Background to P2P

Mike Krause has had over 25 years experience of farm business consulting and has undertaken over 70 individual farm consultancies. Each consultancy required a new Excel planning model to be developed to answer the farmer's specific questions, so he has experienced a wide variety of farm business questions that require analysis. Plan to Profit has been developed to help encourage a more systematic approach to help farmers make the best business decisions.

Bill Long of Ag Consulting Co., saw some of Mike's early farmer Excel models, and said his farmer clients would find these to be very valuable. He also encouraged Mike to develop a farmer friendly planning tool.

A farm management workshop call 'Ri$ky Business' developed by Dr. Amir Abadi of WA Ag, has gained a sound reputation for providing insights into managing a farm with risk and uncertainty. At the completion of this workshop, many farmers ask, 'Where can I get this program for my farm?' Plan to Profit has been developed as a result of this request.

A strong computer modelling and farm management team was formed to develop Plan to Profit. The team consisted of Mike Krause, Natasha van Heemst and Dr. Amir Abadi, which meant the team had access to high levels of:

· Accounting procedures and Corporate Governance
· Excel and Visual Basic programming
· Understanding of farmers' financial decision making needs