INTERTWINING the tax and management books and not recording exact livestock numbers are the two most common farm business mistakes livestock producers make.
As cattle prices go down in 2023, making either one of those mistakes will be more costly than ever, consultants have warned.
Lining up the farm business and finance ducks must be firmly on the minds of cattle producers at the moment because the hands are flying up to attend Meat & Livestock Australia's Business Edge workshops.
More than 15 have been scheduled for venues across the country, including one at St George in Queensland on March 23 and 24 which will be co-delivered by experienced advisors Ian McLean, Bush AgriBusiness in Toowoomba and John Francis, Agrista in Wagga Wagga.
"Prices have decreased but one of the key principles of business is about lowering costs of production so that doesn't have such an impact," Mr Francis said.
"The idea is to build a business resilient to price shocks because we don't have a lot of control over what the market does.
"Making sure the production system is robust enough - that is a sensible amount of production that suits the resource base - means there is enough margin to survive what is forecast for the cattle market in 2023."
ALSO IN BEEF:
Common slips
Mr Francis said it was often the case that a beef producer goes to the accountant and finds the results don't make any sense.
"The accountant's job is to comply with tax regulations whereas your management accounts are about telling you exactly what is going on so you can make good business decisions," he said.
"The Business Edge course goes into the difference between compliance-based and management accounts and it's so important to know that difference.
"Basically people are trying to use tax accounts for something they were never designed to do."
Key elements that differ, he said, include the repairs and maintenance line; depreciation schedules and livestock valuations.
The other big mistake is not properly recording livestock numbers.
Being 'roughly' right won't cut it in what is a competitive, sophisticated business.
"It's important to know exact numbers by livestock class - how many breeders, heifers, steers and weaners," Mr Francis said.
"Being clear and distinct on age categories helps with knowing when stock move from class to class. There can not be blurred lines with this."
Mr Francis said while the course was about strategy and long-term thinking, there were always some elements relative to what was immediately ahead and 2023 would be a year when smart farm business was critical.
Since the Business Edge program began in 2011, 1676 people have completed the workshop, according to MLA.
The number is rising each year - 228 people did the program in 2022.
Upcoming Edge workshops and other events can be found here.