×

Farm Business Resilience Program

The Farm Business Resilience Program (FBRP) is available to primary producers in Queensland. The Program helps you review all aspects of your business and identify strategies to address your risks through the development of a Farm Business Resilience Plan.

The FBRP can also assist you to access grants and loans through the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) or private financiers for projects that help your business develop disaster preparedness. Improving your farm’s long-term business resilience helps you absorb and recover from challenges that have a negative impact on production and financial returns.

  • What is the Farm Business Resilience Program?

    The FBRP provides farmers access to subsidised learning and development opportunities and supports farmers to identify gaps and areas of focus for their business. Through the program, farmers can access the tools they need to prepare for and manage risk, adapt to a changing climate, and improve farm business resilience. This includes assistance with:

    • strategic business and risk management skills, including family business planning
    • personal and social resilience
    • natural resource management.

    Primary producers can participate in the Program regardless of their drought status.  You do not require a drought declaration.

    FBRP is jointly funded under the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and Queensland Government’s Drought and Climate Adaptation Program.

  • Who is eligible to participate?

    All primary producers across Queensland are eligible for the FBRP.

    Drought relief funding is available for eligible participants to assist in achieving drought preparedness goals. QFF encourages all farm businesses to participate in the FBRP as it is a valuable tool for assessing business risks.

    The Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) defines a primary producer as follows when assessing eligibility for financial assistance:

    • A sole trader who spends the majority of the sole trader’s labour on farm, and derives the majority of the sole trader’s income from, a primary production enterprise; or
    • For a partnership, company or trust that carries on a primary production enterprise – the partners in partnership, shareholders in the company or beneficiaries of the trust who spend the majority of their labour on, and derive the majority of their income from, the primary production enterprise.
  • Prepare your Farm Business Resilience Plan

    A Farm Business Resilience Plan helps you identify, assess, and manage business risks such as drought, by developing strategies and actions to address these risks. You will need a Farm Business Resilience Plan or similar, to apply for the Drought Assistance Grant and Loans available through QRIDA.

    A business plan should be evidence-based and be tailored to the purpose of your business operation. It should outline an implementation approach and be monitored and reviewed regularly to respond to and manage changes and their impacts.

    You can complete your Farm Business Resilience Plan in your own time online, or with the assistance from the QFF team or your industry group.

    How to get started on your Farm Business Resilience Plan

    Step 1: Watch QFF’s introductory webinar discussing the importance of a Farm Business Resilience Plan.

    Step 2: Complete the Self-Assessment Checklist to identify the areas your business is doing well and the areas that might need improvement. Read the Guidance Notes get in contact with the QFF team who will happily walk you through the process.

    Step 3: Get started writing your Farm Business Resilience Plan using the FBRP generic template as a guide. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just put pen to paper.

    For Cotton Producers, the templates below have been developed for your industry.

    QFF – Business Plan (Cotton)

    QFF – Business Plan Guide (Cotton)

  • Our FBRP professional service providers

    To assist producers, develop and implement business plans, a panel of professional service providers and agricultural consultants are available. These advisors can help you in the areas you identified for improvement in the Self-Assessment Checklist. Some may charge a fee, however this is potentially rebatable through QRIDA’s Farm Management Grants. You can learn more about each panellist and their area of expertise here:

    Kylie Wilson – Lawyer – Partner, Sparke Helmore

    Kylie is a recognised succession planning law expert, listed in the Best Lawyers Australia 2021 to 2024 editions for Wealth Management/Succession Planning Practice, and an accredited SMSF Specialist Advisor and an accredited Family Business Advisor.

    She has worked with family businesses for over 20 years and has many business clients in their third and fourth generation. Ensuring the business can remain viable, without the risk of litigation devolving business assets, is one of her key areas of specialty. Kylie also works closely with advisors to prepare compliant solutions for a range of clients with complex structures as well as rural and business clients and families with diverse dynamics.

