The Food and Grocery Code of Conduct regulates aspects of trade between grocery retailers and…
hayloJuly 13, 2018
The issues paper for the Horticulture Code Review has now been released. As such, the…
hayloAugust 3, 2015
Tag
Review
GROWER PORTAL
SUPPLIERS
CONTACT US
702-704 Murray Street
West Perth WA 6005
+61 8 9486 7515
finance@vegetableswa.com.au
© 2022 vegetablesWA. | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Made by HAYLOcreative
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