Rabobank is looking to give the next generation of farmers a 'leg up' in financial management to help grow their family farming businesses.
Over the next two years, the rural banking service will be offering practical, one-day 'Growing the Family Business' seminars to 2000 up-and-coming farmers across regional Australia.
Locally-run and delivered in key regional locations, each workshop will give young people the opportunity to improve their financial literacy, free of charge.
Rabobank's national coordinator for the Growing the Family Business program Justin Harrison said the sessions were "very hands on", with participants - generally aged between 18 to 25 - taken through practical steps to understand the financial position of their own farming business.
"The sessions will look at what makes up a balance sheet, profit and loss statement and an introduction to triple bottom line accounting," Mr Harrison said.
"And more importantly, how to interpret these reports to make calculated business decisions.
"This then feeds into sessions on how banks assess a loan and the importance of developing a business plan."
Drawing on the expertise of local farmers, Mr Harrison said the workshops would also give participants the opportunity to hear candidly from those who have looked outside the square for opportunities and the lessons they have learnt along the way.
"Nothing rings quite as true as hearing from someone within your industry, who can talk about how they have got to where they are now, but perhaps more importantly, the traps and pitfalls they have experienced along the way," he said.
In addition to presentations by local farmers, the workshops will draw together knowledge from local accountants and banking professionals, covering topics including gross margin analysis, cash flow budgeting and interpreting financial statements, as well as identifying business opportunities and embarking on new business ventures.
An initiative of Rabobank's Client Councils, a group of the bank's farming clients who meet to discuss issues and implement initiatives to contribute to the sustainability of rural communities, the program has been designed to give the next generation of farmers access to financial education in the communities in which they live.
Client Council southern Queensland and northern New South Wales chair Sally Rigney said the group had identified a void where amazing young people were coming back home but lacked the skills and confidence to fulfill their dreams.
"We developed the program to provide young farmers with the basic concepts of good business," she said.
"To give them the framework to have the right conversations, with the right people, to make things happen."
A series of initial pilot workshops, beginning in 2016, has already seen more than 360 farmers undertake the financial literacy program in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
With the program now rolling out on a national scale, the first seminar will be held in Clermont in central Queensland later this month, with workshops also planned for Katherine in the Northern Territory and the Riverina region in southern New South Wales.
