Our Services

Planfarm Agronomy provides independent advice to broadacre grain growers. With some of the most experienced agronomists in Western Australia, Planfarm Agronomy offers advice tailored for the individual farm and circumstance, including:

• Complete crop nutrition advice:
  • Independent soil and tissue test analysis and recommendations
  • Independent nitrogen models that optimise your nitrogen fertiliser dollar
  • Paddock zoning and variable rate fertiliser advice
  • Accredited NuLogic Advisers
• Weed Management advice tailored to your herbicide resistance profile. This advice covers not just herbicides, but complete Integrated weed management
• Fungicide and Insecticide planning advice
• Rotation and crop variety advice
• Pasture management advice
• During the season up-to-date information is sent to growers making them aware of seasonal issues such as insect and nutritional issues through text messages and 'From the Field' fax streaming system
• Coordination and analysis of research trials for companies looking to trial products in the field

The advantage of Planfarm Agronomy:

• The advice is dollar focussed to maximise your returns, not just your yields
• The advice is not tied to chemical or fertiliser sales. Clients have the ability to shop where they want and negotiate the price of their inputs without fear of losing their agronomy advice.

 

Farming is a complex mix. Soil, rainfall, crops, pastures, livestock, finance, labour, technology and marketing all come together in the successful farm business. Farm management is the business of making it all happen to achieve the best outcome for the people involved.

Planfarm have been assisting clients to grow their farm businesses for over thirty years. During this time we have seen droughts, market collapses, floods, booms, high interest rates, frosts and huge advances in technology and productivity.

 

Our business management services feature ongoing client contact with annual, mid-year or quarterly reviews. We help you define your goals, identify barriers and put in place a plan to get you there. We then monitor and guide you every step of the way.

Service packages are tailored to suit individual needs and prior to commencing work we agree on an all inclusive fee, so there are no nasty surprises when it comes time to pay.

If you are looking to invest in broad acre agricultural land and require someone to manage the cropping operation, then Planfarm have the knowledge and experience to do the job.

Over recent years Planfarm have been managing several grain growing properties on behalf of investors. These investments have to date been providing excellent returns through both capital growth and farming dividends.

Such management efforts see our consultants bring together their skills in the areas of property identification, business management, agronomy and grain marketing to ensure the business is given the best possible chance of success.

This management expertise is combined with access to a pool of contractors including those chosen through close examination of our large client base and their capacity to take on such contract work. These contractors are then used to carry out the required operations on the farm including seeding, spraying, spreading and harvesting.

If you also require specialised accounting related advice we work closely with several leading firms to provide clients with the best possible outcomes.

Specific services available

Services included in the whole property management package include:

• Property identification plus purchase support and advice
• Advice with regards to structuring of farming investment
• Paddock planning (i.e. crop and variety choice, fertiliser and agchem required)
• Ordering and supply of inputs (i.e. seed, fertiliser and agchem)
• Arranging and supervision of experienced contractors
• Organise appropriate insurances
• Oversee all important seeding, spraying and harvesting operations
• Oversee all other crop management operations
• Organise minor management tasks (i.e. firebreaks and property maintenance)
• Sell grain including hedging if required
• Allocate grain loads to contracts
• Budgeting and organisation of finance if required
• Pay bills and run cashbook
• Liaise with accountant to assist manage taxation affairs
• Report regularly to client(s)

Because of the diverse range of experience and expertise contained within our consulting staff, Planfarm are regularly commissioned to carry our research projects, feasibility studies and impact studies.

In recent years and currently we are both managing and carrying out projects in our own right as well as contracting services to other research providers who require our unique expertise.

Planfarm research / project work has included the following:

• Management of research program of the Mingenew-Irwin Group Inc
• Agricultural Impact study (proposed 330KV transmission line) for Western Power
• Agricultural Impact study (proposed rail route) for Oakajee Port and Rail
• Viability of Farming in the NE Wheatbelt of WA for DAFWA
• Management of a soil health laboratory (Australian Soil Monitoring Service)
• Expert roles in various DAFWA and CSIRO research projects

Planfarm have a licensed rural valuer as part of our team. We pride ourselves on carrying out our valuations in a professional and timely manner. Valuation clients include most major banks, rural investors, syndicates and farming families.

Our experience across the state with a wide range of agricultural businesses gives us a unique insight into the agricultural sector.

This is particularly useful in carrying out feasibility work for farm purchases. Calling on extensive local knowledge our consultants can quickly and accurately determine the expected productivity of a property and produce financial estimates based on expert working knowledge of income and expenditure.

We also assist with identifying prospective properties, sale negotiations and day to day management for absentee owners.

Grain marketing advice is provided by Planfarm Marketing Pty Ltd a joint venture between Planfarm Pty Ltd and PAH Consulting Pty Ltd.

Deregulation of the export grains industry has demonstrated that independent grain marketing advice is becoming essential for grain growers.

Our clients have access to an experienced team of professionals who can assist them with meeting their marketing goals be they price maximisation or risk minimisation.

Services include grain brokering, identifying pricing opportunities, advice on the various grain marketing products, including price risk management advice on using derivatives such as bank swaps, futures and options, full monitoring of market positions and load allocation.

On-going measurement and monitoring is essential for improvement in any business.

All Planfarm management clients are provided with annual reports benchmarking their farm business against their peer group from a similar rainfall zone.

These reports are a useful tool to rank how an individual business is performing and to identify those areas where efficiency and profitability may be able to be improved.

The WA Farm Business Survey is produced annually by Planfarm from these results. This survey has been running for 30 years and provides a unique snapshot of the productivity and profitability of WA farming over this period.

Planning for the orderly transition of the farming business and its assets can be a daunting task! It is, however critical for the majority of family businesses both from a viability and also a family relationship perspective.

Planfarm consultants have worked with clients for many years to facilitate and advise on this challenging process utilising their unique family, farming and business knowledge to help generate a satisfactory outcome for all.

Planfarm’s approach to succession planning involves all family members giving them a chance to express their views and indicate what their personal goals and objectives are. Once this is clearly understood and considered by all family members plans can be put in place to deliver the desired outcome.

Critically, Planfarm involves accounting and legal professionals at the planning stage recognising the unique skills and expertise that these professionals bring to the process.