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| Farm Business Planning Tools
Gross Margin Analysis Tools
Gross Margin Analysis Spreadsheets
Financial Management Modules
Property Management Planning
Questions to Ask when Investing in Irrigation
Investing in Irrigation Case Studies
Dairy Farming in Tasmania
Tasmanian Wine
Farm Forestry Enterprises
Important Information and Disclaimer
The gross margin budget templates allow comparisons to be made between enterprises. Gross margin is the financial difference between returns received from sales of produce and the variable costs associated with producing that produce. The business overheads can be taken into account using the Designing a Successful Business template.
Because of the large variation in environmental conditions and management systems it is impossible to produce any budget that has universal applicability. As a consequence all the spreadsheets are designed to allow the user to enter data (yields, costs, prices) that best suit their own environment and management system.
A users guide to the Gross Margin and Financial Analysis Tools is provided here.
This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.
If you have questions, queries or suggestions for further development please contact Hugh Griffiths, Senior Industry Development Officer, phone 03 6233 3058 or email Hugh.Griffiths@dpipwe.tas.gov.au.
Please note: Before using the Gross Margin Analysis Tools users are advised to read the disclaimer below.
The current scope of enterprises that can be analysed using the tools attached below include:
| Livestock: |  | Crops: | | | Beef cattle breeding | high and low rainfall | Beans (fresh and processing) | high rainfall | | Beef cattle finishing & trading | high and low rainfall | Brassica seed | high and low rainfall | | Dairy | high and low rainfall | Broccoli | high rainfall | | Diary agistment | high and low rainfall | Canola (irrigated and dryland) | high rainfall | | Prime lamb production – first cross ewes | high and low rainfall | Carrot seed | low rainfall | | Prime lamb finishing | high and low rainfall | Carrots (fresh) | high and low rainfall | | Wool | low rainfall | Carrots (processing) | high rainfall | | | Cauliflower | high rainfall | | | Cereal – Barley (irrigated and dryland) | high and low rainfall | | | Cereal – Oats (irrigated and dryland | high rainfall | | | Cereal – Wheat (irrigated and dryland) | high and low rainfall | | | Clover seed | high rainfall | | Perennial Horticulture: | | Linseed | low rainfall | | Blueberries | | Lucerne | high rainfall | | Cherries | | Onions | high and low rainfall | | Hazelnuts | | Peas | high rainfall | | Olives (for oil) | | Poppies | high and low rainfall | | Raspberries | | Potato seed | high rainfall | | Strawberries | | Potatoes (fresh and processing) | high rainfall | | Wine Grapes (Chardonnay & Pinot Noir) | | Pumpkins | high rainfall | | | Pyrethrum | high and low rainfall |
Note: Meander Valley is regarded as high rainfall and the Midlands as low rainfall.
Note: These spreadsheets may not open depending upon your browser settings. Once selecting any of the spreadsheets below, save the file to your computer hard drive and then open it from there. When opening the file, you may be asked to update links, if so select 'yes'.
A number of easy to use tools have been developed to assist farmers and investors to consider the transition to new higher return enterprises and guide investment in irrigation and perennial horticultural enterprises.
These are:- Designing a better business module – utilising the enterprise and gross margin analysis in a whole farm budget. This will assist businesses in making a transition and guide farm management decisions for improved profitability.
- An investment module for those perennial horticultural crops where expenses are very high in the initial years and the majority of income is derived once the enterprise is fully established.
- A practical investment module to assist in planning investment in new irrigation infrastructure, plant and equipment.
Please note: Before using the Financial Management Modules, users are advised to read the disclaimer below.
Understanding how your farm business finances are performing is integral to being able to make smart decisions relating to the activities that you carry out in your farming operation. While the profit and loss statements and balance sheets included in your tax return provide important figures for the operation of your farm business, the financial data that they provide can be broken down even further to provide more meaningful information which can be used to assess the performance of your farm business finances over time.
The financial management module is a basic tool which helps you, as the farm operator or business manager, to do this and aims to help you to make more informed decisions relating to the management of the entire farming operation. With support from the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts the financial management module was developed by Tasmania Farmers and Graziers Association as part of the collaborative Tasmanian Property Management Planning Framework.
The financial management module is available from the TFGA website .
Investing in the purchase of water or an irrigation dam is a major decision, similar to the purchase of land. Opportunities are infrequent, and the investments are for the long-term; both land and water purchases add to the lasting physical resources of the business. These investments provide the opportunity for the business to grow. So when opportunities arise they need to be very carefully considered.
This Fact Sheet describes issues what irrigators might consider when there is an opportunity to source new water for irrigation. The fact sheet was prepared for the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association by AK Consultants with the support of Tasmanian Irrigation.
This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.
Tasmanian Irrigation has produced real-life case studies on investing in irrigation in the north-east of Tasmania, based on the experiences of two local farming families. This information could be valuable to potential investors right across the state.
Case study: Dairy Expansion "Riversdale", Ringarooma, north-east Tasmania
Case study: Irrigated Cropping Diversification "Mineral Banks", Ringarooma, north-east Tasmania
For further information refer to the attached or go to the Tasmanian Irrigation Site (www.tasmanianirrigation.com.au) Schemes and select Upper Ringarooma
This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.
This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.
Comprehensive information on costs and returns of establishing a dairy farm can be found on the Into Dairy - Dairy Farming in Tasmania website. This site is managed by DairyTas.
