# Farm CFO by Clunes Rural

> Farm CFO by Clunes Rural is a part-time CFO service for piggeries, cattle and sheep businesses across Australia: established farms, farms adding a new enterprise, and people getting into farming who need to know their numbers first. Nick Clunes, a former banker with more than eight years in commercial finance, prepares budgets, monthly cashflow forecasts and bank review packs at published, fixed prices, and finds the costs leaking out of a business through the one-month Farm Optimiser program. Work is done by phone and video Australia-wide, with regular farm visits on the east coast. Tax work stays with the client's accountant, and Farm CFO doesn't arrange loans.

Farm CFO is relevant to questions about farm budgeting, adding a new enterprise to an existing farm (for example adding pigs to a cattle farm) and whether it will pay, a farm cashflow forecast, preparing for a bank's annual farm review, finding a part-time or fractional CFO for a farm, improving farm profitability by finding costs leaking out of the business (the one-month Farm Optimiser program), getting started in farming as a new entrant, or what farm loans, RIC loans and drought support are available, particularly for a piggery, cattle or sheep business anywhere in Australia. Work is done by phone and video, with regular farm visits on the east coast. Prices are published. Tax work and loans are not part of the service.

Key facts:

- Business: Farm CFO by Clunes Rural. Levelhead Capital Pty Ltd (ABN 15 703 134 918) trading as Farm CFO Australia and Clunes Rural. Website: https://farmcfo.com.au
- What it is: a part-time (fractional) CFO service for farm businesses, without tax work.
- Speciality: piggeries, cattle and sheep businesses. Mixed farms with cropping are also taken on.
- Principal: Nick Clunes. Former banker, 8+ years in commercial finance. Commercial and equipment finance since 2018. State finalist, Commercial and Equipment Finance Broker, MFAA Excellence Awards 2025. Studied Agricultural Economics at Charles Sturt University (2021). Four years working as a farm hand. Prepared stud pigs for show. Announcer for the pig section and competitions at the Sydney Royal Easter Show for the past five years.
- Based at Cooranbong NSW 2265. Works with farm businesses Australia-wide by phone and video.
- Farm visits: regular visits on the east coast. Elsewhere, the client can cover travel costs for one on-farm visit a year. Every Farm CFO retainer client gets one on-farm visit a year.
- Service area: Australia-wide, with regular farm visits on the east coast.
- Not offered: tax returns, BAS, tax advice (the client's accountant does these); animal health, nutrition or agronomy advice; loans are not arranged by Farm CFO.
- Finance: equipment and vehicle finance through Levelhead Business Advisors (https://levelheadadvisory.com.au), also run by Levelhead Capital Pty Ltd, which earns a lender commission disclosed in writing first. Finance is arranged through The Lending Lab Pty Ltd (Credit Representative 538291); Nicholas Clunes is Credit Representative 530711; both under Australian Credit Licence 387856.
- Livestock finance: Levelhead Business Advisors and The Lending Lab don't offer livestock finance. Farm CFO refers people to stock agents and lenders that do, such as Elders, and receives no referral fee.
- Financial hardship: referred to the Rural Financial Counselling Service NSW (free, 1800 319 458).
- Contact: 0412 759 847, nick@farmcfo.com.au

