Has 2017 left you money in your pocket?

But there is still one very important job to be done and that is looking at the financial performance of your farm.

Ask yourself the questions (1) has the year 2017 left you with money in your pocket? (2) Have you spent some or all of your Basic payment and other EU subsidies to help fund the running of the farm for the year? By completing a Profit Monitor it will identify areas where money was spent excessively and on areas where it can be saved.

The good news is that in year 2016 the top 1/3 of the most efficient farmers at National level are making a Net profit of on average €448/hectare. If you do not fall into this category then you can make strides that will help get you somewhere near that top 1/3? If you happen to fall into the group that are spending their EU payments to supplement the farm then all is not lost. I once had a farmer who did up his profit monitor for a particular year.

It showed that he was spending all of his EU payments on the running of the farm. By looking at the profit monitor we were able to identify where a lot of the money was been lost and where savings could be made. We then did up a farm plan to see where we could make the farm more profitable. Within a couple of years he had gone from spending all of his subsides on the running of the farm to holding onto these payments while also making a profit on his livestock.

You can’t rectify the problem if you don’t know what the problem is. Don’t bury your head in the sand. Over the Christmas break take time to sit down and assess your financial situation. Contact your local Teagasc advisor and they will be able to help you with the profit monitor. Remember in this busy world your time is precious. No point in been a busy fool.

Teagasc provides a Local Advisory and Education service to farmers. They have offices based in Longford Town (Tel: 043 3341021), Roscommon Town (Tel: 090 6626166)and Castlerea (Tel: 094 9620160). You can find us online at #TeagascRNLD