sue middleton presentation for blog
TRANSCRIPT
Farming
Businesses
Leadership Positions
Grassroots (Rural Community Development) Family
and commu
nity
Who am I?
Drivers Australian Agriculture• Changing consumer demand• 80/20 rule fast becoming 90/10• Adding value• Climate variability• Peaks and troughs of the commodity market• Technology pot-hole• Policy risks• New generation of farmers
Impact on Family Farms
• Family farms make up 93% of Australian agriculture• ROA for middle and bottom of each market below bond rate• Pressure from variable climate• Increased rate of aggregation• Increased debt• Feeling isolated from policy decisions• Urgent need for new sets of skills (marketing, risk
management, investment management, systems development, HR management)
• Need for strong business background and education
Factoring in Uncertainty• Predictive capacity – scanning and foresighting – how
porous is your business? What is coming over the horizon?
• Liquidity – is it sufficient?• Capital raising capacity (equity, debt) under stress?• What’s your spread of risks and opportunities?• Complexity of the system you’re in – how are other
players acting? What is the value chain doing?• Which lever can you use PRICE X YIELD - COST
Adaptive CapacityExternal Focus
Network connectedness
Inquisitiveness
Innovation
Reference: Carl Sussman
Family farm – Decision making processes
• Challenge of getting everyone on the same page and keeping them there!
• Building dynamic processes that allow entry, exit, shareholding managed as assets
• Handling leadership transitions• Continuous renewal of the business model• Performance management within a family• Making business decisions, not based on family
dynamic
What’s happening to Women?
• Working more on farm• Working more to managing the farm business• Working more off farm• More involved in community and volunteering
activities• Reduced time with family and reduced leisure
timeRef: Curtin University Research
Factors in Women’s Participation
Confidence
Skills and capacity
Structural barriersResistance to change
Cultural barriers
My RIRDC Project
• Develop a decision support tool to enable commercialisation of the technology on farm.
• Business case development and promotion.• Look at examples of regional community
anerobic digestors for potential application in Wheatbelt communities of WA.
• Future – environmentally branded pork product (market eco-credentials)
Thank you for your time!
Sue Middleton
P 08 96711915
M 0427 996 730
Small Group Challenges
Exploring communication, support, encouragement and success parameters......and for the majority becoming familiarised with the emotions attached to fear of heights.
VALUES JOURNEY“Personal Leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them”
- Stephen R. Covey (Author The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)
Visiting ‘Our House’- Question Time in both the Senate & House of Representatives
- Meeting with Senator Gary Humphries (Member for the ACT)
- Back of House Tour
- Networking with MP’s and Staff
Tools Acquired in the ClassroomPublic SpeakingCommunication and Body LanguagePersuasion & Effective PresentationsManagement vs. Leadership
Facilitating effective meetingsConflict Management and Crucial ConversationsUnderstanding Group Dynamics