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Tuesday, November 21, 2017
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RBS celebrates resilience of SA’s primary producers on National Ag Day
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This National Agriculture Day Rural Business Support is paying tribute to the resilience of South Australia’s primary production sector.
Since 2006, RBS through the Rural Financial Counselling Service, has worked with more than 7000 clients across SA and the Northern Territory to help them through situations ranging from fires to floods, drought, hail damage and frost.
RBS Chief Executive Officer Brett Smith says unforeseen circumstances that initiate the situation of extreme hardship such as pests, diseases or industry price adjustments can result in dire effects for an entire industry sector.
“In the past month alone, hail storms wiped out 50 to 90 percent of apple and pear crops in the Adelaide Hills,” Mr Smith said.
“But already we have begun working with producers to help them adjust to their circumstances and work through potential options. In all cases we subsequently find a percentage of farmers facing circumstances of extreme financial difficulty and hardship either due to industry circumstance, industry transformation or planning is where RBS can help through our Rural Financial Counselling Service.”
Figures from the latest Rural Business Support client survey show that the RFCS is playing a crucial role in helping rural businesses to remain resilient with 86% of those surveyed stating they would be worse off if they had not seen a Rural Financial Counsellor.
The survey also showed that 80% of clients had taken action as a result of counselling – with 80% undertaking one or more actions as a result of their involvement with the RFCS. The results also showed 79% or participants felt better about themselves and their future, with 78% feeling better about the future of their farm.
Mr Smith says the survey results suggest that the RFCS is critical in providing clients with a better understanding of their financial position, enabling them to feel more confident about their business decisions, assisting in the formation of plans to improve business and enabling them to feel better about the future of their business.
“RBS has also focused on building the business skills capacity of producers, helping them particularly in areas such as financial literacy and strategically planning the family farms’ pathway to the future,” he said.
“These are key skills areas that RBS has expertise in through many years spent in discussion at the kitchen table with producers.
“Understanding their financial situation and developing plans provides an opportunity for other professional service providers that can further help in providing the appropriate skills moving forwards.
“Agricultural resilience is about equipping farmers to absorb and recover from short-term to long-term shocks and stresses to their agricultural production and livelihoods.”
Case study – Rural Business Support
Nature and Nurture Farms owners’ husband and wife team Michael Hemphill and Amy Tucker, from Rosedale in the Barossa Valley, began working with RBS 18-months-ago after deciding to scale-up their former Barossa Birds business.
Previously they had focused on running pasture-raised poultry and quail but working alongside RBS they transitioned their business to focus on wholesale, value-added products. They launched their Nature and Nurture Farms brand last month.
Producing three types of locally grown sausage, slow grown, chemical and hormone free cuts of chicken, liquid stock and bone broth, the company now stocks its products in independent and premium supermarket outlets and stores such as Foodland and Tony & Mark’s.
“Working with RBS was critical to our success,” Michael said.
“We’ve never experienced being in that position before and they really helped us to examine our budgeting and cashflow and helped us to discuss and shape the future of our business.
“While it’s still early days, we’re very excited and positive about our business and its relaunch and focus on wholesale, value-added products.
“I would encourage anyone else in a similar situation to get in touch with them, RBS have been fantastic to work with.”
Details: Visit www.ruralbusinessupport or call 1800 836 211.
ENDS
Media: Contact Brett Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Rural Business Support, on 0412 630 015 or 08 8364 2577. For a high-resolution photo of Brett click here or for a photo of Amy Tucker, Nature and Nurture Farms, click here.
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