What can I do to manage costs this year?

Philip O’Connor, Head of Farm Support, and Trevor Boland, accountant with Irish Farm Accounts Co-operative Society (IFAC), join Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss what can be done to help manage costs this year on farm and how to plan and budget for the year ahead. Trevor advises to get your books and records in to the accountant early which means you will know if you have a tax bill early in the year and budget to pay it later, while if a refund is owed you get it back into your pocket straight away. It also allows for better planning on how to reduce any tax bill and allows you to make changes that allow the farm become more profitable in current year. Trevor highlights the importance of increasing grass growth and utilisation is the main thing beef farmers can do to reduce costs and increase profitability. By setting up a simple paddock system with a few pigtail posts you will get far more benefit from the grass grown and from there look to increase the amount of grass grown on the farm. Target quality grass at young stock who will gain most and most importantly ensure you have enough quality silage in the yard next winter. Regular weighing and monitoring of performance is also important to both reduce costs and increasing profitability. Philip describes the key steps when applying for a loan and dealing with the bank. Taking action early to deal with problems reduces stress and concerns. Philip advises farmers to get projections and cashflows done. Beef farmers, in particular, receive the majority of their income in the back end of the year, such as selling weanlings or BPS, BEEP, payments. Trevor highlights that there is a possibility of getting a cheaper overdraft or perhaps restructuring to a loan or rescheduling payments so as not to be using the higher overdraft rates during the year. For further details: https://www.teagasc.ie/rural-economy/farm-management/financial-analysis/monitor--budget-cashflow/ Drystock cashflow planner: https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2016/Cash-Flow_Dry-Stock_A4.pdf IFAC: www.ifac.ie For more episodes from the Beef Edge, visit the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com