Young farmers in The Territory will be among the first in Australia to access financial literacy workshops designed to give the next generation of farmers a ‘leg up’ in financial management to help grow their family businesses.
The practical one-day Growing the Family Business seminar, will be held at Knotts Crossing Resort in Katherine on Thursday 30 May – as part of a national rollout of the program, which aims to reach 2000 up-and-coming farmers by 2020.
The interactive workshop, which is free of charge, will include sessions by agribusiness accountants and banking specialists, as well as real-life case studies presented by established business leaders including Humpty Doo Barramundi director Dan Richards and Helimuster NT director, Nick Dyer.
Covering topics including gross margin analysis, cash flow budgeting and interpreting financial statements, the seminars – capped at 40 participants – will also discuss identifying business opportunities and embarking on new business ventures. The event will also include a networking function that will run into the evening, giving participants the chance to catch up with the presenters in a more informal setting.
An initiative of Rabobank’s Client Councils – a group of the bank’s farming clients who meet to discuss issues and implement initiatives to contribute to the sustainability of rural communities – the program has been designed to give the next generation of farmers access to financial education in the communities in which they live.
Rabobank Client Council member for Northern Territory and North Queensland, Val Dyer said with many family ag businesses located in the Northern Territory, the Client Council felt it was important to assist the younger members of these families gain new skills, particularly financial skills, alongside like-minded people.
With the workshop to be held the day before the annual Ponderosa bull sale in Katherine, Mrs Dyer said she hoped it would draw young farmers from across the Territory to network and share ideas.
“There are very few opportunities for young people in the family business to gather together and share ideas,” she said, “to gain knowledge, think outside the square and achieve that vision they might have.”
Rabobank general manager knowledge and networks, sustainability and community engagement Marc Oostdijk said the sessions would be very practical, with participants given the opportunity to work on the financial ratios for their own farming business.
“The sessions will focus on understanding and interpreting financial statements, gross margin analysis, the importance of developing a business plan and the information banks require when assessing a loan,” he said.
Drawing on the expertise of local farmers and businesspeople, the workshops would also give participants the chance to hear from those in their community who have embarked on new business ventures and what they have learnt along the way, Mr Oostdijk said.
“Listening to innovative people within your own industry talk openly about how they got to where they are now and how they transformed that ‘good idea’ into a business is invaluable,” he said. “Participants at a recent Growing the Family Business workshop, held in Emerald, gave strong feedback that the guest speakers instilled them with confidence to pursue new things, while the financial explanations helped them understand areas they hadn’t previously.”
Funded by Rabobank’s Client Councils, the workshops are open to clients and non-clients of Rabobank and there is no cost for farmers to attend. For more information or to apply to attend the Katherine workshop, please contact Ellie Edmonds on 0408 562 904 or Ellie.Edmonds@rabobank.com
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has 120 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 38 countries, servicing the needs of approximately 8.4 million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is one of Australasia’s leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the region’s food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 93 branches throughout Australia and New Zealand. Rabobank was named ‘Australia’s Most Recommended Agribusiness Bank’ at the 2019 DBM Australian Financial Awards.
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