Agriculture Victoria will present a ‘hands-on, interactive masterclass’ for farmers at Wallup Hall on June 23 to provide support for people needing to develop practical skills in risk management.

The ‘Excellent Farm: Crops, people, money and you’ event will be from 9.30am to noon and feature presenter Dr Kate Burke.

Dr Burke uses evidence, experience and humour to outline what matters for sustainable, profitable farming.

She is the author of Crops People Money and You, The Art of Excellent Farming and Better Returns, a book described as The Barefoot Investor for grain growers.

She also has 30 years of experience in agriculture, working mostly in north-west Victoria.

Agriculture Victoria has organised the session based on an eventful start to the Wimmera season in the absence of no clear seasonal climate indicators, but also in the wake of record land prices on the back of successful cropping years.

Farmers are also dealing with price volatility, staggered crop emergence and challenging nitrogen decisions with a mix of pessimism and optimism about the coming year.

The Wallup session will have a strong focus on participants using knowledge from their own farms to help manage challenges from 2021 to beyond.

Topics –

• Better returns – What really drives profit?

• Crops and livestock – What drives potential and revenue at the whole farm level? The influence of climate ‘moods’ on your farm performance. Yield targets for guiding nitrogen management and grain-marketing decisions – think options, not averages.

• Money – Taking the whole-of-farm long-term view to generating revenue and spending wisely.

• People – Decision-making for robust and regret-free farming. You – The role you play in risk management.

Organisers have urged people to bring farm maps and grain-yield and gross-margin records for crops if available.

People can find out more from Heather Drendel by calling 0427 868 705 or emailing heather.drendel@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

The entire May 26, 2021 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire May 26, 2021 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!