Farm Business Review - "Woodrising", Cressy, Tasmania

The Woodrising farming business has developed from a grazing operation based on a relatively small soldier settlement block in Northern Tasmania. The expansion and diversification has entailed: Purchase of additional land. Leasing land for cropping, for short (seasonal) and long (3-5 year) terms. Managing a nearby farm on behalf of a Board of Trustees. Developing and running smaller, opportunistic agricultural businesses. This paper describes a business review based on the Now, Where, How model: Where is the business now? Description of the current status of the business (enterprises, geographically and financially). Where do the owners want the business to be? Business targets. How? How to get there, and the associated constraints and risks. Diversification based on the identification and use of resources and development of market opportunities has seen the business expand very significantly in the last 15 years. This development has taken place with limited capital, and as a result has been very exposed to the risks of interest rates, markets and weather fluctuations. This business analysis reviews these issues and describes future directions.