Tocal Plan to Profit Course NSW - August 2027 Intake

Spring is when the season starts to show its hand, and the questions about harvest and next year get harder to put off. The August 2027 intake of Plan to Profit starts on Monday 16 August and finishes in early November, so you come out of it with a plan for harvest decisions and the 2028 season. Plan to Profit is an accredited farm business course online from Tocal College, run over 12 weeks with your own farm's numbers.

Answer the what-if questions before you have to

What happens to the business if you expand? How does it hold up in a drought compared with a good season? Can you afford to buy the neighbour's farm if it comes up? Plan to Profit teaches you to run scenario analysis on exactly these questions, so you can test a decision on paper before you commit to it on the ground.

Good scenarios need a solid base

A what-if is only as good as the numbers underneath it. That is why the course builds the base first. Working in P2PAgri cloud software with your own data, you:

• Work out variable costs and an estimated gross margin for each enterprise, and your cost of production
• Estimate the current season's profit, equity, key bank ratios and business efficiency
• Develop an estimated monthly cash flow for the current season
• Learn the key ratios Return on Assets Managed and Return on Equity
• Understand what banks need to know about your business

Your data stays confidential between you and your trainer. P2PAgri is free for the 12 weeks of the course and then continues as a paid subscription unless you cancel under Settings > Subscription. PDF reports and CSV cash flow budgets can be exported whenever you need them.

It looked at the business in a different way compared with benchmarking and tax.

- a previous Plan to Profit participant

Then turn it into a plan

The course finishes with a business plan for the next three to five years, including ideas for improving profit, reducing debt, or both. Along the way you complete five assessments: four financial reports from P2PAgri's PDF reporting and one set of short-answer business planning questions. Each has up to three attempts with feedback, and all are due by week 11. The course covers three accredited units of competency: AHCBUS517 Monitor and review business performance, AHCBUS516 Develop and review a business plan, and AHCBUS518 Prepare and monitor budgets and financial reports.

Delivered by people who have done this for decades

Mike Krause designed the course and has spent 40 years in farm financial modelling, sensitivity analysis and agricultural risk management. He owns P2PAgri and wrote Farming the Business, the GRDC manual used as the course text.

Tony Hudson runs Hudson Facilitation, is a former Director of Farm Business Management at Marcus Oldham College, and is senior farm finance trainer for the Rabobank Financial Skills course. Hear him on Your Farm Business Podcast. Your trainer will be Mike, Tony or Peter Hudson, and assessments are marked by James McRae, trainer and assessor for Tocal's online AHC50122 Diploma of Agriculture.

Format, cost and eligibility

The course runs online via Zoom: five group interactive sessions on weekday mornings from 9am (two to three hours each, recorded and posted the same day) and five confidential one-hour coaching sessions with your trainer, which are not recorded. Allow at least six hours a week including homework. Session dates for the August 2027 intake are confirmed by Tocal on enrolment.

The indicative fee is $3,100 (GST free), and the course is fee free to eligible applicants. Tocal confirms eligibility, and a Tocal skills training coordinator can help with questions. It is not an entry-level course: you need basic experience with financial transactions and farm budgeting, a device with reliable internet, and a willingness to use your own farm data. Tocal recommends everyone on the farm management team takes part.

How to register

Enrol through Tocal's short course enrolment page, or read the full course outline on the Tocal College website.

Looking at the other Tocal Plan to Profit 2027 intakes? If you would rather start sooner, the July intake begins on 13 July 2027, or you can browse all upcoming intakes. Not sure which one suits your season? Get in touch and we will help you work it out.