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FARM BUSINESS RESILIENCE PROGRAM

Future Drought Fund – Farm Business Resilience Program

The Future Drought Fund (FDF) is a long-term Australian Government investment fund that provides a sustainable source of funding to help Australian farmers and communities become more prepared for, and resilient to, the impacts of drought. Funding will be invested from the FDF across Australia every year for projects to help strengthen drought resilience in Australian primary producers.
 
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) is coordinating the delivery of FDF programs in South Australia and the Wine Grape Council South Australia (WGCSA) has successfully sought grant funding to deliver ‘The Farm Business Resilience Program', a wine grape sector pilot for 60 participants in the Riverland, Limestone Coast and Langhorne Creek regions.

This program is supported by the Wine Grape Council of South Australia, through funding from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund and the Government of South Australia.
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MEDIA RELEASE

What is the Farm Business Resilience Program?

Our program supports farmers by planning today for tomorrow’s droughts and climate risks as well as, preparing for longer term sustainable growth and adaptability. 
WGCSA will partner with the University of Adelaide, Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) and Rural Business Support (RBS) to deliver the program that aims to:
​
  • Develop best practice industry standards for strategic farm business management and planning.
  • Improve decision-making by understanding the farm’s strategic risks.
  • Analyse the performance of the business, with the objective of identifying opportunities for strengthening resilience and tracking progress.
  • Consider a strategy for succession planning.

What's in it for you?

Participants will:
  • Be supported in developing or updating their Business Plan which will be tailored to their needs.
  • Have access to one-on-one professional advice on their Business Plan.
  • Gain practical tools, knowledge and resources to take back to the farm.
  • Have an opportunity to think about their own ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategy.
  • Follow up post program.

​*The program is valued at over $10k.

The Program

Sustainable Winegrowing Australia - 1 day
AWRI- 2 days
University of Adelaide- 4 days
3 x follow up sessions with RBS
Fab mentorship

The WGCSA is offering participants the opportunity to work with skilled professionals to conduct a 'Business Health Check' that will focus on the following areas of business and personal circumstances:
  • Operations
  • Financial position
  • Personal development and wellbeing
  • Markets
  • Challenges and Opportunities (across all levels of business and personal circumstance)

The Business Health Check will help to clearly identify the farm business' short-term and long-term goals associated to the business resilience.

​The facilitators have expertise in business coaching, project coordination and strategic planning.
Participants will also have access to subject matter experts to provide specific input into the development of their Business Health Check.

Who is the program for?

The pilot program is for growers from the Riverland, Limestone Coast and Langhorne Creek regions who meet the Eligibility Criteria and Requirements below:
​
(with successful uptake we hope to be able to roll out the program to other South Australian regions)

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for this initiative, all applicants must meet the following criteria:
  • Trade as a primary production business.
  • Undertake all aspects of the business wholly within Australia.
  • Have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and be registered for GST.
  • Farm in one of the 3 agricultural regions in South Australia (Riverland, Limestone Coast, Langhorne Creek)
  • Be established under the legal structure of a sole trader, trust, partnership or private company.
  • Be commercially viable, that is the business must be able to:
    • Generate sufficient net profit under normal seasonal and market conditions after fixed and variable expenses to service borrowings;
    • Provide an adequate standard of living for members of the business;
    • Allow investment on-farm to maintain the farm's productive assets, and;
    • Financially sustainable and productive in the long term OR can demonstrate genuine potential to become a viable business (as outlined above).

Requirements of participants

Each successful business is required to contribute $500 (ex GST) per participant and, where there is a genuine need, may be able to access reimbursement for travel and childcare costs from PIRSA to the cost of the program.
Multiple members of the business are encouraged to participate, with up to 2 members of the business able to participate under the subsidised rate above.
​
Additional participants are welcome, subject to demand, and will need to pay for the full cost of the program.

APPLY ONLINE NOW!