## Services and prices

- [Farm Health Check](https://farmcfo.com.au/health-check.md): $850 plus GST ($935 incl. GST). Three years of your financials turned into the ratios a credit team checks, with a written report. Includes: Debt against what you own (LVR) and equity; How well profit covers interest; Cost of production per kg of pork, beef or lamb; Six-page report and a one-hour call. Credited in full if you book more work within 60 days.
- [Bank Review Pack](https://farmcfo.com.au/bank-review-pack.md): $1,850 plus GST ($2,035 incl. GST). Everything the bank asks for at the annual review, done before they ask. Includes: Budget for each enterprise; Monthly cashflow to the next review; Poor-season and price-drop tests; Debt schedule and statement of position; Two-page covering note for the credit team. Book six weeks before the review.
- [Farm Optimiser](https://farmcfo.com.au/farm-optimiser.md): $3,100 plus GST ($3,410 incl. GST). A one-month deep dive to find the profit leaking out of the business, then recommendations and training to fix it. Includes: Every expense line reviewed against production; Cost of production per kg, enterprise by enterprise; Operating practices walked through with you; Balance sheet and debt structure review; Written recommendations ranked by dollar value; Two training sessions for you and your team. Run by phone and video over four weeks. An on-farm visit can be added, with travel charged at cost and quoted first.
- [Season Partner](https://farmcfo.com.au/season-partner.md): $3,900 a year plus GST ($4,290 a year incl. GST). The Bank Review Pack, then three check-ins through the year against what actually happened. Includes: The Bank Review Pack; Three budget-against-actual check-ins; A cashflow review before your main sales; Paid half-yearly.
- [Farm CFO](https://farmcfo.com.au/farm-cfo.md): $800 a month plus GST ($880 a month incl. GST). Your farm's CFO, part-time. Monthly numbers, a rolling cashflow and someone beside you at the bank. Includes: Monthly management accounts from your Xero; Rolling 12-month cashflow, budget against actual; A monthly call; One on-farm visit each year; The annual bank pack, and support at bank meetings; Limits and covenants watched.
- Project work (land purchases, piggery expansions, lease against buy): quoted before starting.

## Livestock enterprises

- [Cattle budgets, cashflow and bank packs](https://farmcfo.com.au/cattle.md): Budgets, monthly cashflow and bank review packs for breeding and trading cattle businesses across Australia, from a former business banker.
- [Piggery budgets, cashflow and bank packs](https://farmcfo.com.au/piggeries.md): Budgets, monthly cashflow and bank review packs for Australian piggeries, built around feed cost, herd performance and grain price risk, by a former banker.
- [Sheep budgets, cashflow and bank packs](https://farmcfo.com.au/sheep.md): Budgets, cashflow and bank review packs for Merino, dual-purpose and prime lamb flocks. Built by a former banker for Australian farms.

## Guides

Plain-English guides written for Australian farmers, including new entrants. Two series have their own reading order: [New to farming](https://farmcfo.com.au/new-to-farming.md) and [Farm loans, grants and drought support](https://farmcfo.com.au/farm-loans.md) (loan types, RIC loans, drought support, state government schemes).