From the Into Dairy menu page (www.intodairy.com.au) you will find links to the following topics (plus others):
For further information on dairy enterprises and support services offered by DairyTas contact:Mark Smith
DairyTas Executive Officer
PO Box 1352
Burnie TAS 7320 Phone: (03) 6432 2233
Email: tasdairy@bigpond.com
Website: DairyTas
Information on investing in the Tasmanian wine industry is available from Wine Tasmania. A guide for investors can be found on the Investment page. The guide was developed by the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts and Wine Tasmania.
For further information, including an investor checklist, details of vineyards for sale and potential partnerships contact Wine Industry Tasmania: Chief Executive Officer
Wine Industry Tasmania Ltd
147 Davey Street
HOBART TAS 7000 Phone (03) 6223 3770
Fax (03) 6223 1770
Email sdavies@winetasmania.net.au
Tasmanian agriculture is highly diversified with a typical farm including a range of enterprises and land uses. Farm forestry is an important part of the enterprise mix for many Tasmanian farmers. This may include sustainably managed and harvested native forests, commercial plantations, woodlots and shelterbelts. Increasingly, commercial and or biodiversity plantings are being integrated into irrigation systems adding a potential income stream and productivity gains, as well as bringing other benefits such as stock and crop shelter, water interception and erosion and salinity control. In some cases farmland may become available for forestry where resources are redirected to more productive land. Conducting a commercial farm forestry operation is a long-term investment that requires careful planning and sound professional advice. The following information is reproduced with permission from Private Forests Tasmania.
Farm Forestry Information
Private Forests Tasmania has produced a number of farm forestry Information Sheets covering topics ranging from species that can be planted to how to successfully establish shelterbelts and how best to market wood harvested from private forests.
Carbon Plantations Project
The Carbon Plantations Project aims to assist landholders understand climate change impacts, emissions trading, and options to invest in, grow and manage plantations.
To access all the information and tools available from the Project follow the link to Private Forests Tasmania current_projects on our web site.
The following case-studies provide specific information relating to the economics of farm forestry options, including farm forestry for potential carbon markets:
This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.This is a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.
Farm Forestry Toolbox
The Farm Forestry Toolbox is a collection of tools for assisting managers of shelter belts, plantations or native forests. These tools have been developed to be user-friendly and among other things offer ways to estimate:
• how much wood might grow in your pine or eucalypt plantation;
• how much standing volume you have to sell now;
• the volume of your cut logs;
• the carbon sequestration potential of plantations and
• keys to assist with diagnosing health problems.
It is recommended that landholders discuss their plantation and financial modelling requirements with Private Forests Tasmania staff before using the Farm Forestry Toolbox.
Further Information on Private Forests Tasmania
For further information on farm forestry enterprises and support services offered by Private Forests Tasmania, please contact one of their offices located in:
Hobart at:
83 Melville St, Hobart 7000
Telephone: (03) 6233 7640
Launceston at:
171 Westbury Road, Prospect 7250
Telephone: (03) 6336 5300
Burnie at:
2-4 East Cam Road, Camdale 7320
Telephone: (03) 6434 7260
or email Private Forests Tasmania admin@privateforests.tas.gov.au
or visit our website at www.privateforests.tas.gov.au
By using this website you accept all the terms of this disclaimer.
The information, models and spreadsheet tools accessible using this website have been prepared to assist in making farm management and investment decisions and are intended as planning tools. As such, users will need to adapt the models for their own circumstances. Users of this website are encouraged to vary the input costs, yields and return assumptions to better represent their own situation.
The agricultural sector is subject to significant variations in costs, returns and yields over time and as such budget projections will need to be reviewed to reflect the prevailing circumstances.
Changes can be readily made to the models by varying the values in the blue-shaded cells in the individual gross margin worksheets. Users of the models are also welcome to change the basic set-up of each gross margin or add further enterprises.
The Crown in Right of Tasmania (“Crown”) which commissioned the development of these models and spreadsheet tools, and the consultants Macquarie Franklin and Armstrong Ketelar Consulting who undertook the development work, expressly disclaim all and any legal liability and responsibility whatsoever arising from or connected with:
• the accuracy, reliability, validity, currency or completeness of any information on this website including the models and spreadsheets;
• the accuracy, reliability, validity, currency or completeness of any results obtained from the use of the information on this website including the models and spreadsheets;
• the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any person, either in whole or in part, in reliance of any such information, models spreadsheet or results;
• any combination of any of the above.
None of the input costs and projected yield information listed on the website should be treated as recommendations or advice and the information, models and spreadsheet tools accessible on this website are made available on the understanding that the Crown and MFAKC are not providing professional advice. The use of this website and information obtained from its use is not a substitute for independent professional advice and users should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.
If you have comments in relation to this website or suggestions for further development please contact Hugh Griffiths at Hugh.Griffiths@dpipwe.tas.gov.au.
Copyright
Copyright of all information (including the models and spreadsheets) published on this website (“information”) is owned by the Crown. All information is protected so far as is allowed by the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) ("the Act").
Apart from any use permitted by the Act, the Crown grants users of this site a licence (within the meaning of the Act) to download, use, print and otherwise reproduce the information. This licence is granted on the condition that the Crown (as represented by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (“Department”)) must be acknowledged as the source of that information. Furthermore, users must ensure any third party is aware that the disclaimer applies in respect of the reproduction, quotation and use of the information
For permission to reproduce or use the information beyond this limited licence, permission must be sought from the Department.
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