With the early part of 2024 bringing limited rainfall to Western Australia, significant impacts on both crop and livestock farming are expected. We’re here to provide you with tailored advice and actionable steps to ensure your farm's resilience and sustainability during this difficult time.
What are the implications of low rainfall?
The dry season presents several challenges, including dry seeding, delayed germination and ideal conditions for pests and diseases. This can lead to financial stress for grain farmers due to lower income and higher costs. Livestock farmers also struggle with fewer available pastures, increasing their expenses for supplemental feed and water. Additionally, the reduced supply can create market volatility.
Hope is not a strategy
During the dry season, proactive planning is key to effective debt management and keeping finances under control. By externalising your worries into a structured budget, Agrimaster can assist you in gaining clarity and confidence.
Whether you collaborate with an advisor or tackle creating a budget yourself, allocating sufficient time is essential.
How to use your budgeting tools to manage a bad season
A good cash flow budget can be your best friend in a tough year. It enables you to externalise your worries, get them out of your head, and turn them into something you can quantify and take action on.
Create a poor season scenario budget
Create a copy of your Baseline Budget into a Worst-Case Scenario (What If), you can adjust the yields in the enterprise worksheets to locate peak debt periods.
This gives you the ability to forecast the possible cashflow outcomes of a poor season. Enabling you to budget for some alternative options to manage cash flow.
For example:
- Review commodity sale timing
- Review inputs
- Review all possible capital expenses for the year forward that can be reduced or postponed
Notify your bank
Notify your bank and review your funding requirements, so that you are ready for any surprises and so is your bank. Budget Reports & What The Bank Wants – Agrimaster.
How:
Full Budgeting:
- 'What If' Scenarios – Agrimaster
- Create New Full Budget Based on Actuals Data – Agrimaster
- Copying Worksheets – Agrimaster
- VIDEO: Full Budgets 10 - Using Your Budget – Agrimaster
- Copying Full Budgets – Agrimaster
- Working Budgets – Agrimaster
- Change the yields in your Cropping Worksheets and see the impact on your Gross Margins. Cropping Worksheets In Full Budgets – Agrimaster
- Review your stocking rate and winter capacity in your Stock Worksheet to see the impact on Gross Margins Sheep Worksheets & Examples – Agrimaster
Quick Budgeting:
Monitor and review your cashflow every month
Do your Budget to Actuals analysis every month to stay on top of your cash flow management and pick any variations early. Analyse The Budget Comparison Report – Agrimaster.
Reminder: Make an appointment with your farm business advisor
With effective planning and budgeting, we strive to equip you with the necessary resources and tools to manage the uncertainties that come with a late rainfall season.
Resources for farmers
- South-West Drought Hub – Dry Season Resources
- DPIRD: Season 2024 information for WA farmers
- Livestock management
- Climate and water information
- Funding and support
We also recognise how mentally taxing these times can be for farmers. Below, we have linked mental health resources, including our podcast episode with Warren Davis, in which we discussed the mental health challenges farmers may face.
- Podcast Episode 24: The Unbreakable Farmer with Warren Davies
- Check out the National Farmers’ Federation Mental Health Resources
- Hardship Support Grants – Applications Now Open
The Western Australian Government has announced a funding package to support agricultural industries and rural communities impacted by the current drought conditions
