Farmers are invited to attend a free business planning and evaluation workshop in Pyramid Hill later this month.

The Business Planning and Evaluation Workshop is part of the State Government funded Accelerating Reconfiguration in the Pyramid-Boort Irrigation Area: Pilot Project and will be jointly held by North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA), Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and BRIT Bendigo.

According to Doug Ivins, one of the facilitators from BRIT, the workshop is a very important step in providing farmers with strategic decision making skills.

"The content of the workshop will provide a solid foundation for participants to develop strong and meaningful business plans for their operation," he said.

"Along with rationalising irrigation system infrastructure, there are some pretty important decisions to be made on-farm that will have long term impacts.

"Participants will develop an Action Plan during the workshop which will assist them make strategic decisions including broader issues facing agriculture such as climate change, carbon trading and water availability, as well as financial and strategic decisions specific to your business. In addition to these there are a large number of government grants available that farmers need to consider. We want to help farmers consider both challenges and the opportunities presented by the current situation."

DPI and Centrelink staff will also provide information about services and grants available to landholders.

Sue Bennett, a local landholder from Yarrawalla, believes the workshop is a valuable opportunity for farmers in the area.

"It will allow landholders to gain information to enable them to maximise their options and achieve the best possible outcome for their own situation," she said.

"Projects like the CMA, DPI and Goulbourn-Murray Water irrigation reconfiguration pilot project show that the government has confidence in our region's ability to continue producing food, despite current climatic difficulties."

The free Business Planning and Evaluation Workshop will be at the Pyramid Hill Memorial Hall on Wednesday 16th July from 9.00am to 1.00pm, with morning tea and lunch provided. 

For more information or to register for the workshop, please contact Melissa Tylee at North Central CMA on 5440 1816 or email melissa.tylee@nccma.vic.gov.au .

For further information please contact: 

Communications Officer, North Central CMA
PO Box 18, Huntly VIC 3551
t: 03 5448 7124
e: info@nccma.vic.gov.au