And lows in farming

milk and Ireland can produce milk competitively when compared with our international competitors.

If expansion plans are based on a 30c per lire milk price and projected technical performance is matched to the farmer and the farm’s ability, there is no point worrying about highs and lows. The long-term plan is sound.

Short term Plan

Yes, there will be speed bumps along the route of any plan, this is where short-term planning comes into its own.

Many farmers worry about the effects of low prices on their farm business and on their family, often they bury their heads in the sand and do nothing about it.

Burying one’s head in the sand like an ostrich and hoping the problem will go away will solve nothing. Go and get somebody to look at the issue, and even if they don’t immediately resolve it, remember a problem shared is a problem halved. A simple cashflow budget for any period up to 12 months provides clarity and a path to navigate through a short-term problem.

Contingency Plan

A contingency plan is a list of issues that may go wrong and how one is going to deal with them e.g. low commodity prices, high interest rates, disease, health issues, weather etc. These events will cause the best made plans to go off rail for a while, but if you expect it and have planned for such events the blow is a lot easier to take.

Exit Plan

Every business or project should have an exit plan. Personal health issues or no successors for a farm business are reasons for putting an exit plan in place at short notice but every farmer should have thought through his or her exit plan.

It is vitally important for farmers to enjoy and live balanced lives – ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. However, farmers must resist following the latest fashion trends just to experience shortterm kicks.

Carefully think thorough your long-term, short-term, contingency and exit plan and remember, fashion is temporary but style is permanent.

EXCESSIVE VOLUMES OF GOOD NEWS CAN CAUSE FARMERS TO OVERDOSE ON ENTHUSIASM

Mike Brady is an agricultural consultant based in Cork email: mike@bradygroup.ie