Dairy women learn to budget

They came from across the region to explode the myth that when it comes to dairy farm finances the women are right on top of it.

About 100 women joined former rural bank manager and farm consultant Rebecca Rowe for the Building Your Farm Budget seminar run at Cambridge Town Hall last week by the Dairy Women's Network.

Miss Rowe, a sheep farmer from Hunterville who had risen long before her dairy farming audience to get to Cambridge before 10am, said she had a passion for financial literacy in agriculture.

"It's come from getting pretty direct work with farmers who don't have the knowledge to do what they want to do in their business," she said.

"Sometimes it's knowing who to go to to ask the questions."

Explaining how to prepare cash flow forecasts Miss Rowe pointed farmers to templates that were available on the DairyNZ website, payout forecasts on the Fonterra website, benchmarking information from the DairyBase database and recommended Cashmanager Rural software to do the deed.

The women, young and old, came from all rungs of the farm ladder and there were even interlopers from outside of the dairy industry – the Waikato TImes spoke to one deer farmer who was amazed at how much information dairy farmers could glean.

Jo McKnight, who farms at Roto-o-Rangi with her husband William, and Maria Klause, who farms at Tirau with her husband Dave, both told the Waikato Times their financial literacy had been minimal until they had entered this year's Dairy Industry Awards.

The McKnights entered the Farm Manager of the Year Category while the Klauses entered Sharemilker of the Year.

Mrs McKnight said the free four-hour seminar, which was the first of five being held across the North Island, had refreshed her and improved the depth of her knowledge.

"The more we look at budgets like this the easier they become," she said.

She would like to see more financial seminars for farmers.

Mrs Klause said she had been working with farm figures for about a year and found the seminar affirming.

Kelly Morrison, who is going contract milking with her husband John next season, said her husband would have liked to have attended the seminar.

Dairy Women's Network general manager Lynda Clark said he could have.

Mrs Morrison said she'd be joining the network after learning so much.

"What a fantastic support to have behind you," she said.

Network: www.dwn.co.nz

- © Fairfax NZ News