Gippsland - How Now Gippy Now - July 2010 Edition
4 teats – learn to grow
The second annual “4 teats – learn to grow” business expo drew a crowd of 126 people to Traralgon last month.
The event was the result of three groups of young farmers and service providers working with Young Dairy Development Program (YDDP) Coordinator, Kylie Barry. The groups outlined the information they needed for their dairy businesses. Then Kylie and a small army got into organising mode.
Sponsorship was provided by Dairy Australia and was an example of milk levy money working locally.
A range of other milk levy investments can be found at www.dairyaustralia.com.au Basil Doonan, a well regarded dairy consultant from Tasmania, set the tone of the day with an entertaining session that saw him do an impersonation of Rove McManus. He interviewed two farming families on the couch about how they had achieved farm ownership. Both stories involved hard work, sacrifices and a good understanding of profit drivers.
North Victorian consultant, Ian Gibb tackled the topic of sorting the Wheat from the Chaff when it comes to advisers and consultants. Ian’s words of wisdom were to write down your plan, know what specific information you want from an adviser and keep challenging that advice.
Farm Safety was addressed by John Curtis from Farmsafe Victoria. His very sobering statistics about accidents and deaths was a wake up call for many about avoidable tragedies. John offered to visit any farms to work with the farmers to make their workplace safer. Farmers are encouraged to take up this offer as Farmsafe Victoria does not impose fines or legal action and should be viewed as a non threatening source of information.
Three concurrent workshops followed. One called Leap of Faith addressed making the move from being an employee to a farm manager. Matt Harms, a Gippsland consultant, interviewed Brian Blackler, manager of Wheeler Farms at Denison. Together they clearly conveyed that the leap to manager role takes you out of your comfort zone. It usually means more hours of work and of course responsibility, but with the benefit of being in the driving seat for the business decisions and the professional development.
Making the Move was about making capital investments in farming. Cameron Smith, a consultant from Northern Victoria, outlined the progression of many people from gaining experience and wanting to make investments that reward them with profit. Drive and a clear focus on business were needed throughout for a profitable outcome.
Participants at the third workshop were kept on the edge of their seats by trio Craig McWhinney (Gippsland consultant), Ian Gibb (northern Victorian consultant) and Peter Richmond (Rural Finance).
Their figures compared farm prices and return on investment in high rainfall areas of Gippsland and northern Victoria. They emphasised that people looking to buy farms really need to know all aspects of measuring profit so they can tease apart the confusing issues of land value and profit margins.
Again, a message was to ask lots of questions and learn to calculate measures of profit before signing the bottom line.
John Versteden summed up the day beautifully before presenting lots of fun prizes and thank you gifts donated by Dairy Australia. John, a Longwarry dairyfarmer and GippsDairy Deputy Chair, is a keen advocate for young people in the dairy industry and was integral to the business expo moving from an idea to an actual event. JayDee events were specially thanked for the day running smoothly. Big thanks were also made to the members of YDDP as the business expo was the result of their input and another event for the benefit of all of Gippsland dairy farmers.
To see podcasts of the expo, visit www.gippsdairy.com.au For more information, contact Kylie Barry on 5624 3900 or email at yddp@dcsi.net.au
