Farmers from across the region gathered in the BCG boardroom on May 28 for a Cashflow and Budgeting Workshop.
Presented by Daniel Toohey and Greg Kuchel from PlanFarm, the workshop focused on giving participants practical tools and knowledge to improve financial management and business planning in 2026 and beyond.
The beginning of the workshop centred around “Why bother?” Farmers already have enough to do, so why should they bother taking the time to do their cashflow budgets? The message was clear: regular financial reviewing and planning sessions help businesses understand the capacity they have and the risks they are taking when making big investments. Mr Toohey emphasised that farmers themselves, not bankers, should know what they can and can’t invest in.
“When farmers come to banks with budgets well prepared, and with a good understanding of their financial position, they often leave with better results” Mr Toohey said.
On average, top producers often spend 60 to 65 cents on operating costs per dollar earned, leaving the remaining 35 to 40 cents available for machinery repayments, finance and personal drawings. While benchmarks vary between businesses, they provided a useful starting point for evaluating financial performance.
Using these figures, a cashflow budget was built by scratch, allowing participants to see this process step by step and gain practical insight into developing their own budgets.
Mr Kuchel reassured participants that it isn’t necessary to get perfect figures when budgeting. Instead, frequent budget reviews, at least annually but ideally 3 to 4 times a year, are far more effective for achieving financial goals and making more informed, timely decisions.
This workshop was supported by the GRDC funded initiative RiskWi$e.
