book.tascountry - Flipbook - Page 39
to his core values
“Our orchard is full of carnivorous bugs
like ladybirds which do a much better job than
insecticides do.”
In October last year, Mr Hansen said that 15
per cent of the nation’s pear trees left the industry
so he is unsure what to expect going into the
Online
help for
finance
skills
family have a roadside sales stall,
an onsite cafe and the “pear gallery”
with art sold from 22 local artists.
The farm also has a dozen cows
they feed their leftover pears to
before putting them out into the
market system.
Additionally, they have
refurbished two old pickers shacks
into accommodation where people
can stay on the farm among the
pears.
“It’s these kinds of things that
have helped to keep us in business,”
Mr Hansen said.
When it comes to the longevity
Scott Hansen in his pear
and success of the business, Mr
orchard at Nubeena
Hansen puts it down to their care for
overlooking the waters
the environment.
surrounding the Tasman
“My father used to say that
Peninsula.
good farmers are the original
environmentalists, especially family
Far left: Packham pears,
farmers. Because if we don’t look
are his best selling variety
after our own environment then the
and make up about 75 per
environment won’t pay us, and it
cent of all the pears grown
certainly won’t be around for 昀椀vein Australia ... but he keeps
six generations,” he said.
alive the market for less
“If we weren’t looking after our
popular pears such as Bosc,
environment the pear trees wouldn’t
centre, and Winter Cole.
be here.
“It doesn’t matter what you do,
marketing year. “We would like to hope that this
if you don’t look after your land, your soil, you
means we can sell more pears but we’re only
won’t be around.
three weeks into marketing and it’s all subject to
“My son is the 昀椀fth-generation farmer in
the pears that come across the Bass Strait,” he
the same spot, in the same small community,
said.
doing the same thing, I think that adds up to
As well as their pear orchard, the Hansen
sustainability.”
PRIMARY producers across
Australia are being offered free
online training to build the 昀椀nancial skills essential to managing
an agricultural business.
The 昀椀nancial skills workshops
will take place in May and give
primary producers a chance to
network and advance their skills.
The initiative is funded by
food and agribusiness specialist Rabobank’s Client Council.
The online workshops will be
presented by director of Hudson
Facilitation, Tony Hudson, and
will be free of charge.
The sessions will provide
practical, hands-on advice for
understanding 昀椀nancial statements and banking requirements and explore topics such
as taxation versus management
accounting, essential business
management ratios, and understanding key components of a
business’s 昀椀nancial pro昀椀le.
Rabobank community engagement manager Rowena Propsting
said the intention is for producers to walk away from the
workshops – which are designed
speci昀椀cally for farm owners and
managers – feeling positive and
inspired about their financial
knowledge and expertise.
“We understand it can be challenging for farmers to step away
from their businesses, so the
bank is offering these condensed
online learning opportunities as
an alternative to the face-to-face
workshops that will also continue to be rolled out across the
country,” Ms Propsting said.
The online workshops will be
delivered in two blocks: module
one, which focuses on reading,
interpreting and using 昀椀nancial
reports; and module two, which
focuses on dairy, cropping and
wool operations and gross margin analysis.
Rabobank said that primary
producers who have attended
previous workshops said the
information provided is valuable
and could be integrated into their
businesses straight away.
Online workshop dates:
Module One: Tuesday, May 7
and Wednesday, May 8, 2024 –
7:45am – 10:30pm
Module Two: Thursday, May
9 and Friday, May 10, 2024 –
7:45am – 10:30pm
Module Two: Thursday, May
23 and Friday, May 24, 2024 –
7:45am –10:30am
TASMANIAN COUNTRY Friday, April 26, 2024 11