Online tools opening up markets for WA article in the Produce Plus Summer Issue – out now!
GROWER PORTAL
SUPPLIERS
CONTACT US
702-704 Murray Street
West Perth WA 6005
+61 8 9486 7515
finance@vegetableswa.com.au
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Photography by Craig Kinder
Legal
Focus: Manage all legal issues related to operating the business
Considerations:
- What are my legal requirements?
- What is my legal exposure/risk?
- What are my insurance requirements
Typical Activities:
- Select a legal supporting service
- Select insurance agent and policy
- Deal with legal services
IT & Tech
Focus: Effectively manage the IT infrastructure to Support the business execution
Considerations:
- What technology does the business require?
- What new tech is out there that can deliver efficiencies and cost savings?
- Networking requirements
Typical Activities:
- Maintain technology
- Visit Trade shows
- Ensure technology support
Compliance
Focus: Effectively manage the finances of the business
Considerations:
- What QA system is required for the market I want to supply?
- What are my compliance requirements? (e.g. Freshcare, SEDEX, etc.)
Typical Activities:
- Maintain QA records & Certification
- QA Audits
- Employment Compliance
- Water compliance
Financial Management
Focus: Effectively manage the finances of the business
Considerations:
- Do I know my true costs of production?
- Set budgets?
- Tax Optimisation?
- What are the key financial performance measures?
- Financial Accountability within the business – who can spend what?
Typical Activities:
- Set budgets
- Financial analysis – inputs, use,
- Benchmark
- Tax returns
- Bookkeeping
- Accounting
- Payment management
Purchasing
Focus: Cost effective purchasing of all key inputs
Considerations:
- Inventory of all inputs – monthly, seasonally, annually
- How do you make your purchasing decisions?
- Stay with one provider or ‘shop around’/ mini tender?
- Bulk purchase or Just in time?
Typical Activities:
- Order key inputs – chemicals, fert, seed,
- Tender process
- Fixed costs items
- Review costs periodically
Machinery maintenance
Focus: Effectively and efficiently maintain machinery to execute to maintain production
Considerations:
- Lease or own?
- When do I service? Service Plan
- Who is managing repairs?
- Onsite or off-site maintenance?
- What spare pairs should I carry?
- All associated costs
Typical Activities:
- Machinery maintenance
- Calibration
- Staff training
Manage People
Focus: Effectively and efficiently manage people to execute the business
Considerations:
- How many people do I really need? Cost Projection?
- Direct contract v labour hire v Seasonal worker program?
- Seasonal demand?
- Do I pay myself or take drawings?
- What skills do I need in employees?
- Training requirements?
- Selection criteria?
- How do I retain staff?
- How can I review the effectiveness of employee deployment?
Sell
Focus: Sell Crop
Considerations:
- What are your sales channels and the costs involved in each?
- How do you manage credit risk?
Typical Activities:
- Negotiate price
- Liaise with selling agent
Transport
Focus: Transportation of the crop to end market
Considerations:
- What’s the best way to get your produce to market?
- Can you justify/cost analysis of owning and running your own truck(s)?
Typical Activities:
- Identify carrier / transport company
- Transport to market
- Sales inventory – consignment notice
Marketing
Focus: Marketing the crop for sale
Considerations:
- What are the market options for your crop? (retail, wholesale market, direct to customer, processor, export)
- What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?
- How do you promote your produce and brand?
- Who is my competition and what scale are they growing to?
- Gauge and investigate demand for product? And seasonal fluctuation across state?
Typical Activities:
- Identify market opportunities
- Promote produce
- Market development
Process
Focus: Process the crops for the purpose sales
Considerations:
- How much cost/value am I adding to the product?
- What QA/food safety accreditation do I need for processing?
- Should I process myself or can someone else do it for a similar cost
- What format should I sell in? (loose, prepack, ready to eat, value added)
Typical Activities:
- Process crops, or send to pack house
Crop care
Focus: Assist the Crop to Grow
Considerations:
- Fertilizer application – fertigation, foliar spray, granular application
- Chemical application
- Pest and disease pressure on crop
Typical Activities:
- Check crops
- Maintain Chemical and Fert Records for Financial Mgt and QA purposes
- Agronomy nutritional requirements
- Pest and disease chemical resistance
Harvest
Focus: Harvest the Crop
Considerations:
- Labour required
- Machinery / equipment required
- Packaging required
- Post-harvest chemical application
- Post-harvest storage
Typical Activities:
- Harvest
- Equipment registry
- Maintain labour records
Planting
Focus: Plant the crop
Considerations:
- Straight seeding or seedling transplant
- Variety choice
- Post-plant nutrition
Typical Activities:
- Planting
- Maintaining crop and input records
- Crop assessment
- Nutritional requirements
Prepare the ground
Focus: Ground preparation ahead of planting
Considerations:
- Weed management
- Pre-plant inputs
- Soil health inputs
- Nutritional inputs
Typical Activities:
- Ploughing and general ground prep
- Agronomy assistance
Annual growing plan
Focus: Growing plan for the year ahead that also includes the growing process that repeatedly delivers to quality
Considerations:
- Supply / Demand Analysis
- Crop yield/ demand / profitability analysis
- Just because you can grow it, should you?
