A new farming initiative has launched in Taranaki that will empower farmers with knowledge and support to develop strong farm planning practises.
The ‘Good Farm’ Planning Hub is an initiative developed by farmers, for farmers, supported by
Taranaki Catchment Communities. It offers free resources, events and advice to enable farmers to
plan their farm’s future, their own way.
Taranaki Catchment Community chair and Awatuna dairy farmer, Donna Cram, says with massive
change in external requirements for farmers, the Good Farm project has been created to help
farmers understand exactly what is required, why it is important and how it can benefit them and
their business.
“Great planning can lead to better efficiencies and outcomes on-farm. It’s a reassuring feeling to
have a plan and know exactly what you’re needing to achieve and when. It’s when you don’t have
a plan, or you don’t understand what’s required, that it becomes daunting and leads to farmers
becoming anxious or angry. That’s certainly not what we want for our farmers in Taranaki.”
Donna says while new legislation and requirements are a big learning curve for those in the
industry, she strongly believes planning leads to benefits for the farming community including
greater profitability, and improved social and environmental outcomes.
“The great thing is that this stuff is not hard, it’s just that there’s a lot of it, and it’s all happened really
fast.
“The Good Farm project is about bringing the community together, outlining the key requirements,
sharing knowledge, ideas and systems that are working, all within a space that is comfortable
where we can all have a bit of a laugh as well.”
The initiative takes a three-stage approach, where farmers have the opportunity to join in at a stage
that suits where they’re at with their own integrated farm planning. Different events, workshops and
online information will be tailored to each stage, to ensure farm owners and their staff can get the
most relevant information, and the most value from each session.
“We have amazing support networks in our industry and everyone is collaborating on this to help
farmers in the most efficient and effective way possible.
“Good Farm is about being part of a community where farmers can all support each other and work
together or can work alone in their own time to create great plans that work for each individual
farm. With great planning we will see farm businesses and farmer wellbeing improve, and our
industry move forward together.”Good Farm planning key to farmers’ futures