    Kylie also has extensive experience in advising corporate clients on a range of commercial law matters such as borrowing arrangements, group restructures, joint ventures, partnerships and shareholders agreements. She has also acted in Supreme Court matters relevant to proprietary estoppel, minority shareholder issues and misleading and deceptive conduct in family business disputes.
    Kylie has been awarded the SPAA CEO Scholarship and the SMSF Association Prize for the Professional Certificate in Self-Managed Superannuation Funds from the University of Adelaide Business School.

    She regularly presents seminars and provides training sessions to professional advisers on current issues in intergenerational business transactions, structures and associated disputes.

    Jodie Knowlton – Partner – Business Services BDO

    Jodie has extensive experience in providing advisory, taxation and accounting services to clients in a range of industries, across all stages of a business lifecycle, in particular, she has a strong passion for supporting clients in the food and agriculture industry. Her advice is founded on strong relationships, which she builds through gaining a holistic understanding of her clients’ goals and factors that impact their decision making. She continually seeks to find fit-for-purpose solutions for her clients, utilising her knowledge and networks (both within BDO and external) to ensure the best outcomes.

    Mitchell Witt – Partner – Risk Advisory Services BDO

    Michael is a risk, operational performance and sustainability specialist focused on assisting clients with their complex business problems. With more than 10 years’ experience, primarily in managing and delivering risk management consulting, internal audit, control assurance, and strategic management consulting for statutory bodies, government owned cooperations, local government sector and state government departments. Mitchell also has a passion for assisting his clients in navigating their sustainability journey by leveraging his engineering and risk management experience.

    Nicole Richter – Director – Business Services BDO

    Nicole is a director with the Business Services team in Brisbane. She has over 20 years’ experience in providing professional advice and services to a wide range of SME businesses. She has worked directly with private entities and high net worth individuals across various industries to provide business advice on succession strategies, estate planning, financial reporting, governance, and tax. Nicole takes a very hands-on approach in helping business and individuals to achieve their goals. She prides herself on building strong relationships with her clients, no matter what the size, which allows her to advise her clients with solutions that suits their needs and goals. Nicole has a strong interest and is passionate about the food and agriculture industry.

    Marina Skinner – Family Business Specialist – Generational Harmony

    Marina is a family business specialist, a holistic offering for owners, founders, multi-generational families, and high net worth individuals. As an accredited Family Business Adviser and trainer with over 20 years’ experience in the industry Marina is able to assist clients in establishing the building blocks for business success that balance the business and the family for harmony, growth, and a competitive advantage. Marina’s passion is in working with clients to create a legacy and develop alignment of vision and values with owners and family through education, workshops, facilitating family meetings, family retreats, developing family charters, establishing, and chairing family councils and family advisory boards. Based in Brisbane, working nationally and internationally Marina speaks, writes, and contributes to research and thought leadership on the unique challenges and opportunities of families in business and business families.

    Lloyd Russell – Director – TCB Solutions

    Lloyd and Julie Russel established TCB Solutions in May 2008 for the specific purpose of servicing the family and private business sector. The prime focus of TCB Solutions is the provision of strategic, governance and performance improvement services that deliver practical tailored solutions for the family and its associated businesses. Strategic thinking and challenging the status quo, while preserving the family legacy is a critical component of what TCB Solutions provide to their clients, especially when undertaking family continuity engagements.

    Susan Bryant – Financial Advisor, Seeds of Advice

    Susan specialises in developing financial planning strategies for well- established rural families who want a better future for their farm and their family. Susan is all about helping families find their own stories and she breathes life into dreams and aspirations you have for the ones here now and for those to come. She believes family is the heart of everything we hold dear. There’s a generation of farmers who want to find a better way to manage the family farm to the next generation and build a meaningful life for themselves beyond the farm gate.

