Planning is needed more than ever next year as farmers are facing a cashflow crunch in 2015 and need to react early. The Irish Farmers Journal has joined up with the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) and Teagasc to focus on one of the most important areas for farmers – farm planning. Planning for Profit is aimed at every farmer, no matter how big or how small.

The overall aim is to highlight the benefits and increase dramatically the number of farmers engaging in the planning process to improve their profitability. It is aimed at every sector so it doesn’t matter if you are in beef, sheep, tillage or dairy – you can and should take part.

The Planning for Profit initiative started last year with the simple step of completing a net worth analysis. This is a snapshot of your business that looks at your assets and what you owe. If you engaged in this process last year, do it again for this year. This will help chart your progress and allow you to quickly identify if you are heading in the right direction. If you didn’t, why not start now?

Farm plans to be won

We gave away a prize of a farm plan to four farmers last year. In the supplement we revisit a number of the farmers (details have been changed) who won the prize of having a farm plan completed. It sets out the approach you can take to planning for your business.

Remember, a plan has to be updated depending on what happens; 2015 will be a case in point. Many dairy farmers will be questioning their expansion plans in the face of lower milk prices. The first step should be to look at the effect low prices will have on the bottom line.

As part of planning, the most powerful thing a farmer can do is set out a cashflow for 2015. We describe how to do one for your farm. We also look at moving to a limited company, which some farmers with high tax bills in 2014 are considering.

The ACA and Teagasc are again giving away four free farm plans. Four lucky farmers will have a five-year plan carried out, taking in all the options to increase profitability and hit their goals. To enter, send in your name and address in confidence and 300 words (max) on why you should win a five-year plan to Planning for Profit, Peter Young, Irish Farmers Journal, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12, or email to pyoung@farmersjournal.ie.