‘Advanced Farm Business Management’ Course
A GRDC sponsored course is being offered to help farm advisors develop their consulting
skills in farm business management. Participation in this course will develop your
understanding of farm business principles and their impact on strategic farm business
management. This will help you to talk on business issues with your clients, by learning
skills such as being able to:
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Undertake a financial check-up of a farming business.
Assess various business scenarios and provide farmers with a guide as to which
scenario best suits their business. Scenarios could include land purchase, leasing
machinery, share farming, land leasing, pasture and livestock development and
changing the farming system.
Understand the major risks to a farming business and working though strategies to
improve the management of these risks.
This training in farm business management will include using the software program called
‘Plan2ProfitAgri’ (P2PAgri). You will get a copy of the P2PAgri program to use in consulting
to your farmer clients.
Course details:
Location
Young, NSW
Dates
Wednesday 3rd & Thursday 4th April
and
Thursday 11th & Friday 12th April
Presenter
Tony Hudson
Adelaide, SA
Wednesday 3rd & Thursday 4th April
and
Thursday 11th & Friday 12th April
Mike Krause
Horsham,
Victoria
Thursday 21st & Friday 22nd March
and
th
Tuesday 16 & Wednesday 17th April
Tony Hudson
Launceston,
Tasmania
Thursday 9th & Friday 10th May
and
Thursday 23rd & Friday 24th May
Tony Hudson
For more information, please contact Mike Krause (p: (08) 8396 7122 or m: 0408 967 122).
If you are happy to accept GRDC’s invitation, please reply in writing via an email to Lucy Krause
(lucy@P2PAgri.com.au).
Additional Information
RE: An invitation to advance your farm business skills
GRDC has a strong history of funding agricultural research with significant success. This research is largely
focused on improving and protecting grain production, and in most cases, maximising production. However,
economic research indicates that maximum production rarely correlates to maximum profits. These
observations, coupled with southern Australian farmers experiencing significantly increased business risks
through the first part of the 21st century, have lead GRDC to consider the importance of encouraging improved
farm management practices.
While there are a significant number of initiatives that GRDC could pursue in its quest to strengthen the
practice of improved farm management amongst farmers, it has been proposed that one of these be to create
and conduct an ‘Advanced Farm Business Management’ Course for about 15 professional agricultural advisors
in each of the states of the southern region: southern NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Although
limited in number, the premise is that these courses will equip more proactive advisers to provide farm
business management advice, and to better answer farm business management questions. It would also
improve the farm management capacity within Australian agriculture.
It is with great pleasure that GRDC invites you to participate in one of these courses. We are excited that this
activity may be the start of a number of initiatives that strengthen the farm management capacity of
Australian agriculture. While GRDC is largely funding this activity (over $2,000/participant), there is a course
fee of $550(GST Incl.)/participant. Should you accept this challenge, GRDC would appreciate your frank
feedback on the course, looking for ways to improve it and whether the course has achieved its objectives.
GRDC has approached Plan2Profit Agri P/L to conduct these courses. They will be presented by either Mike
Krause or Tony Hudson, both of whom has broad experience working with farmer clients in the area of
business management decision making and significant experience in providing training in farm management.
On completion of this course, you should be able to:
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Undertake a financial check-up of a farming business.
Assess various business scenarios and provide farmers with a guide as to which scenario best suits
their business. Scenarios could include land purchase, leasing machinery, share farming, land leasing
or changing the farming system.
Understand the major risks to a farming business and work though strategies to improve the
management of these risks.
Method of learning:
One of the keys to successful adult learning is practice, as ‘Without practice there can be no true
learning’. This success strategy will be encouraged throughout the course.
The following styles of learning will be used during the course:
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Teaching of the theory and practice of Farm Management Principles
Workshop discussions and debates on related topics
Assignments with Case Study farmers
Mentoring from the course presenter
The course participants will have Plan2Profit Agri (P2PAgri) placed on their computer, a unique and
tested farm business management planning software. This will allow participants to learn both the
theories and practice of farm management advising.
Your commitment:
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Participants will need to commit to 4 one-day workshops to be conducted in the relevant venue over
the next month.
Have access to a computer so that the P2PAgri software can be used at home.
Commit at least an additional 2 days of your own time into conducting farm case studies, which will
be assessed.
Attend all course sessions and complete a set farmer case study assignment.
You will need to cover your own travel and accommodation expenses
Advanced Farm Management Training
Day
Sessions
Day 1
Topics
Sub-topics
Introduction to Economics,
Business Planning and
Management Accounting
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The economic thinking of profit maximisation
Opportunity Cost
Whole Farm Business thinking
Current rural economic issues
Day 2
Introduction to Plan to Profit
(P2P)
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Enterprise Gross Margins
Whole Farm Profit
Balance Sheet
Banking Finance
Financial Indicators
Scenario Analysis
Day 3
Advances Management
Accounting - 1
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Cost of Production
Risk Management
Sensitivity Analysis
Target Profit
Day 4
Advances Management
Accounting - 2
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Experience from the case study farms
Scenario Analysis
Farming Systems
Course Outline
Day 1 the course will begin with an introduction to economic thinking, which is at the core of farm
management.
Day 2 will introduce participants to Plan to Profit (P2P) and farm management budgeting. They will be
set assignments to apply this learning to a case study farmer (of their choosing). This assignment will
focus on determining the financial strengths and weaknesses of the business.
Day 3 will provide advanced teaching in capital budgeting, so participants can address the challenge of
machinery and land purchase. An assignment will be set to work on the same case study farmer and
assess the implication of additional capital purchase.
Day 4 will introduce the participants to cash flow planning and monitoring. A feedback session will also
be conducted to see how further improvements can be made to this course.