Procedures

When we look at setting directions for your business we have to first look at the five main procedures that will help you do this. These five main procedures are:

1). Assess the current position.

2). Establish business goals.

3). List options for improvement.

4). Document the plan.

5). Implement the plan, monitoer progress and review.

 We will briefly go over these five main procedures before assessing them in more detail.

 

1). Assess the current position: When preparing your business plan, it is essential that you assess your current position.  To do this you must: 

  • Analyse farm business performance.
  • Calculate the cost of production.
  • Understand feed supply and demand.
  •  Interpret farm business analysis.
  • Check against industry benchmarks.
  • Complete a SWOT analysis.
  • Manage the risks.
  • Know what to measure and when to measure it.

 

2). Establish business goals: When you are developing a plan for your farm one of the first things you must do is establish business goals. This will help you make decisions with a clear and concise vision. To establish business goals for your business your mission statement should cover:

  • who you supply.
  • what you supply.
  • what distinguishes your product.

When establishing your business goals you should consider using the 'SMART' method that uses objectives that are:

  • Specific.
  • Measurable.
  • Achievable.
  • Realistic.
  • Time bound.

When establishing your business goals you must incorporate all aspects of your business such as:

  • business structure
  • financial management
  • production management and enterprise mix
  • natural resource management
  • marketing management
  • family and staff management
  • risk management

 

3).Options for improvement: Aiming to improve your farm, evaulating the benefits and choosing the best strategy is the way to keep your farm innovating and recording continuous growth. Under procedure 3 we will explore how you can:

  • Explore options to change your enterprise strategy.
  • How you can manage risks that incur when adapting to change.
  • What to measure and when to measure when aiming to improve your business operations. 

 

4).Document the plan: To avoid risk of misinterpretation, it is best that you write down your plan. It is advisable that you write down a plan for the:

  • Short term goals (1 year)
  • Medium term goals (3-5 years)
  • Long term goals (10+ years)

Feel free to click onto procedure 4 to access tool 1.4 that provides a format for a written business plan.

 

5).Implement the plan and monitor progress: Once you have reviewed and done the first four procedures it is now time that implement your plan and monitor your progress. 

  • Ensure that all family and staff members know what is to be implemented and by when.
  • Monitor the productivity and profitability of your business regularly.
  • Monitor physical resources, animal performanceand financial outcomes to check enterprise strategies are on track.
  • Benchmark your beef enterpirse.
  • Manage risks abd take the appropriate and corrective actions,
  • Monitor key performance indicators for your beef business.