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Cultivate farms helps you to make your farming dreams a reality
Episodes
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Monday Jan 27, 2020
The topics we cover in Episode 79 of Cultivate Farms TV:
1. Cultivator 10 farmers
2. Uncovering farm investors
3. How we are key to Agriculture’s 2030 Plan
4. Cultivate Communities update
5. Ageing on Farm
6. 26 farm ownership opportunities
Friday Dec 20, 2019
Friday Dec 20, 2019
In November 2019 I had the chance to present the ‘one-hour farm ownership pathway plan’ to a crowd of over 300 @Young Beef Producers Forum in Roma Queensland.
I had the pleasure of co-presenting with Claire Coates from Freeland Pork who was our first farmer matched with an investor.
If you haven’t seen that amazing presentation you can watch it here:
The Future Farmers Network organised the event and they had questions come in via the cloud which meant there was a stack of questions that we couldn’t get to. So I wanted to take the time to answer these questions here so everyone can benefit.
The context to these questions was a focus on practical ideas on how aspiring farmers can find their pathway to farm ownership.
The questions were ranked, so I’ll leave the highest voted questions till the end. But I think all of them were rippers. Most of my answers are ‘it depends’
As you listen you will see why we have the focus we have with Cultivate Farms -i.e. a matchmaking service. Because every farm, farm operation and the people involved have different requirements. So there is no one size fits all. People farm for different reasons, people invest for different reasons and retiring farmers want/don’t want to share for different reasons.
Your job as an aspiring farmer is to find 1000 people who might be able to help, in the expectation that one of them you will form a great relationship with and then co-own a farm together.
1. How do we change employer/farm owners mentally towards young people wanting to own a farm like when I first started out I was told there is no possible way to own a farm unless you are born into it?
2. What advice do you have to give young people looking to invest in properties and competing with foreign ownership?
3. Wouldn't the investors and retired farmers want the best profits so how do you make money to pay them?
4. With the recent loss of agricultural teaching institutions such as the ag colleges, how can the knowledge and skills from farmers who've been on the land for decades be passed on?
5. Are cultivate farms goals limited to farm ownership? Or do they extend to creating profitable agribusinesses?
6. What is the biggest road block young people who want to own a farm run into aside from personal motivation?
7. How many deals would a candidate look at before securing a successful one?
8. How involved do the investors that approach you want to be in the farming business?
9. Do the arrangements result in profit sharing with the existing owner?
10. Practically, is the investor the one buying the farm then entering into an agreement with you or are you taking money from the investor to then go and buy a farm?
11. Return on investment in ag is so low - how do you make a living and pay back your investor?
12. What returns in investment are the investors looking for when they invest?
13. How is ownership transitioning? Are the new operators reinvesting profits to the owner to effectively pay off the farm?
14. Not sure how to word this without sounding cynical, but wondering if there are any fail stories from Cultivate Farms matches and how has the business learnt and grown from these mistakes?
15. What happens if the farm doesn't turn a profit? E.g. multiple drought years etc.
16. What kind of preparation does a young farmer need before approaching a retiring farmer or investor? Do they need an existing business that needs growth or just a solid business plan and budget all set out?
Wednesday Dec 18, 2019
Wednesday Dec 18, 2019
Generation Ag is the podcast for anyone interested in life working in primary industries. From beef to berries, agvocacy to Australian politics.
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
You have 3 days to apply for Cultivator
We have definitely been pumping the promotion for this program and hopefully, you have already heard about it and are in the process of applying.
www.cultivatefarms.com/cultivator.
https://cultivatefarms.com/blog/commonquestionsaboutthecultivatorprogram?fbclid=IwAR3FoDMT_wKh3Yh5g9Hl4GvigPdXI3GMJ4rD2-tXhecT51FZd5IhCVBNpSc
It takes about 10 minutes to apply
We have an investor ready to back a farmer, so we are taking 10 farmers on a pitching journey with the best pitch being backed.
What we are really excited about is that between now and the pitching event in November 2020 we have 12 months to promote all of our 10 farmers and target more investors.
We will have a class of the best farmers going around that we can put in front of as many farm investors as we can. We would love to find an investor for every farmer.
So if you are worried that you only have a one in ten shot at the investor, take heart that we will be fighting for more investors.
If we don’t find more investors along the way, we will have the farm pitch that we can take with you to find your own investors after the program.
What we are doing with Cultivator is what we have been promoting for a long-time - aspiring farmers need to pull a farm pitch together and start shopping it around. It takes time to pull this together, but having a pitch document is so powerful
How can you get an investor or anyone to back you if you don’t have a plan showing how good you are and how good the farm deal is?
So if you know you want to farm your whole life, you want to co-own your farm and you want to farm in Vic or NSW, then please do apply.
You only live once and this is an amazing opportunity.
Apply by this coming Friday 15 November
Email me if you have questions sam@cultivatefarms.com
Let’s get you farming!
Friday Nov 01, 2019
Friday Nov 01, 2019
Sam and Tam talk through the common questions people are asking about the program.
Friday Oct 25, 2019
Friday Oct 25, 2019
We interview great people who are helping farmers to get farm ownership ready or make farmers more profitable and successful - we do this to help save you time.
Click through to join Sam with Mike Krause who is the Founder of P2P Agri.
