The challenge for primary producers is to adapt to these changes whilst managing their farm’s land, vegetation and water resources sustainably under fluctuating climatic conditions. This together with meeting their own personal family goals whilst maintaining farm profitability and viability, is no mean feat.

Property Management Planning (PMP) is a useful tool to manage change and enhances the ability of farming families to face pressures and capitalise on new enterprise opportunities. PMP is an integrated, on-going approach to planning the management of a farm business. It extends the concept of whole farm planning to cover every aspect of farming. Physical, financial and personal aspects of managing a farm business and risk management are all considered. Farm families assess their resources and business opportunities and are encouraged to formulate clear, achievable goals.

Farming for the Future (FFTF) is funded by the Natural Heritage Trust with contributions from the State Government. In New South Wales, the program is jointly promoted by the Department of Land and Water Conservation, NSW Agriculture and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and supported by the NSW Farmers Association.

The delivery of the program is through landholder workshops which are targeted at groups of farmers and more specifically farm families. the program encourages the forming of farmer groups to participate in workshops or often it targets existing Landcare, NSW Farmers Association, beef marketing, dairy discussion or horticultural industry groups.

The North Coast region of the Department of Land and Water Conservation (DLWC) encompasses all coastal catchments from Tweed Heads to Comboyne, some 500km to the south. Over the past four years, 206 PMP workshops have attracted 1972 farmers on topics ranging from Property Management Planning (8 days) whole farm planning, (4 days) introduction to computers (2 days) and one day workshops on soils, farm business and financial planning, nature conservation, complementary enterprises, farm forestry, risk management, family succession planning and credit risk.

Formal and informal evaluation of these workshops has been very positive with farmers now acting as advocates for the program. Furthermore, feedback from focus discussion groups held at least twelve months after the completion of the farm planning workshops indicates that farmers are not only benefiting from learning in workshops but are developing a planning mentality.