Developing strong business and leadership skills in up-and-coming young farmers is vital to the future of Australian agriculture, according to a leading agricultural banker.
Neil Dobbin, group executive – rural banking for specialist agribusiness lender Rabobank, says, with overall farmer numbers contracting, the young primary producers of today will assume an increasingly influential role in shaping the fortunes of Australia‟s agriculture in coming decades.
"While farmer numbers overall are declining, the role of today‟s young farmers will be far more influential and they will control a proportionally larger component of agriculture into the future," he said.
Speaking at the opening of applications for the annual Rabobank Farm Managers Program, Mr Dobbin said projections indicated that in less than a decade, young farmers who are currently aged between 25 and 35 will make up nearly 20 per cent of Australia‟s farming population.
"And, with the average size of farming operations growing, these farmers will be managing significantly larger, more innovative, efficient and „high-tech‟ businesses," he said.
As such, Mr Dobbin says, it is crucial that young farmers have the business management and leadership skills to evolve into the country‟s leading producers.
"Increasingly, it is no longer enough for farmers to be good at production alone, they must also be exceptional business managers as well," he said.
"This is even more important in this new age of global volatility where farmers need the best possible business management skills to confront the challenges and leverage opportunities posed by a volatile economy and to remain competitive in global export markets," he said.
Progressive young Australian primary producers and farm managers are being offered the opportunity to hone their business and leadership skills and take their careers to the next level, with the opening of this year‟s intake of the annual Rabobank Farm Managers Program (FMP).
Now in its fourth year, the FMP – which is tailored specifically for up-and-coming farm owners and managers – is the only course of its kind in Australia and New Zealand. This year it will be held from October 12 to 16, in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Past FMP participant Bega dairy producer Matt Kimber is well aware of the amount of skill required to run a large business enterprise and the desire to improve his management style is what prompted him to enrol in the program.
Mr Kimber says the FMP course has equipped him with the business management skills he needs to run his business and has been a real benefit to his career.
"In particular I wanted to improve how I engaged with staff. We run an operation that employs around 10 full time staff and up to 10 casuals and so it‟s pretty hard to be everywhere all the time," he said.
"The course taught me that it is important to find out what drives your staff, so I now try to get in their heads and question the reasoning behind the decisions that they make, whether they be right or wrong."
The five-day residential program provides participants with the latest knowledge on farm business management, presented by leading business and industry experts and academics. The FMP covers a wide range of practical management skills including: business planning, financials, leadership, effective communication and time management.
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