James Maclean from Allied Beef addresses the Outback CEO Business Summit.
A recent Outback CEO Business Summit in Brisbane focused on developing strategies to help producers access capital for restocking and herd rebuilding when the drought breaks.
Summit organiser James Walker, a Longreach sheep and cattle producer and founder of the Agrihive community, said that on average, property owners in his region will need to find $1million to $2 million to restock when it rains.
The summit brought together people with business expertise from both within and outside agriculture’s ranks to devise practical solutions to helping financially-strained enterprises access the capital they will need to restart and rebuild their businesses when the season allows.
Mr Walker said the forum suggested patience and new products from banks and financial institutions would be required to help producers get back on their feet.
“Banks need to execute patience and restraint until producers can stimulate cash flow by aligning with supply chains and providing a five to 10 year business plan for rebuilding.
“The whole supply chain will need to get together with government to create a facility for this.
“In the interim existing producers need to skill up with their banks, accountants and advisors and discuss options.”
Producers who wanted to rebuild needed a strategy for rebuilding in place and needed to start aligning now with their strategy.
Potentially partnering with supply chains and/or other producers who have cattle was one strategy identified.
In particular it was critical for producers to put themselves in a position to rebuild before it rains by talking to their banks, accountants and advisors, who may have other clients with the ability to partner with livestock that would otherwise go to works.
Other potential strategies discussed included family farms partnering with city-based investors.
Mr Walker said Agrihive will be transferring the knowledge from the summit and building on it with universities, business executives and fellow producers to generate opportunities and new strategies going forward.
It will explore “Farm Credit Canada” with CEO Michael Hoffort as a model for dealing with distressed farm enterprises in coming weeks, Mr Walker said.
“This initiative was not only to provide new possibilities for producers but banks, industry, government, universities and investors – it was great we got them all in the room,” Mr Walker said.
Click on links below to view videos of speakers from the recent Agrihive Outback CEO Business Summit in Brisbane:
- Scrummaging or a Backline Move? Tackling the Drought into 2016 – Ben Cameron MD Bentleys
- The Boom or Bust and Beef Dynamics 2016 – Richard Norton MD MLA
- Shepherding Prosperity Wool Back into Capital – Dr Paul Swan AWI
- Snakes and Ladders of Capital and Valuations 2016 – Shaun Hendy Colliers International
- Drought Breaking Rain or Dead Silence – Bruce Gunn BOM
- Detonating Capital Panel Discussion – The Perfect Storm Kidworth 2015 – Rohan Dunsdon Bentleys
More Agrihive videos:
- “Leading the Lanes – Shifting Gears towards the Podium” – Cate Campbell
- “Planning and Leading Change over Time” – Dr Bryan Watters, Professor in Leadership Cranfield University
- Australian Drought and Rural Debt Solutions – Prof. John Cole, University of Southern Queensland
This initiative must contain funding and inclusion for holistic management training to build resilience into recovering, regenerating country. We must return carbon to the soil to facilitate this urgently, for local, regional and global reasons. Govt needs to build incentives for this direction while property valuations reflect it. Producers need to understand the supplement requirements for animal performance, while country regenerates, carbon rises, and plant roots get deep again.