One thing that often gets overlooked is the measurement of seed size to calculate the optimum seeding rate based on desired plant densities. Seed sizes vary substantially from year to year, which means our ideal seeding rates should be adjusted accordingly. By using a...

Accounting software is crucial for managing financial transactions and ensuring compliance. Xero and Agrimaster serve different markets: Xero is a cloud-based solution for small to medium-sized businesses, while Agrimaster specialises in farm accounting. This article...

I have three words for you to describe the current state of the world’s commodity markets: uncertainty, uncertainty, uncertainty. It’s become the one constant. Our recent article, Trump 3.0, could be updated daily with the new policies, policy changes from the US and...

2020 was a crazy time. You may recall the mass hysteria gripping the nation about a highly divisive topic. Friends became enemies, popular opinion defeated science, and those with differing views made themselves known and were, in many cases, promptly ostracised. Of...

In Australian agriculture today, farm owners are typically asset-rich and operate increasingly valuable and complex businesses. With soaring land values and strong business growth over recent times, these enterprises often represent a significant pool of family...

In 2025, running a horticulture business is about more than producing a great crop. It's about building a thriving, profitable enterprise—where strategy, data, and smart decisions matter just as much as the weather. Today’s growers are balancing rising costs, market...

Twenty-one years ago, I joined 11 others at Planfarm. Apart from me, only Graeme McConnell remains, and there are now 50 team members at Planfarm. I was encouraged to join the team by Walter Milsteed and Andrew Rintoul at the Narrogin office (back room of a shared old...

How adept are you at analysing your horticultural business and understanding what drives profit?  Before I joined the horticulture team at Planfarm, I thought I had a pretty good handle on economic principles, how farm businesses operated, and what made them succeed....

Have you ever opened a spreadsheet to extract some meaningful information from it, only to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data points? You are not alone! A lengthy datasheet is a common output from farm management software or other data collection systems...

Corporate farms with the big bucks from superannuation funds is one answer. Mining magnates is another. Small family-owned farms? Yes, but… You need to have your ducks in a row first. Everybody knows that farmland values have increased substantially in recent years....

The Digital Transformation Australia's agricultural sector is evolving rapidly, led by advancements in Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Artificial Intelligence (AI). These technologies are driving innovation across all industries,...

Succession occupies ample space in the minds of farming families. Good or bad, it takes time, energy, and money to do it well. It can also take those same elements not to do it well. The aim of taking a proactive long-game approach to succession is to provide...