Effectively managing farm business risk requires careful planning. This is especially true for farm businesses that are family owned and operated given the number of roles and responsibilities primary producers have on farm.
Having the right processes and documentation in place to effectively manage risk including family business risks, climate and weather risks, financial and market risks, biosecurity incursions and other crisis scenarios is essential.
QFF, through the delivery of the Farm Business Resilience Program (FBRP), has been supporting primary producers to manage their risks for many years.
As part of FBRP, in July QFF will host a webinar featuring Sparke Helmore Lawyers to discuss wills and estates in agribusiness. In this webinar, Kylie Wilson, Partner, Sparke Helmore Lawyers will explain where Will and Enduring Powers of Attorney documents can go wrong to demonstrate the best ways to protect your farm business against unforeseen or problematic issues.
In addition to the FBRP, QFF alongside our peak body members Canegrowers and Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers, and Blue Hill PR, a specialty agricultural public relations agency, are rolling out Managing Communications During a Crisis workshops across Queensland.
These workshops cover the fundamentals of crisis communication for farmers and agricultural industry representatives. Recent sessions in Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast have highlighted real life examples including the 2018 strawberry needle tampering incident, and the animal activist trespass incident at Lemontree Feedlot at Millmerran in 2019.
These workshops are providing access for farmers to learn more about the potential risks to their farming enterprise while also supporting them to put practical steps in place to mitigate the potential consequences.
In addition to these projects, QFF has continued to advocate alongside our peak body members Canegrowers, Cotton Australia, and Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers for much needed policy changes to assist with farm business planning and risk management.
Earlier this year QFF and our members welcomed changes to allow disaster recovery grants to be used for replacement of inground planting costs for impacted growers. This was a change QFF and our members had advocated for over many years.
Last week Canegrowers met with the Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett MP in the Herbert River region to discuss the need for an update to the definition of ‘primary producer’ for fairer access to disaster support.
As the definition stands, farmers can be excluded from disaster support if they generate income through complimentary ag-related activities such as planting and contract harvesting or hosting an agritourism or soil carbon project on their land. As primary production businesses diversify their businesses to mitigate risk, it’s crucial that policy keeps pace and relevance with the changing face of agriculture.
QFF and our members will continue to engage with the state and federal governments to advance agricultural policy settings that better reflect the realities of modern farm businesses in Queensland and the needs of Queensland farmers.
To learn more about QFF’s upcoming workshops and webinars visit www.qff.org.au/events/ to express your interest