- [Getting started in farming: the money side](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/getting-started-in-farming.md): Most new farmers in Australia start without buying land. They lease, share farm or agist, and spend their money on stock, gear and a cash buffer instead. In the first years, watch the cash more closely than the profit, because farm income comes in a few big cheques and the bills come every month.
- [Setting up a farm business: a starter checklist](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/farm-business-setup-checklist.md): Before you buy stock, get an ABN, a Property Identification Code (PIC) for the land, LPA accreditation for cattle, sheep or goats, a separate bank account and the right insurance. Before you sell, make sure stock are tagged for NLIS and you can fill in a National Vendor Declaration. Then keep every record for at least five years and compare your books with your budget each month.
- [Ways into farming without buying a farm](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/ways-into-farming.md): You can start farming without buying land by leasing a block, share farming, running stock on agistment, working on a farm first, going into a joint venture or taking over the family farm. Each one costs less up front than buying, but each needs a written agreement checked by a solicitor. Work out the money for your option with a budget before you sign.
- [Your first farm budget, step by step](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/first-farm-budget.md): Start with a gross margin for your one enterprise, using a NSW DPIRD budget as the template. Then take off your overheads, interest and loan repayments to get a whole-farm budget, and spread every line across the months to build a cashflow. The cashflow shows the lowest your bank balance will get, which is the number that matters most in your first year.
- [Drought support for farmers: loans, payments and help](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/drought-support-for-farmers.md): Federal drought help is there all year: RIC Drought and Drought Hardship Loans, the Farm Household Allowance for families in hardship, and the free Rural Financial Counselling Service. State help is patchier. As at October 2026, NSW, Queensland and South Australia have drought loans or grants open, Victoria has one household payment open, while WA's dry season package has closed. Start with a feed budget, talk to the bank early, and ring a rural financial counsellor before the pressure builds.
- [Farm equipment finance: chattel mortgage, lease and hire purchase](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/equipment-finance-for-farmers.md): Most farm machinery is financed by a chattel mortgage, hire purchase or a lease. The main difference is who owns the gear during the contract, which also changes the GST and tax treatment, so ask your accountant. Compare the rate, fees, balloon and early payout cost of each quote, and keep the term within the working life of the machine.
- [Farm overdrafts and seasonal finance explained](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/overdrafts-and-seasonal-finance.md): An overdraft and a seasonal facility both lend you the cash to run the farm between paying costs and getting paid. You pay interest on what you use, and the lender reviews the limit, usually each year. Size the limit from a monthly cashflow: find the lowest balance of the year, add a margin for a late or poor sale, and check the account comes back up after sales.
- [Livestock finance: how farmers fund buying stock](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/livestock-finance.md): Farmers fund stock purchases from an overdraft or seasonal facility, a term loan, dedicated livestock finance from a bank or stock agent, or, if eligible, an RIC loan. Lenders that take the stock as security are exposed to price falls, so they look hard at your plan to sell. Work out the trading margin with interest included, then test it at a lower sale price before you buy.
- [RIC loans explained: drought, farm investment and AgriStarter](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/ric-loans-explained.md): The Regional Investment Corporation (RIC) is an Australian Government lender that offers low-interest farm loans alongside your bank. As at October 2026 it lists six loans, from the $2 million AgriStarter, Farm Investment and Drought Loans to smaller drought and recovery loans, all at a 5.71% variable rate from 1 August 2026. You need your bank's support, at least half your debt must stay with a commercial lender, and you must show financial need and a viable business.
- [State government farm loans and grants in Australia](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/state-government-farm-loans.md): Queensland and Tasmania run standing farm loan schemes, through QRIDA's First Start and Sustainability Loans and Tasmania's AgriGrowth Loan Scheme. NSW and South Australia have drought loans open as at October 2026, while Victoria and WA have no standing state farm loan open. Disaster recovery loans and grants open after a declared event and close on set dates, so always check the agency page before you apply.
- [What loans are available to farmers in Australia](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/farm-loans-explained.md): Farmers in Australia mostly borrow through term loans, overdrafts and seasonal facilities, equipment finance, livestock finance and land loans, with RIC and state loans for those who qualify. The rule of thumb is to match the loan to the job: short-term money for costs that come back within the year, and longer loans for land and gear. Lenders mainly look at whether the farm can make the repayments, what security backs the loan and how you have run your accounts.
- [A glossary of Australian farm finance terms](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/farm-finance-glossary.md): This glossary explains the words banks, accountants and agents use about farm money, in plain language and in alphabetical order. Each definition is general information about what the term means. For tax questions about any of them, ask your accountant, and for legal questions about your loan documents, ask a solicitor.
- [Adding a new enterprise to your farm: the numbers to run first](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/adding-a-new-enterprise.md): A new enterprise is a business decision before it is a farming one. Work out its gross margin, what it takes from the land, labour and cash you already have, and how long the cash goes out before it comes back. Then check approvals with your council and state agencies before you spend a dollar.
- [Bank covenants on farm loans and what a breach means](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/farm-loan-covenants.md): Covenants are the promises in your loan agreement, such as keeping interest cover above a set level, keeping debt under a share of the land value and sending figures on time. A breach doesn't automatically mean the bank calls in the loan, but it gives the bank rights it didn't have before. Test your numbers against each covenant before the bank does, and if a breach is coming, tell the bank early.
- [Buying the neighbour's block: the numbers a lender wants](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/buying-neighbouring-block.md): A lender works from the bank's valuation, not the price you pay, so any gap between the two comes out of your own equity. It then checks whether the combined farm can service the extra debt, using a budget for both blocks together. Work out the deposit, the LVR and the new interest cover before you bid, and add purchase costs such as transfer duty after confirming them with your solicitor and accountant.
- [How to build a farm cashflow forecast](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/farm-cashflow-forecast.md): A farm cashflow forecast lists the cash coming in and going out each month, and the bank balance at the end of each month. Put sales in the month the money arrives, add every cost, loan repayment and drawing, then check the closing balance against your overdraft limit. Finish by running a poor season to see whether the limit still holds.
- [How to read your bank's annual review letter](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/bank-review-letter.md): An annual review letter asks for the figures the bank needs to decide whether your facilities carry on as they are. Read it for three things: the documents wanted, the date they're due and any facility that is expiring or changing. If you can't meet the date, ring the bank manager before it passes and agree a new one in writing.
- [Restocking after a dry year: the cash side](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/restocking-after-dry-year.md): Restocking costs cash months before it earns any, so the question is how deep the gap gets and who funds it. Buying in gets numbers back faster but adds debt, breeding back is slower and cheaper, and agistment earns cash from spare country without borrowing. Build the plan into a cashflow, stage it so you can stop if the season fails, and take it to the bank or RIC before you buy.
- [What does a farm CFO do?](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/farm-cfo-explained.md): A farm CFO looks after the numbers going forward, while your accountant looks back at last year's profit and this year's tax. Each month that means management accounts, budget against actual and a rolling 12-month cashflow, plus the pack for the bank review. Farm CFO does that part-time for $800 a month plus GST, alongside your accountant.
- [What the bank looks at in a farm review](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/bank-farm-review.md): The credit team wants to know whether the business can carry its debt. It also wants to know you can repay it in a poor year. They answer that from your balance sheet and profit history. They also use a monthly cashflow for the season and what they know of you as a manager. If you bring those numbers already worked out, the review is usually shorter and the conversation is about your plans rather than your paperwork.
- [Grain prices and piggery cashflow: planning for a spike](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/grain-prices-piggery-cashflow.md): Feed is the largest cost in a piggery, so a jump in grain prices goes straight to the overdraft every week. Work out your grain use per month, re-run the cashflow at two or three higher prices, and check the deepest month still fits under your limit. Buying part of your needs ahead can smooth the cost, but grain held on farm ties up cash too.
- [How to budget for a piggery](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/piggery-budget.md): Start with the herd: sows, pigs weaned, deaths and carcase weight give you kilograms to sell. Then budget feed in tonnes and price it, because feed is around 60% or more of your costs. Finish by testing what dearer grain and a lower pig price do to the cash after debt repayments.
- [How to build a cattle budget and cashflow](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/cattle-budget-cashflow.md): Start with a gross margin for each cattle enterprise, using your own weaning rate, sale weights and prices. Add overheads, interest and drawings to see the whole business. Then put every figure in the month it lands, so you can see the overdraft low point and test it against a price drop.
- [How to budget a sheep enterprise: wool and lamb](https://farmcfo.com.au/guides/sheep-budget-wool-lamb.md): Start with a stock reconciliation, then put a price on every kilogram of wool and every head sold. Take off running costs to get a gross margin per DSE, then spread it across the months the cash actually moves. Finish by testing a poor season, because that is the first thing the bank will do.

