Farmers across the Riverina and Northern Victoria have the chance to expand their knowledge, free of charge, at a series of Rabobank workshops designed to help provide the financial skills essential to managing an agricultural operation.
The practical Financial Skills Workshops – providing primary producers with an opportunity to both upskill and network – will be held in Swan Hill, Wagga Wagga, Albury and Shepparton in early June.
The initiative has been spearheaded and funded by food and agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank’s Rabo Client Council – a group of the bank’s farming clients who volunteer their time implementing programs that contribute to the sustainability of rural and regional communities.
Offered at no cost to participants, the interactive workshops provide practical, hands-on advice for understanding financial statements and banking requirements and explore topics such as taxation versus management accounting, essential business management ratios and understanding key components of a business’s financial profile.
Rabobank Riverina & Northern Victoria Rabo Client Council chair Monique Bryant said financial skills “are essential for our farmers and future farmers”.
“After successfully delivering the first module of the workshop program in February this year, we are excited to be able to return to the region and provide farmers with the opportunity to take the next step on their financial educational journey,” Mrs Bryant said. “Although participating in one of the previous sessions is not a pre-requisite to attend.”
Understanding gross margin analysis is a critical step in farm planning and decision-making, Mrs Bryant said.
“In this second module, we take an enterprise-focused approach, separately looking at grains and livestock enterprises. We will consider cash flow implications of a variety of enterprise choices. The module will also focus on preparing annual cash flow budgets,” Mrs Bryant said.
Rabobank regional manager Riverina & Northern Victoria Sally Bull said since commencing these workshops in 2018, the Rabo Client Councils have delivered this learning opportunity to more than 3000 farmers across Australian and New Zealand.
“Attendees at previous workshops have told us the information provided through the workshops is real and valuable – meaningful knowledge they can walk away with and use in the business,” she said.
Ms Bull said, for farmers, having a greater understanding of their business when approaching financiers can also help when applying for any additional finance requirements or to fund a new venture
“If you’re interested in these workshops, keen to meet other progressive farmers in the agri sector and increase your financial literacy and skills – confirm your place before the courses are fully allocated,” she said.
The workshops – which will be limited to 30 participants each and are not restricted to the bank’s clients – will be presented by director of Hudson Facilitation, Tony Hudson.
Workshop dates and locations are:
- Monday, 5 June 2023 – 8:30am – 3:30pm – Swan Hill
- Tuesday, 6 June 2023 – 8:30am – 3:30pm – Wagga Wagga
- Wednesday, 7 June 3 2023 – 8:30am – 3:30pm – Albury
- Thursday, 8 June 2023 – 8.30am – 3.30pm – Shepparton
To register to participate, please click here
Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea catering will be provided.
