What does it really take to help Australian farmers make smarter financial decisions? In Episode 10, host Tom Moir sits down with Mike Krause — agricultural economist, author, and founder of P2P Agri — to unpack his journey from wheat-breeding glasshouses at Roseworthy Ag College to building one of Australia's most trusted farm business modelling platforms.

Mike shares the full story: growing up the son of a wheat breeder, studying agricultural economics at the University of New England, completing a Masters in computer simulation at Lincoln University in New Zealand (back when he was coding in Fortran), and cutting his teeth as a government ag economist in the Riverland. From there it was four years inside a bank during one of the toughest periods Australian farmers have faced — when keys were being taken off properties on Eyre Peninsula — before a move into ag insurance consulting and eventually launching his own farm business advisory practice.

A conversation packed with practical wisdom for any farmer thinking seriously about profitability, succession, expansion, and long-term resilience.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why financial literacy is the single biggest lever most farm businesses are underusing
• The "Risky Business" simulation workshop that proved farmers love what-if modelling
• Two real case studies — a citrus grower's seven-year forecast that hit "to a T," and the farmer who bought the neighbour at auction, weathered two droughts, and didn't lose a night of sleep
• Why benchmarking against other farmers can do more harm than good — and what to do instead
• The story behind "Farming the Business," the GRDC manual now in its 7th reprint (and how dyslexia helped Mike write it simply)
• Mike's outlook for 2026: how AI, drones, satellite imagery and virtual fencing are reshaping farming — and how P2P Agri has 5x'd its development speed using AI
• Advice he'd give his 20-year-old self about building a career in agriculture

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome & what is P2P Agri 
02:23 Growing up at Roseworthy Ag College 
03:27 University, Fortran & computer simulation 
06:11 Government, banking & the keys-off-farmers era 
10:07 Closing the farm business knowledge gap 
12:08 The Risky Business workshop that changed everything 
14:08 Why P2P Agri was born 
15:47 Real client stories: the citrus grower & the drought question 
20:37 Writing "Farming the Business" for GRDC 
23:00 Dyslexia as a gift for simplifying complexity 
25:21 Advice to 20-year-old Mike 
27:36 AI, drones & the future of Australian agriculture 
30:00 Benchmarking vs modelling: what actually works 
32:07 Wrap up

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Mike Krause is the CEO and founder of P2P Agri, an Australian software and training business that helps farmers analyse profitability, model "what-if" scenarios, plan succession and make confident long-term decisions. P2P Agri also delivers financial literacy training one-on-one and in partnership with TOCAL Ag College in NSW.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au
• "Farming the Business" by Mike Krause (GRDC) — available in print or free on iTunes with 50+ embedded training videos

SUBSCRIBE for more conversations with the people shaping the future of Australian farm business.

#YourFarmBusinessPodcast #P2PAgri #AustralianAgriculture #FarmBusinessManagement #AgTech

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

What is the economic outlook for 2023 and how may this impact Australian agriculture? 
In 2022, farmers experienced significant increases in interest rates, important input costs, particularly fertiliser, chemical and fuel, and changes to their commodity prices. While changes to these important components of the farming business are common, we haven’t experienced these large increases for some time.

It’s important to be informed on what changes might be expected in 2023 so that we can be proactive in our planning for the coming season. Darryl Gobbet is an experienced economist with the rare ability to communicate clearly on these complex issues. He will provide you a background to what is driving these changes and what 2023 may hold for us.

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

This week's Your Farm Business Podcast focuses on the impact of recent significant geo-political events in Ukraine, as well as the ongoing pandemic, on Australian farm businesses.

Darryl Gobbett,  currently a Visiting Fellow at the SA Centre for Economic Studies at the University of Adelaide, shares his thoughts on these two significant developments, particularly their  impact on commodity prices, input costs, interest rates,  inflation, and the value of the Australian dollar.

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

Peter Aikman began his journey toward greater understanding of his farm business by trying to discover the information behind his financial data. 

“I wanted to improve my knowledge. I wanted more confidence in my numbers. I wanted more accuracy, transparency with business partners, whether that be people in your business or your banks and to enjoy it.”

This has given Peter confidence in not only understanding his own data, but also empowering his business planning and decision-making.

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

Phil Dibben, owner of Financial Services South Australia, shares with Mike Krause the benefits of good farm business management and using the P2PAgri software to help his business and his clients. He highlighted several key advantages:
Using P2PAgri is easy
Using P2PAgri saves him suffering from 'death by Excel'
Clarifying the farm business performance for the client and their bank
Being able to use Scenario Analysis to answer 'what-if' questions is the unique advantage for farmers and advisers in using the software

Find out more about Phil and his services from his website:
https://financialservicessa.com.au/

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

Judy Wilkinson and Mike Krause continue their discussion on Farm Succession Planning in this third podcast in the series. 
This podcast focuses on how important it is to not be put off by some farming families' negative experiences. These can sometimes deter people in farming families from beginning the process.  Mike and Judy stress how this should instead highlight how critical it is to use the right process to achieve positive outcomes, rather than avoiding action at all. 

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

In this second podcast on farm succession planning, Judy Wilkinson and Mike Krause discuss what process she has found helps a farming family to achieve a positive outcome to their farm succession process.

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

Farm Succession Planning continues to be the most frequently requested topic  from farmers, whatever the forum:  podcast, blog or discussions with farmer groups.  Why does it continue to be such a challenging issue for so many farming families? 
In this podcast, the first in a series of three that focuses on different issues relating to Farm Succession Planning, Mike talks with Judy Wilkinson about why it is so difficult, and when is the best time  to get started in this vital process.
In her role as a consultant in farm succession planning for over 20 years, Judy has helped families navigate through a range of challenging issues, including difficult family relationships, a variety of  business structures,  and the farm business' exposure to risk. Her experience provides valuable insights and recommendations.

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

Darryl Gobbet is currently a Visiting Fellow at the SA Centre for Economic Studies at the University of Adelaide. Darryl is an eminent economist and has had many roles in his successful business career. Darryl and Mike’s path first crossed in the late 1980’s at The State Bank, the predecessor the BankSA. Notably in those times interest rates reached the giddy heights of 22%. 

Darryl shares his thoughts on current interest rates and where he thinks they are heading, and the impact of this on the farm business and rural land values. 

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au

Tony Hudson is the Founder and Director of Hudson Facilitation. He shares his insights with Mike Krause of P2PAgri on what he sees to be the five significant challenges facing farm businesses today. 
  
These are challenging times for rural businesses, with increasing risks from climate variation, fluctuating commodity prices, access to export markets and increasing land prices.  
  
Tony brings a wealth of experience to his consulting in farm business management: from lecturing at Marcus Oldham College, and working in rural banking at NAB (National Australia Bank), to many years training and consulting to farm businesses. Improving farm business performance, getting better deals from your bank with lower interest rates, and better succession planning are just some of the areas he helps farm businesses with across Australia. 

Learn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au