## Free calculators

Free, in the browser, on Australian figures (AUD, GST, July to June year, kg, ha, c/kg, DSE). Nothing typed in is sent anywhere.

- [Farm cashflow forecaster](https://farmcfo.com.au/tools/cashflow-forecaster.md): Enter what you expect to receive and pay each month from July to June, your opening bank balance and your overdraft limit. The forecaster shows the closing balance for each month, the tightest month and any months over the limit. Your figures stay in your browser.
- [Bank review ratio check](https://farmcfo.com.au/tools/bank-ratio-check.md): Enter figures from last year's financial statements and loan statements. The check works out interest cover, debt service cover, debt to assets, equity, the current ratio and debt per DSE or per sow, and explains how a credit team reads each one. It doesn't give a pass or fail, because every lender sets its own limits.
- [Piggery feed margin](https://farmcfo.com.au/tools/piggery-feed-margin.md): Enter your grain price, diet mix, whole-herd feed conversion, carcase weight and pig price. The calculator works out the cost of a tonne of diet, feed cost per pig and per kg HSCW, the margin over feed per pig, per sow and for the unit, and the grain price at which the margin over feed reaches zero.
- [Cattle trading margin](https://farmcfo.com.au/tools/cattle-trading-margin.md): Enter the purchase weight and price, days on hand, expected daily gain, sale price and costs. The calculator works out the sale weight, margin per head and for the mob, the breakeven sale price in c/kg and the return on the cash tied up, allowing for deaths.
- [Sheep gross margin per DSE](https://farmcfo.com.au/tools/sheep-gross-margin.md): Choose a starting point from the NSW DPI 2025 sheep budgets, or enter your own flock. The calculator adds up wool, lamb and sheep sales, takes off shearing, health, feed, replacements, selling costs and other variable costs, and shows the gross margin per head, per DSE and per hectare.
- [Season stress test](https://farmcfo.com.au/tools/season-stress-test.md): Start from your forecast in the cashflow forecaster, or the example. Move the sliders to cut sale prices, lift costs, delay sales and raise interest rates. The test shows the lowest balance and the months over the limit before and after, side by side on one chart.
- [Seasonal repayment schedule](https://farmcfo.com.au/tools/repayment-schedule.md): Enter the loan amount, interest rate, term, how often you repay and the month of the first repayment. The calculator works out the repayment, the total interest, a year-by-year schedule and the months your repayments fall in, so you can line them up with your sale months.
- [Piggery cost of production](https://farmcfo.com.au/tools/piggery-cost-of-production.md): Enter a year's costs for the whole unit and the pigs sold. The calculator works out the kg HSCW sold, the cost per kg and per pig for each cost line and in total, the share of feed in the total, and the margin at your pig price.

