Tocal Plan to Profit Course NSW - July 2027 Intake

The new financial year has started and last year's figures are fresh back from the accountant. That makes July a natural time to look hard at how the business is really going. The July 2027 intake of Plan to Profit starts on Tuesday 13 July and finishes in early October, before harvest takes over. It is Tocal College's accredited farm business management course for NSW farmers, run online over 12 weeks.

Built for the whole farm management team

Tocal recommends that everyone on the farm management team takes part, and that is where this course earns its keep for families. If the next generation is getting ready to step up, or you are working out how to hand on the business, it helps when everyone at the kitchen table reads the same numbers the same way. Plan to Profit gives parents, sons, daughters and partners a shared language for profit, equity and cash flow, which makes succession planning conversations a lot more concrete.

All of the content because it gave us a better understanding of the farm management/finances and we feel it won't be as overwhelming when we take over the family farm.

- a previous Plan to Profit participant

Start from your real figures

There are no made-up case studies. You work in P2PAgri cloud software with your own farm's data, and it stays confidential between you and your trainer. Access is free for the 12 weeks of the course, then continues as a paid subscription unless you cancel under Settings > Subscription. You can export PDF reports and CSV cash flow budgets to share with the rest of the family or your adviser.

What you will be able to do by October

• Work out variable costs and an estimated gross margin for each enterprise, and your cost of production
• Read the key ratios, Return on Assets Managed and Return on Equity, and what they say about the business
• Estimate the current season's profit, equity, key bank ratios and business efficiency
• Develop an estimated monthly cash flow for the current season
• Run scenario analysis on questions like growing the business or buying the neighbour's farm
• Develop a business plan for the next three to five years, with ideas for improving profit or reducing debt

How the course fits around the farm

Plan to Profit runs via Zoom. You join five group interactive sessions on weekday mornings from 9am (two to three hours each) and have five private one-hour coaching sessions with your trainer in the weeks between. Group sessions are recorded and posted the same day, so a family member who misses one can still catch up. Coaching sessions are not recorded. Expect at least six hours a week including homework. Session dates for the July 2027 intake are confirmed by Tocal on enrolment.

Five assessments run through the course: four financial reports from P2PAgri's PDF reporting and one set of short-answer business planning questions, each with feedback and up to three attempts, all submitted by week 11.

The course text and your trainers

The course text is Farming the Business, the GRDC farm business management manual written by Mike Krause, who designed Plan to Profit and owns P2PAgri. Mike has 40 years in farm financial modelling, farm business consulting and agricultural risk management. He delivers the course with Tony Hudson of Hudson Facilitation, senior farm finance trainer for the Rabobank Financial Skills course. Your trainer will be Mike, Tony or Peter Hudson, and James McRae marks the assessments.

Before you enrol

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 talk you through it. It is not an entry-level course. You will need basic experience with financial transactions and farm budgeting, a computer, tablet or smartphone with reliable internet, and a willingness to use your own farm data.

How to register

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

If July does not suit, the May intake starts on 17 May 2027 and the August intake starts on 16 August 2027. Enrolling as a family and want to line it up with everyone's calendar? Get in touch and we will help you choose an intake.