Farm Optimiser is a one-month program. We go through every cost line and the way the business runs, work out what each kilogram of pork, beef, lamb or wool really costs to produce, and look at how the debt is set up. Then we give you written recommendations, ranked by dollars, and train you and your team to keep the gains.
Most of the money a livestock business loses doesn't go in one big hit. It goes in lines nobody looks at closely: feed bought at the wrong time or wasted in the trough, freight and selling costs that crept up, repairs on gear that should have been replaced, contract work that costs more than doing it yourself, stock losses, and overdraft interest that comes from the timing of sales rather than the size of the business.
Farm Optimiser puts a dollar figure on each of them, so you can see which three or four matter and leave the rest.
Week 1: the numbers come in. Three years of financial statements, your Xero file, loan statements and your herd or flock records.
Week 2: how the business runs. We go through feed buying and storage, selling and freight, labour, machinery and contractors with you by video, enterprise by enterprise.
Week 3: the analysis. Every expense line is checked against production, cost of production is worked out per kg, and the balance sheet and debt structure are reviewed. Where it helps, your results are compared with published benchmarks such as the NSW DPI gross margin budgets.
Week 4: recommendations and training. You get a written report with each recommendation, its estimated dollar effect and the assumptions behind it, then two training sessions.
The first session covers reading your own profit and loss and balance sheet, and working out cost of production per kg for each enterprise.
The second sets up a monthly routine: budget against actual, a rolling cashflow and the handful of numbers worth watching. You keep the notes and the spreadsheets, and our free calculators and templates fit straight into the routine.
Sometimes the problem isn't a cost line but how the debt is set up. Equipment paid for out of the overdraft, a term loan whose repayments fall in the wrong months, or several small facilities that could be combined. The report shows the numbers for each option so you can see the effect on cashflow and interest.
Farm CFO doesn't arrange loans. If you decide to refinance or finance equipment, Levelhead Business Advisors, run by the same company, can arrange it, with any lender commission disclosed in writing before you proceed. You're free to take the numbers to any lender.
Statements, Xero access, loan statements and stock records. We'll send a short list.
Two or three video calls in the second week, enterprise by enterprise.
A written report, ranked by dollar value, with the working shown.
Two sessions for you and your team, then a plan for the next 12 months.
Related: Piggery cost of production calculator · Bank review ratio check · Farm CFO retainer
We can't promise a figure before we've seen the numbers. Every recommendation in the report carries an estimated dollar effect and the assumptions behind it, so you can judge which ones are worth doing.
The program runs by phone and video, which keeps the fee fixed wherever you are in Australia. An on-farm visit can be added; travel is charged at cost and quoted before we book.
Both. It's a one-month program for one farm business at a time, with the analysis done on your own figures and training built in at the end.
No. The report shows the numbers for any finance option. Arranging a loan is separate, through Levelhead Business Advisors or any lender you choose, with any commission disclosed first.
$850 + GST ($935 incl. GST)
Three years of your financials turned into the ratios a credit team checks, with a written report.
$1,850 + GST ($2,035 incl. GST)
Everything the bank asks for at the annual review, done before they ask.
$3,900 per year + GST ($4,290 incl. GST)
The Bank Review Pack, then three check-ins through the year against what actually happened.
We work with farm businesses Australia-wide by phone and video, with regular farm visits on the east coast. Get in touch for a no-obligation chat about what you need and what it would cost.
