Gus tracks feed and milking costs against total monthly income, not just that week's sales, so the picture stays honest.
Is a new pasteurizer or cheese press written off all at once?
Often, yes. A pasteurizer or press bought for the creamery usually qualifies for a full write-off that year, though some seasons favor spreading the cost instead. Gus tags the purchase and the accountant decides.
A batch of cheese got contaminated and had to be thrown out. Does that get tracked?
Flag it for Gus when it happens, and he notes it, so that batch reads as a loss with a cause, not a mystery in the numbers.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever