What is Whole Farm Planning?
Whole Farm Planning (WFP) is a process of planning, property design and management based on natural resources and economic factors.
WFP focuses on all of the farm assets (physical and nonphysical) over a long period of time (perhaps several generations). WFP covers the knowledge and skills to be able to plan a sub-division, irrigation layouts, assess land capability and potential of a farm.
WFP components:
Land classing
Soils
Farm water supply
Biodiversity
Pest plants and animals
Pastures
Succession planning
Grazing management
Drought management
Prioritising works
Identifying threats and assets
Developing realistic action plans
These are optional and can be addressed in any order.
The benefits of WFP:
You can address the current and future goals of your property, industry, landscape and catchment.
WFP enables you to identify and take advantage of the catchments and subcatchment opportunities of your property.
A WFP helps you make a management plan for your property and considers your own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of your landscape and environment.
"Farm planning helped get all the ideas for the farm out of our heads and onto paper… then the action happens." Doug Streeter (farmer)
Your WFP can include management issues such as:
identifying assets and threats and risk management
increasing the profitability of the business
demonstrating sustainability and environmental
implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
aligning priorities of regional natural resource management bodies, including regional Catchment Management Authority strategies.