- Crop / climate suitability
- Crop and variety selection
- Water access / suitability
- Irrigation system suitability
- Soil health and carbon content
Typical Activities:
- Previous year analysis
- Consumer demand research
- Market research
- Agronomy assessment
- Hydrology assessment
- Soil assessment
Manage Capital Assets
Focus: Manage the capital investment assets to provide the best returns to increase business wealth
Considerations:
- Have I invested soundly?
- Am I generating the greatest returns for my capital investment?
- Have I increased my business wealth over time?
- How do I plan for my business growing (ie more land, bigger machines, more processing capacity)
Typical Activities:
- Land Acquisition
- Land Improvement
- Capital asset purchase (e.g. tractor, etc)
- Capital asset disposal/replacement
- Off farm investment
- Plan requirements for expansion – growing and processing plant, equipment and land
Strategy and Plan
Focus: Set a clearly defined strategy and plan for the purpose of the business over the 3-, 5- & 10-year time horizon
Considerations:
- What is the way of life that business needs to support?
- What is the purpose of my farm business?
- What’s the long-term plan for the farm?
- Who will inherit the farm, if something happens?
- How do we intend to achieve?
- What type of finance/capital model business do we want to be?
Typical Activities:
- Set up most effective business structure (family trust, company etc.)
- Identify scale of production required to meet financial goals
- Identify crop opportunity or niche (why do you decide to grow what you do and which method do you use – conventional, organic, protected cropping etc.)
- Understand cost of operation and production
- Put legal succession plan in place
External communications & stakeholders
Focus: Manage communications with external stakeholders that may impact the business
Considerations:
- Who are all the external bodies that can impact my business, its operation and its performance?
Typical Activities:
- Industry bodies: vegetablesWA, Ausveg
- Local Government
- Shire Council
- Department of Water
- Fellow growers
Land management, water & biosecurity
Focus: Actively manage the land and water to support the business’s longer-term plan
Considerations:
- What land and water management issues and risks that could impact my business?
- What is the value of managing the land, water and biosecurity impacts of my business? – short term and long-term basis
- Are there any grants/assistance in place?
Typical Activities:
- Cost/benefit analysis of land, water and biosecurity risks
- Soil testing
- Water testing
- Agronomy assessments
- Soil health inputs
- Sustainability plan – longer term land, water plan and biodiversity
Business Reputation & Risk
Focus: Actively manage the reputation of the business and any risks to this
Considerations:
- What is my brand and how do I protect it?
- Do I need more than one brand (ie for export markets)?
- What are the business and reputational risks that I am exposed to?
- What would happen if an event damaged my reputation? (ie food safety, employment scandal etc.)
- What industry or community activities could I undertake to promote or support the reputation of my business (sponsorship, school or community engagement etc.)
- Are you known as a good employer?
- Social licence
- Leverage any ‘doing the right thing’ ness
- Community engagement
Typical Activities:
- Develop risk register
- Create brand or brands
- Choose appropriate business structure and ownership of business to protect from potential business risks
- Code of conduct
Ask the Experts
Strategy And Plan
Focus: Set a clearly defined strategy and plan for the purpose of the business over the 3-, 5- & 10-year time horizon
Considerations:
– What is the way of life that business needs to support?
– What is the purpose of my farm business?
– What’s the long-term plan for the farm?
– Who will inherit the farm, if something happens?
– How do we intend to achieve?
– What type of finance/capital model business do we want to be?
Typical Activities:
– Set up most effective business structure (family trust, company etc.)
– Identify scale of production required to meet financial goals
– Identify crop opportunity or niche (why do you decide to grow what you do and which method do you use – conventional, organic, protected cropping etc.)
– Understand cost of operation and production
– Put legal succession plan in place