Improve your capacity to more effectively manage a farm or agricultural enterprise which services farms. Farming is just as much about management as it is about animal or crop production. Unfortunately in today\'s world, the ability to produce a good animal or crop is no guarantee for success!

Through this course, learn to analyse, diagnose and make decisions related to management of a farm business. The course relates to managing all resources, including; production, staff, physical resources, and natural resources. You learn strategic planning, whole farm planning, and how to prepare a business plan.

This course was developed by a team of experts from Australia and the UK, under the leadership of John Mason, author of three Farm Management books (published by imprints of Simon & Schuster and CSIRO

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Strategic Planning
2. Business Plans
3. Business Assessment
4. Viability Analysis
5. Management Strategies
6. Human Resources
7. Physical Resources
8. Natural Resources

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school\'s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• Develop strategic planning methods for an agricultural business.
• Learn how to prepare a Farm Business Plan.
• Develop methods for assessing the operations of a Farm Business.
• Analyse the viability of different production enterprises:
  • assessing profits
  • risk analysis
  • cost efficiency
  • quality standards
  • financial records
• Develop strategies for managing different farm production enterprises, covering workplace organisation and crop scheduling.
• Plan the management of human resources in a farm business covering:
  • supervision
  • types of leadership/managers
  • orders & instruction
  • motivating employees
  • recruitment
• Develop methods for managing the physical resources of a farm business including managing equipment, machinery and buildings.
• Develop methods for managing the natural resources of a farm business, covering topics:
  • regulations & legislation
  • landcare programs
  • erosion control
  • soil degradation
  • salinity
  • soil acidification
  • chemical residues
  • compaction