Farmers can face change head on
As the end of the farming seasons draws near there will be a lot of reflection on events and what that means for farmers personally, their business and the farming community.
It’s been one heck of a ride this season with flooding, drought, governmental change, the mycoplasma bovis threat, tornados and lightning.
How farming looks and feels today is moving rapidly. It needs to because we are faced with constant changes. Time doesn’t stop and we need to be resilient and open to change in order to be sustainable in the future - the cost of not doing so is too high to imagine.
BDO Taranaki is backing farmers through this challenge of continual change. Change is different for each of us and can at first seem scary, but it doesn’t need to be. If we embrace change one step at a time we are likely to see challenges are disguised opportunities to make gains.
The BDO Farming Expo, Thursday, May 17 at the War Memorial Centre, Stratford, from 10am-2.30pm features a range of seminars and stalls designed to give farmers the tools to do exactly that.
To be sustainable we have to change our focus from looking backwards (reactive) to looking forward (proactive), in order to maximise our opportunities and avoid pitfalls.
Optimising per cow productivity is becoming increasingly important with farming coming under increasing pressure to increase sustainability and decrease its impact on the environment, and these can work in harmony.
The guest speaker is Olympic and Commonwealth medalist Hamish Bond, an athlete who exemplifies being open to change with his successful switch from rowing to cycling. The day, including seminars, stalls, lunch, barista coffee and drinks, is open to all in the farming industry. Register now at www.bdo.nz/farmingexpo
❚ Sheree Hastie,is a Chartered Accountant at BDO Taranaki