Downloads:
Flyer
Eligibility Criteria
Application form

 Contact

All enquiries please email Victoria
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Victoria Eichner
​Project Coordinator
​
[email protected]

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Australian farmers manage uncertainty and complexity every day. However, the business of farming is becoming more challenging – as farmers face significant climate risk, including future droughts.
​

The Australian Government is working with state and territory governments to give farmers the tools to manage these risks.
Through this program farmers including farm managers and employees will have access to subsidised learning and development opportunities in strategic business management, farm risk management and decision-making, natural resource management, and personal and social resilience.
Learning and developmentThis program will provide practical help to farmers to:
  • upskill their strategic farm business management and planning approaches to best practice industry standards
  • use data to understand their farm business’s strategic risks and improve decision making processes
  • learn about innovation and diversification options, new farming practices, systems and markets
  • think about succession planning and learn new ways to manage people and time.

The Program will also offer farmers:
  • an assessment of their business’s performance, to identify opportunities to build resilience and help track progress
  • support to develop or update farm business plans, tailored to their farms
  • access to one-on-one professional advice on their plan
  • practical tools and resources to take back to the farm.

Funding Information
Find details of the payment information for the Farm Business Resilience program as required under the Future Drought Fund Act 2019 below.
Download the form here

Factsheet
Download the factsheet here

Program Partners

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© Copyright 2020 Wine Grape Council of South Australia (WGCSA) ABN 15 358 317 535 
  • Home
  • About
    • Our People >
      • Adrian Hoffmann
      • Troy van Dulken
      • Nick Price
      • Ben Pridham
      • Lachlan Allen
      • Jenny Venus
      • Helen Strickland
    • Strategic Direction
    • Industry Organisations
  • REGIONS
  • Grower Resources
    • SA Assistance Guide
    • Guide For Vineyard Removal & Waste Management
    • Code of Conduct Forum
    • Legal Services Partnership
    • Broadacre Burn-off Smoke Management Guidelines
    • AGW Factsheet for Growers
    • Personal Property Security Register
    • Grape Purchase Agreements >
      • Guide to selling wine grapes
      • Wine Industry Code of Conduct
      • Tips to recover payments
    • Transport Legislation
    • Despatch Docket Books
    • Licensing and Compliance Guide
    • Grower Guide to the Label Integrity Program
    • AWRI Fact Sheets
    • Video Library >
      • FIT4WORK
      • Grower Interviews
      • 2017 Wine Grape Grower Summit
      • WGCSA Councillor Interviews
  • GrowStrong 2025
    • GrowStrong Business Fundamentals
    • GrowStrong Events
    • GrowStrong Sustainable Winegrowing Australia Options
    • GrowStrong Pilot Program
  • Reports & Analysis
    • SA Crush & Pricing Report
    • Grape profitability by region
    • Global Market Analysis
  • PODCAST- Series 1
    • Episode 01- Tom Keelan
    • Episode 02- Ashley Keegan
    • Episode 03- Dr Ian Zajac
    • Episode 04- Lachlan Allen
    • Episode 05- Trudie Stanley
    • Episode 06- Adrian Hoffmann
    • Episode 07- Brett Smith & Ashley Keegan
    • Episode 08- Brad Case & Nicole Clark
    • Episode 09- Mary O'Brien
    • Episode 10- Ashley Ratcliff
  • PODCAST- Series 2
    • Episode 01- Anita Goode
    • Episode 02- Richard Leask
    • Episode 03- Matt Dorman, Callen Bubner
    • Episode 04- Kerri Thompson, Marnie Roberts
    • Episode 05- Simon Tolley
    • Episode 06- Steve Schiller, Rebecca Weatherill
    • Episode 07- Sheridan Alm
    • Episode 08- Nigel Blieschke, Tom Bartholomaeus
    • Episode 09- Roger, Greg and Tim Follett
  • News & Events
  • SHOP
  • EcoVineyards