Long-term planning for 2012 and beyond

June 2010 | Prepared by Ross Wilson, AgFirst | Future Orchards® Orchard Walk notes

Long-term business planning is an important part of managing risk, investment and profitability in apple and pear production. In this Future Orchards® resource, Ross Wilson of AgFirst outlines a practical approach to planning for the future of a pipfruit business, with a particular focus on how growers can respond to changing market conditions, industry structure and business performance.

The notes encourage growers to first consider their long-term position and determine whether they are committed to continued pipfruit production, intending to continue only in the short term, or planning to exit the industry. For each pathway, Ross identifies the characteristics and decisions that may shape the business, including succession planning, production and packout performance, labour availability, costs of production, variety mix, marketing channels, climate risk, redevelopment and capital investment.

The resource also uses three Australian grower case studies to demonstrate how business performance data can support better decision-making. Areas considered include planted area, yield, packout, variety returns, income and expenditure, labour and post-harvest costs, debt servicing, risk mitigation and future growth opportunities. The examples show how different businesses may require very different strategies depending on their profitability, succession plans, risk exposure and long-term objectives.

Ross concludes with a series of practical business planning principles, including writing plans down, setting clear and time-bound objectives, seeking good advice early, monitoring the key drivers of orchard performance and maintaining strong market feedback systems. The resource reinforces that a business plan should be treated as a living document, reviewed and refined as production, marketing and industry conditions change.