Farm Cooperatives
Supporting farm cooperatives with proven strategic planning tools. Get focused on where you are going and how to get there.
Is your farm cooperative well placed to deal with the challenges the future may bring?
Are you struggling to adapt to current changes globally in your industry?
Our strategic planning approach for farm cooperatives negotiates challenges and finds your fastest way to achieve goals for your members.
Farm Cooperatives Challenges
The workforce is the top challenge faced by farmers, right? Primarily getting workers to support the seasonal harvest each year, which is not helped by the increasing amount of paperwork required.
Assuming farmers are able to get a workforce, their next challenge is the management of workers. The work ethic is not what it was and many now work to rule, dictating to the farmer when they will stop each day and taking days off at the weekend.
Margin will always continue to be a problem. Supermarkets (and their buyers) continue to look for a higher quality product, packaged better, with an extended season and all at lower prices.
If that is not enough, farmers have to deal with climate change. Planting, taking care of harvesting crops in hotter and colder, wetter and dryer conditions than ever before.
Your Strategic Planning
What does this mean for your strategic planning?
Think about the future. Where is your organisation going in the years ahead, what problem should you deal with first and how will you address all these challenges?
How can you still deliver for your stakeholders (growers, shareholders, customers and yes, even regulators) as you get squeezed from all sides? Can you manage risk in the years to come, build reliable plans and ensure you achieve your goals despite the increasing uncertainty that continues to impact on farm cooperatives across the country and globally?
This much is sure – the traditional approach of working harder and longer hours is not the way. You can’t put more pressure on your growers, workforce, management team and yourself. A fresh approach and step change are needed if you are to be competitive and continue to deliver for your members.
On the plus side these challenges create huge opportunities for those who are ready to address them. Government funding is fuelling a recovery and automation developments are ripe for those who can move fast. However, your strategic plan must be focused and agile enough to capitalise on these opportunities as they arise to achieve your organisational goals.
Strategic Success
We implement successful strategies for farm cooperatives
You are probably rolling your eyes at the thought of writing a strategic plan. You’re picturing people in suits writing a plan that has little to do with the realities of your business. You’re dreading the time away from the day-to-day business, and you’re thinking about spreadsheets with numbers no one believes in.
Our farm cooperative business consultants engage with you and your team to take away the pain of the process. They use industry experience and a tried and tested approach to make strategic planning painless. You are able to stay focussed on running the business and delivering the change that your members ask for.
Our strategic planning system is built to tackle all your challenges, manage the unforeseen and deliver exactly what your members want.
This is not a paper exercise done by one person, but a full implementation plan that engages your whole organisation and integrates with business as usual.
Client Testimonials
Scott Brewster
Managing Director - Brewster Bros.
“Concord has ultimately delivered us a 4-year plan that everyone in our organisation can understand. By everyone, I mean every employee and we are proud to share our plan with our whole team to give them clarity on our goals and how to get there. Involving everyone in the creation of the plan and delegating responsibility for its delivery harnesses the brainpower of the whole business and not just our senior management team.
As a chartered accountant, I loved the finance work. The numbers were inspiring and not just dreamlike figures – they had substance behind them and could be logically backed-up when questioned. In fact, our Chairman, who was highly sceptical at first ended up thinking they were too modest! Overall the content of the Concord System has given a much clearer path to achieving our identified stakeholder needs and what the results will be when we deliver them.”
Peter Barker
Technical Director - Aldomak
“I have never seen a more effective method of running a business, it requires absolute rigour in what we do. It ensures that we are making all our decisions in the context of the greater plan which removes wasted effort.
I am now as certain as I can be that we will achieve our 3 years targets.”
Alasdair Corbett
Managing Director - Easter Greens
“The method of planing backwards excited me from the first time I saw it. When we put it into action it simplified everything and showed me what had to be done (and not done!) to deliver my vision for Easter Greens.
The work we did on the money was fantastic. I can now see what will generate the growth and expansion I am looking for, and how the money will actually happen in the years ahead. This keeps me very focused every day on where we should focus time, money and effort.
Ewan has worked closely with me, my managers and my team to get everyone on board with our one page strategic plan. Everyone can now see what the future looks like, what it means for them, and how they can help deliver it.”
Arrange A Free Call
Would you like to know more about how we can support you to design a strategic plan that delivers your future? Fill out the form below and we will arrange to talk to you.