We have had a few people get back to us recently why they think the time isn’t right to really dig in and make their farm ownership dreams happen. Given we are kicking off our farm pitching program (www.cultivatefarms.com/cultivator), I thought now was another great time to smash through any excuses you have which are stopping you getting on your pathway to own your farm.

1. You need to be ready to jump onto opportunities The Cultivate Farms team continually get asked to comment on next gen farm ownership issues and this is helping us to uncover farm ownership opportunities. This means that farms could pop up anywhere, anytime, and they could meet your needs perfectly. But unless you have a plan and are ready, we are going to struggle to recommend you to these retiring farmers. Our need is to have high quality farmers, with a plan and proven record, to put in front of farmers that are always coming to us. That means you need to be ready, mentally and also with a plan and track record. That is why we started Cultivator - our farm pitching program. It is the very best way for you to work through everything you need to make sure you are ready. The program works and you just need to take the leap to do it. You have to have a plan, you need confidence and you need to practice your pitch; everything you get in the program.

2. Farms are expensive People have been saying this for decades and it is probably more true than ever now. But no matter the price of farms, you need to be the best farmer that can make money off the farm or farming area you want to farm. Even if you had the money to buy a farm, you wouldn’t be farming somewhere you couldn’t make money. So make sure you know how to farm well and make money, then pick the locations where you think the land prices will work and focus your efforts there. Maybe you are looking at areas, which don’t make sense for the farming you do.

3. I’m too busy Life will never get quieter and you always make time for your priorities We tell our farmers to sit back and think about what they want out of life and if farm ownership is up the top, then we know and have seen, farmers make time. Once you do the heavy lifting on the why, how, what and finances, you will be able to hunt for farms and ownership opportunities like breathing. It is getting things going and having the plan clear at the start which takes time. But you need to find it, and you can if your driver is to own your farm.

4. I’m not ready If you don’t know how to run a farm and make money off it, then you probably aren’t ready.

But if you are working for someone else or doing farming on your own through leasing or a small block, then you are probably ready.

This is about you being confident in your own skills. Don’t worry about what others will think. If you know you are a great farmer, then you are ready. Cultivator 6 The next farm investment program starts in early May and places are filling. So please do jump on the website and check it out.

If you want to own your farm, you need a plan and this is the best way to get you to get that plan and the confidence to realise it. Get more information here: www.cultivatefarms.com/cultivator

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If you can't afford to buy a farm yourself, are there ways that you might be able to team up with people who have the capital to invest in you?

There are so many people who would love to own their farm and farm ownership is so deep. They wanted to own their farm but if you start from scratch and aren't going to inherit, a five million ticket is a pretty big price.

It's not gonna be a smooth pathway or an easy pathway to get there, but it's possible.

Cultivate Farms have a focus on the Mildura and Mallee regions with our efforts to match farmers. We want to get at least three farm ownership matches in the next 12 months. Sam chats with Rebecca from ABC Wimmera about how anyone can be a farm matchmaker and help keep/bring the next generation into farm ownership.

The Federal Government have just announced the AgriStarter Loan is now available. They say they are 'loans to assist first-time farmers and loans to support farm succession arrangements'.

https://www.ric.gov.au/agristarter#guidelines

I have had a quick skim and it looks pretty good. Good rate and terms and it is excellent support next gen farmers and retiring farmers. But you still need to have a farm business plan, have some equity and have an arrangement with a bank. We will be working through the loan with our Cultivators in the current program to see how they can leverage this. It emphasises the need for you to have your farm business plan and/or investment proposal ready. There are so many opportunities to get onto your farm - the limitation is you having words on paper and financial model to convince someone to back you. This is why we run Cultivator - farm pitching program - a few times a year. So that we get you ready to jump onto opportunities like the AgriStarter Loan. Check out details here and we kick off on Feb 18. Applications close soon.

www.cultivatefarms.com/cultivator

Sam interviews Sheia from Lifeforce Farms (https://lifeforcefarm.com/) who has been on the farm ownership journey for many years. We have been working to help Sheia uncover opportunities and she just recently secured another long term partnership with a landholder. Sheia talks about the amount of effort required in finding opportunities, about the persistence needed to uncover opportunities and how powerful (and sometimes daunting) sharing her story is (via blogs and social media), but now without that constant storytelling, opportunities would not have opened up for her.