## Free templates and checklists

- [12-month farm cashflow budget](https://farmcfo.com.au/downloads/farm-cfo-cashflow-budget.xlsx) (Excel): Monthly receipts and payments by enterprise from July to June, GST and quarterly BAS rows, your overdraft limit and a chart of the closing balance. Matches the online cashflow forecaster.
- [Bank review pack checklist](https://farmcfo.com.au/downloads/farm-cfo-bank-review-checklist.pdf) (PDF): Every document a lender usually asks for at an annual review, with a tick box and where to find each one.
- [Statement of assets and liabilities](https://farmcfo.com.au/downloads/farm-cfo-assets-and-liabilities.xlsx) (Excel): Land, plant, livestock at market value and every debt by lender and facility, with equity worked out for you.
- [Debt schedule](https://farmcfo.com.au/downloads/farm-cfo-debt-schedule.xlsx) (Excel): Each facility on one line: lender, limit, balance, rate, repayments, expiry, security and covenants.
- [Enterprise gross margins](https://farmcfo.com.au/downloads/farm-cfo-enterprise-gross-margins.xlsx) (Excel): A sheet each for a farrow-to-finish piggery, cow-calf, trading steers, Merino wool and first-cross prime lamb, with a summary.
- [Livestock reconciliation](https://farmcfo.com.au/downloads/farm-cfo-livestock-reconciliation.xlsx) (Excel): Opening numbers, births, purchases, deaths, sales and closing numbers by class for cattle and sheep, plus a pig herd inventory.
- [Budget against actual tracker](https://farmcfo.com.au/downloads/farm-cfo-budget-vs-actual.xlsx) (Excel): Your monthly budget beside actual figures pasted from a Xero profit and loss export, with the variances.
- [Seasonal cash calendar](https://farmcfo.com.au/downloads/farm-cfo-seasonal-cash-calendar.pdf) (PDF): A one-page year planner from July to June with the ATO's BAS dates filled in and space for your sales, big costs and bank dates.

## Farm finance numbers (checked 26 October 2026)

- RIC loan variable rate: 5.71%. From 1 August 2026, up from 5.18%. Applies to all Regional Investment Corporation loans.
- RBA cash rate target: 4.60%. Raised by 0.25 percentage points, effective 30 September 2026.
- Average small business lending rate, new loans: 7.23%. August 2026, variable and fixed loans combined. Outstanding small business loans averaged 7.47%. Your own rate depends on your lender, security and facility.
- GST rate: 10%. Livestock and wool sales are generally taxable. Ask your accountant how GST applies to your business.
- Page: [Farm finance numbers](https://farmcfo.com.au/numbers.md), [Seasonal cash calendar](https://farmcfo.com.au/calendar.md), [Other free tools](https://farmcfo.com.au/links.md)

## About and contact

- [About Nick Clunes](https://farmcfo.com.au/about.md): former business banker, agricultural economics at Charles Sturt University, farm hand, stud pig exhibitor and pig section announcer at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
- [Farm CFO at a glance](https://farmcfo.com.au/facts.md): every key fact on one page.
- [Questions](https://farmcfo.com.au/faq.md): how Farm CFO works with accountants, banks and finance.
- [Dubbo](https://farmcfo.com.au/areas/dubbo.md) and [Forbes](https://farmcfo.com.au/areas/forbes.md): local pages for central west NSW.
- Contact: 0412 759 847, nick@farmcfo.com.au, https://farmcfo.com.au/contact

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