Business planning is an important management activity that sets the direction for your business and documents how you will achieve the goals for the future of your farming enterprise or small business.

Business Planning can be one of the most important and useful exercises you do, as it reveals opportunities and risks and provides a level of knowledge that your farm enterprise or small business is sustainable and economically viable. Solid business plans are now becoming an essential document to obtain finance from lending institutions, investors, or grant making agencies.

Farmers need to plan to make sure their farm business will continue to support them through good times and bad. Our counsellors can help you to develop a business plan to meet your individual needs and will work with you, right from inception through to the implementation of the plan to help you achieve positive outcomes.

Succession planning is also an important component of a business plan and is essential to the process of passing a farm or business on to the next generation as smoothly and successfully as possible or to establish new management structures for retirement. Our counsellors can assist you in this process. See our section on "Succession Planning".

Business planning focuses on the short, medium and long term goals and actions. It aims to position the farm business to meet long term goals and protect the business from known risks.