Profitable Farmer

There is a question every farming family should be able to answer with confidence: How well is our farm business actually performing — and what is it truly capable of? Not just whether there’s cash in the bank. Not whether we’ve had a good season. And not whether we’re doing things a bit better than they’ve always been done. I mean really understanding the strength of the business model underneath it all. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to spend time on-farm with a number of our members, sitting around kitchen tables, driving around properties and getting deep into the numbers behind their businesses. And one exercise in particular has created some incredibly valuable conversations. It’s about reverse engineering the potential of the farm. In this episode, I want to take you through that same exercise, and I unpack some of the key numbers I use to stress test a farm business: Return on assets managed Net Profit as a percentage of income Appropriate levels of gearing Labour investment Interest