How to write a business plan and review farm performance

How to write a business plan and review farm performance

Author: Brian Walsh

Publisher: NSW Agriculture

Published: 2015-07-02

Total Pages: 65

ISBN-13: 1742561683

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Even when the weather is fine and seas are calm, good sailors don’t relax completely. They make sure their boat is on course and in good shape, and they constantly watch for any changes in the weather. It’s the same in farming. A successful farm business plans its direction, keeps its eye on the farm’s performance and watches for any changes that might be ahead. When the going gets tough, and even when it’s not, successful farm managers review their business plans, watch their production, marketing and finances closely and make any adjustments needed to keep the business on track. That’s what this book is about. It shows how to write a business plan step by step, how to monitor the performance of the farm business and how to decide if changes are needed to keep the business on track. A business plan is a great tool for any farm. It helps owners, managers and other stakeholders to develop a shared vision for the future and adopt a strategic approach to achieving that vision. A well prepared plan can help to keep the farm business viable, profitable and satisfying for those involved.


Building a Sustainable Business

Building a Sustainable Business

Author:

Publisher: Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13:

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"Brings the business planning process alive to help today's agriculture entrepreneurs transform farm-grown inspiration into profitable enterprises. Sample worksheets illustrate how real farm families set goals, research processing alternatives, determine potential markets, and evaluate financing options. Blank worksheets offer readers the opportunity to develop their own detailed, lender-ready business plan and map out strategies" --back cover.


Pastures in a Farming System

Pastures in a Farming System

Author: David Brouwer

Publisher: NSW Agriculture

Published: 2016-06-23

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 1742567983

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This publication explains where pastures fit in a farming system for livestock, cropping and the environment. It’s a farming system that is as much about what farmers want for their family and their leisure time as it is about what animals they run or crops they grow. If you work your way through much of this book, you will realise that productive, sustainable and profitable pastures don’t just happen. They are the result of careful planning to ensure that all the factors that make up the system dovetail together. We need to see that the health, productivity and sustainability of pastures influences the whole farm. Here are just some of the ways pastures benefit the farm: · soil is protected by pastures. Poor soil cover leads to erosion and salinity · soil can be improved by pastures. Their root systems build up organic matter and bind soil particles together, improving structure · pastures recycle nutrients, and in the case of legumes, produce high levels of nutrients essential for animal growth and reproduction · they are the cheapest and most efficient way of getting animal production. To look at a farming system and think first about the pastures might seem strange, but they do need to be high on your list of ways of making your farm productive and sustainable.


Marketing Agricultural Products and Services

Marketing Agricultural Products and Services

Author: Brian Walsh

Publisher: NSW Agriculture

Published: 2015-07-17

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 1742561721

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Times are changing. Until fairly recently many farmers were simply producers. Their energies were focused on growing crops and producing livestock. Selling was often just a matter of sending produce to the local saleyards or silo or contacting their stock and station agent. Producers were price takers rather than price managers. Now many farmers have become marketers rather than just producers, and in the near future many more will make the fundamental shift from an on-farm focus as price-takers to a wider approach that includes price risk management and marketing. Official marketing authorities are playing less of a role in marketing Australian agricultural produce. As part of this deregulation, farmers have many more choices, marketing tools and options that they can use to their advantage provided they know how to use them. At the same time consumer expectations have become more complex. Farmers find themselves required to respond to concerns about animal welfare practices, health and food safety aspects of their products, and the environmental and ethical impact of their production methods. The marketing landscape has therefore become more complex and producers need good marketing skills to navigate their way through the pros and cons of the many alternatives they face. This is the challenge for producers—to apply a balance of production, finance, people and marketing skills to run their farm businesses successfully. This book gives farmers the tools to become a marketer rather than just a producer. It details market specifications, product promotion, quality control and how to respond to consumer demands for animal welfare practices, health, food safety, environmental and ethical issues.


Property Planning

Property Planning

Author: Judy O'Keefe

Publisher: Department of Regional NSW

Published: 2022-01-31

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 1760585378

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Property planning is a key part of caring for your land. Learn how to plan your farm layout so you can manage soil types and land capabilities to achieve sustainable production. Plan nature conservation measures to improve biodiversity and enterprise viability. Property Planning takes a simple, step-by-step approach. Now in its 4th edition, Property Planning now includes a brief introduction to digital farm mapping and AgTech.