P2P Agri a farm business profitability cloud platform. It’s is just one of the tools we will be using through our Cultivator Program in 2020 to support 10 aspiring farmers pitch successfully to investors to co-own a farm.
Our farmers will be developing their 5-year financial model through this system.
Mike has worked with farmers for years and in government, banking and the insurance sectors
P2P Agri is software to help farmers manage their business - Their mission is to help farm businesses be profitable and sustainable into the future
Also, Mike wrote Farming the Business - sowing for your future - which is free or $10 from GRDC. Well worth the reading and is another great resource provided to farmers in our Cultivator program
www.p2pagri.com.au
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
If your kids don’t want the farm, you don’t just have to sell up and walk away.
If you have a dream of owning a farm but aren’t going to inherit a farm, it is absolutely possible to realize your dream.
Bringing more people into the community is a priority at any time, even in times of drought like now. Cultivate Farms, farm matchmakers, are encouraging the Millewa community to start thinking about who they could match so that there is a continual flow of top-quality farmers to the community forever.
Cultivate Farms are focusing on the Mildura region to pilot an initiative in an attempt to bring more young people into farm ownership and help retiring farmers step back with dignity.
The Mildura region is one of three focus communities with the Cultivate Communities program which aims to find practical solutions to transitioning farm ownership between generations.
Sam Marwood, Co-Founder of Cultivate Farms, will be running workshops on matchmaking farmers as part of the Regenerative Communities Road Trip being run by the Mildura Rural City Council on Thursday 3 October at Lake Cullulleraine.
Monday Oct 14, 2019
Monday Oct 14, 2019
If you are ready for a farm investor and want to own a farm in Vic or NSW, Cultivator is the program for you.
G’day I’m Sam Marwood, co-founder of Cultivate Farms. We have an experienced farm investor who is ready to back another top gun aspiring farmer to co-own a farm with them.
So we set up the Cultivator program to incubate 10 farmers from Vic and NSW over 6 months to pitch their dream farm. One farmer will be backed but all farmers will have a pitch that we can help you take to other investors.
Apply here - https://www.cultivatefarms.com/cultivator/enquire
We started Cultivate Farms to make it possible for anyone to own their farm and that is why we are so excited to have created this Cultivator program. It is doing just what we had dreamed for those with farm ownership dreams.
How good is this!?
We have been able to extend the invitation now to NSW, previously we were just Victoria.
Also, applications are now due November 15 (you have 2 extra weeks)
At the end of the program you will have 1) a farm pitch 2) 5 year financial model 3) 3 minute video.
We will support you if you aren’t the matched farmer. You now have a pitch that you can take to unlock other investors or impress a retiring farmer. You will be confident in who you are as a farmer and willing to get out there and open doors. And the Cultivate Farms team will be alongside you the whole way We will have a stack of media opportunities during the program where you can get your face and name out there to build interest from people who could back you There isn’t a program like this in the world, and we are so excited to have created this opportunity for aspiring farmers. So please don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
If you think you are good enough and do want to own your farm, reach out Let’s get you owning your farm
Apply here - https://cultivatefarms.com/cultivator
Cultivate Farm Links
Podbean: https://cultivatefarms.podbean.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cultivatefarms/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cultivatefarms
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultivatefarms
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Sam talks to the Farmer Incubator participants www.farmerincubator.org about how they can realise their farm ownership dreams.
Going through a program like Farmer Incubator where you learn how to farm is an excellent thing to do to help realise your farm ownership dreams. You need to be good enough to be matched with someone to co-own a farm and going through this program demonstrates your eagerness to make your farming dreams a reality. Retiring farmers and investors want to see that passion and dedication.
Friday Sep 27, 2019
Friday Sep 27, 2019
Sam unpacks how and why an investor is ready to back an aspiring farmer - which could potentially be you.
Cultivator - the World’s first farm investment incubator
https://cultivatefarms.com/cultivator
I wanted to give an update on the Cultivator program which we are currently taking expressions of interest for applicants
It is a 6 month incubator program where we take 10 aspiring farmers and help them pull a farm pitch together and at the end, one farmer is going to be backed by an investor (who has already backed Freeland Pork).
We have had a number of enquiries and I wanted to give some more details to help answer some common questions we are having.
Please do reach out if you are interested, I am happy to chat with you about whether this is for you.
1. Vic focused but we are seeking to expand to NSW
2. We have received Federal Government support to subsidise the costs
3. Applications due October 30 2019
4. You will get 1) a farm pitch 2) 5 year financial model 3) 3 minute video
5. Who are the mentors:
Claire Coates
Create Business
P2P
Shine at Business
ImpactAg
Apply here - https://cultivatefarms.com/cultivator
6. How we will support you if you aren’t the matched farmer. You now have a pitch that you can take to unlock other investors or impress a retiring farmer. You will be confident in who you are as a farmer and willing to get out there and open doors. And the Cultivate Farms team will be alongside you the whole way
7. We will have a stack of media opportunities during the program where you can get your face and name out there to build interest from people who could back you
There isn’t a program like this in the world, and we are so excited to have created this opportunity for aspiring farmers. So please don’t let this opportunity pass you by
If you think you are good enough and do want to own your farm, reach out
Let’s get you owning your farm!