Sam shares ideas and his experiences building Cultivate Farms through content creation on social media. He believes that we have never been in a better time to share your ideas, get attention and subsequently uncover opportunities for you to own your farm (or build your business). Sam was speaking at a Bendigo startup meetup event.

In this update Sam Marwood provides an update on how we are continuing to find farm ownership opportunities for you all. 

Cultivate Farms TV Episode 81:

1. Cultivator Program Update - our 10 farmers are pulling together their farm pitches for the investor

Let's get you farming!

Cultivate Farms are developing a guide for Ageing on Farm with Maria Berry who is a champion for older Australians.

Maria and Sam unpack how important this concept will be for retiring farmers across Australia

Ageing on Farm is the process of farmers realising their potential for physical, social and mental wellbeing on their farm. 

A cornerstone concept is that ageing farmers heading towards retirement are best able to achieve their goals with partnership opportunities with younger farmers. 

We want to help farmers identify pathways to stay on their farm for as long as they want. 

Reach out if you would like to be part of the program - [email protected]

Sam's delivers another ‘1-hour farm ownership pathway plan’ workshop. This time in Dalby Qld as part of the Investing in Ag series.

Sam works through super practical steps on how you can find your own pathway to farm ownership

Get inspired and let’s get you farming

You may be in your home more, but this doesn’t mean your farm ownership dreams should be stuck as well. Here are 10 ideas to keep you moving on your path.

1. Write your farm investment pitch

So spend your Corona time writing. We have a template you can download - http://www.cultivatefarms.com/aspiringfarmers?fbclid=IwAR3OSwf-mFiabFtstHYlVlWiuEhZL_D8yWigqiY7TFXkOX-Bg-L7ZekV6rQ 

Write 10 dot points a day. Just get writing. Pick the farm you want, go to farmbuy.com and pick a farm and just write about it

2. Read

3. Vision board

4. Little black book

5. Keep farming or get farming

If you want to farm and haven’t even been farming, what are you doing?! Get out there and work on a farm.

6. Document your farm ownership journey

https://cultivatefarms.com/blog/Documentyourfarmownershipjourneyonsocialmedia?fbclid=IwAR3TEybjb0Dck3S-qeZAmsWugqY73CxIQASMVGDPObVwT35VcmxoPBTrl4I 

7. Write letters to retiring farmers

https://cultivatefarms.com/blog/Templatelettertoretiringfarmers?fbclid=IwAR2Cd22yOTe0N9c0WvFO96s8Qe-ZTxNoG30T39u3UdxdThC1EzuXVbSBG2s 

8. Keep your farmer profile up to date

https://cultivatefarms.com/blog/Keepyourfarmerdetailsuptodate?fbclid=IwAR3AZuP3CXl4dpO9klEa2e6sRBA3keU5ZPKstOqV6q_SZSvI7KNSz0lz00I

9. Farm ownership pathway plan

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cultivatefarms.com%2Fblog%2Ftheonehourfarmownershippresentation%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR24ACXRBmwovGsFEa_sCFrkFl7eAPrNev982aVqFCq8fCUTYEd1R67M--A&h=AT2ofsy1NMGaDDJJifQLotXg2adPk3tlMtj7mKcHqRzA8-WnWz6HRsF0O6Bgc3F-GGv8XXlRGsK3AUzI0Ovsmdq-wLJEQilybmACFAGs6HbenrnEvvu46D2xZO32ICfbEijqwDGoAVaDxbc6cYWBXw 

10. Reflect

Is owning a farm really a burning passion? You need to know this or else you aren’t going to follow your passion