Australian Native Bees

Australian Native Bees

Author:

Publisher: NSW Agriculture

Published: 2022-11-18

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 1760586609

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Combining the expertise of many of Australia’s leading native bee researchers, this book is a guide to observing and keeping Australia’s broad range of native bee species. Australian Native Bees, now in a slightly updated new edition, provides a wealth of advice on how you can support and enjoy our native bees, whether you grow broad-acre crops or have an urban backyard. You can learn about: • how bees build nests, forage and provide crucial pollination services • how you can examine and recognise our solitary and semi-social bees: blue banded bees, teddy bear bees, carpenter bees, leafcutters, resin bees, cuckoo bees and more • urban bee ecology • how to build a bee hotel • how to keep the popular stingless bees in specialised hives • the importance of native bees and other crop pollinators, and how managed native bees can be used to pollinate crops • bee biosecurity.


Managing water in plant nurseries

Managing water in plant nurseries

Author: Michelle Smith

Publisher: NSW Agriculture

Published: 2021-09-27

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 176058486X

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Managing water in plant nurseries is the preeminent technical manual for irrigation, drainage and water recycling in Australia nursery production, and a benchmark text internationally. This 3rd edition is testimony to the ongoing value the industry places in achieving world-leading best practice in container irrigation, water management, recycling and reuse. CONTENTS Foreword Chapter 1. Water supply Chapter 2. Water quality and testing Chapter 3. Disinfestation: water and irrigation as a source of disease Chapter 4. Pumps and other irrigation equipment Chapter 5. Nursery filtration system Chapter 6. Top-watering irrigation systems Chapter 7 Bottom-watering irrigation systems Chapter 8. Misting and fogging systems Chapter 9. Growing media and irrigation management Chapter 10. System design, operation and maintenance Chapter 11. Fertigation in nurseries Chapter 12. Drainage systems Reference and further reading


Managing and Marketing Beef

Managing and Marketing Beef

Author: Jennifer Laffan

Publisher: NSW Agriculture

Published: 2016-07-08

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1742561675

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This practical book shows producers how to make good decisions in the beef industry. It provides an overview of the cattle industry, with details on breeding management, pastures, selling methods and costs, beef grading and marketing, muscle and fat scores. Contains diagrams and photos with easy to follow instructions. AgGuides are compiled by highly regarded industry experts to provide easy to follow advice on agriculture and support the Tocal College external study program for agriculture. Written by: Jennifer Laffan Technical advisers: Ian Blackwood, Brett Littler Table of Contents: · Cattle industry overview · Manage the breeding herd · Pastures for the herd · Selling methods and costs · Other aspects of marketing · Muscle and muscle score · Fat assessment and fat scores · Frame size · Growth, maturity and carcase suitability · Understand your product · The killsheet · Get the best return · Some terms explained · Appendix 1: Ruminants and rumination · Appendix 2: Calculating and using DSE ratings for beef cattle


Managing for Healthy Soils

Managing for Healthy Soils

Author: David Brouwer

Publisher: NSW Agriculture

Published: 2024-11-13

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 176058777X

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REVISED AND UPDATED We are told that in a teaspoon of soil there may be more organisms than the total number of people on the planet. Who is conducting the count? And what does it mean? To be brutal about it: So what? We now know that just as biodiversity and balance is important in our agricultural and natural systems and landscapes to keep them healthy and robust, the same processes are vital for our soils. There’s a lot going on down there that deserves a closer look. And even if we can’t see it, a healthy, living soil will grow better plants, be more resilient and improve our agricultural productivity. So this book is designed to for a twin purpose: · to make up for the mechanistic approach of 40 years ago—to present a clearer picture of what remained a secret to the uninitiated for so long—to reveal the living, pulsing, teeming world beneath our feet, and · to help manage our soil resource by understanding that any actions we take will have an impact on soil health. ‘Managing for Healthy Soils’ is a must for any farmer, horticulturalist or home gardener. It explains how to class your type of soil, understand the limitations and potential, and manage it sustainably. Soil tests for moisture, water infiltration, pH, soil nutrients, soil texture, soil compaction, structural stability and more will help you understand your soil context.


Getting Started in Free Range Poultry

Getting Started in Free Range Poultry

Author: David Brouwer

Publisher: NSW Agriculture

Published: 2015-06-23

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1742561713

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Free range poultry sounds simple - and it can be given the right skills and reasonable expectations. This book has been written to provide easily consumed technical information and real-life examples from growers who range from large scale production to mixed farming of meat and egg production to help you get started in free range poultry. Topics covered include: - Sourcing stock - Pastures for poultry - Health management - Biosecurity - Regulations Plus nine case studies. Each case study is unique—just as your enterprise will be. The examples we use range from large-scale, highly sophisticated production and marketing units to a farm with an eclectic mixture of meat and egg organic production, and all points in between. AgGuides are compiled by highly regarded industry experts to provide easy to follow advice on agriculture and support the Tocal College external study program for agriculture. AgGuides are compiled by highly regarded industry experts to provide easy to follow advice on agriculture and support the Tocal College external study program for agriculture.