    Ian Moss – Agronomist –  FARM Agronomy & Resource Management

    Ian Moss is the Founder and current Managing Director of Farm Agronomy & Resource Management Pty Ltd (FARM). Ian graduated from University of Queensland (Gatton College) with an Associated Diploma of Applied Science majoring in Agronomy & Farm Management in 1989. For over 25 years Ian has worked for and with farmers, local resellers, research bodies and Multi-Nationals. Through this diverse experience, Ian has an excellent and thorough understanding of Australian Agriculture, but his passion has always been agronomy consulting and working with innovative farmers who are leading the way in developing economic sustainability for themselves and the industry. In 2009, Ian founded FARM – starting out with a blank canvas, an idea he was passionate about and a mobile office, he purposefully built the FARM business one client at a time which has grown to the busy, diverse and exciting business that it is today.

     

  • What financial assistance is available?

    The following financial assistance measures are now available through QRIDA. Producers will need to have a completed Farm Business Resilience Plan when applying for assistance. For more information or to apply, visit www.qrida.qld.gov.au/drought-support.

    • Farm Management Grant Program: A rebate of 50 per cent to a maximum of $2,500 for the professional cost of developing a Farm Business Resilience Plan.
    • Drought Preparedness Grants: A rebate of up to 25 per cent to a maximum of $50,000 for on-farm improvements identified in your Farm Business Resilience Plan. For example, drilling of a new bore.
    • Drought Ready and Recovery Loans: A concessional interest loan of up to $250,000 to undertake preparedness measures identified in your Farm Business Resilience Plan. For example, installing water infrastructure, expanding dams, improving irrigation. This is a complementary measure to the Drought Preparedness Grants.
    • Emergency Drought Assistance Loans: An interest- free concessional loan of up to $50,000 for drought-declared primary producers to finance carry-on activities like paying wages or creditors during drought.
    • Drought Carry-On Finance Loan Scheme: A concessional interest loan of up to $250,000 for drought carry-on finance. These loans will be available where the $50,000 Emergency Drought Assistance Loans Scheme is insufficient. Applicants must be drought declared.
  • Who do I contact to get involved?

    QFF peak industry members along with professional service providers and agricultural consultants can assist producers develop and implement your business plans. To enquire about the program, contact QFF Project Manager, Kerry Battersby via email kerry@qff.org.au or call 0419 614 765. You may also directly contact your industry group.

    Participating industries

  • External Resources

    Queensland Government Program Information

    Department of Agriculture Webinars

    To find out more about the new Queensland drought assistance, including grants, loans, workshops, and training, watch these industry-specific webinars below:

  • Farm Business Resilience Program Case Studies

    Emma Burstall – Wivenhoe Pocket Turf Producer. Turfbiz completed a Farm Business Resilience Plan and applied for and received a Drought Preparedness Grant for an improvement within the FBRP.

    Albert Valley Turf – Paul and Barry at Albert Valley Turf love what they do and want to continue their business for many years. While developing their Farm Business Resilience Plan, they identified and achieved many goals. One new solution was to increase water storage capacity and implement underground 3Phase power to reduce the risk of flood impacts and introduce night irrigation to support drought resilience by using less power and water.

    Saunders Farming – Saunders Farming “Plantation” in St. George, south-west Queensland, stands as a testament to a rich legacy in the cotton industry. Saunders Farming is constantly pushing to improve its water use as it is a limited and expensive resource. Craig realised the Farm Business Resilience Program was the opportunity to convert to bankless flood irrigation, which uses less water to grow more cotton.

QFF Farm Business Hour Webinars

The QFF Farm Business Hour was a monthly webinar series which ran from April 2022 to July 2023, featuring discussions on farm business issues between industry, government and professional business advisers.

The full episodes are available below, as well as 'short bites' covering the key concepts from each episode.

Contact

Connect with our Resilience and Recovery team
Kerry Battersby, Project Manager - E: kerry@qff.org.au, P: 07 3837 4720, M: 0419 614 765
Project Manager, Risk, Recovery and Resilience

Kerry Battersby

Project Officer, Risk, Recovery and Resilience

Bec Tkal

This program is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government’s Drought and Climate Adaptation Program.

Presentation1