Resources for Business Advisors
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You're at the heart of the dairy sector, connecting farmers, suppliers, and the wider industry. Get quick access to trusted, science-backed resources to help farmers in improve their farm business. As a Business Advisor in the dairy industry, your insights help shape resilient, profitable and sustainable farm businesses. These resources are designed to help you deliver clear, data-driven support that empowers farmers to make informed financial decisions. Use them to strengthen your impact and support sustainable farm success.
Your go-to tools and resources are here
If you are short on time, start with these quick links to the most used resources.
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Herd-owning job or sharemilking calculator
Build trust and grow farm businesses. Help farmers see the financial path to herd ownership.
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Breakeven milk price calculator
Quickly assess the minimum milk price needed to cover costs and maintain profitability.
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Contract milking premium calculator
Grow confidence and help farmers estimate fair contracting rates with a clear, easy‑to‑use tool.
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All Budget Templates
Help farmers with simple templates for farm budgets and business plans.
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Econ Tracker
Stay up to date with economic trends and forecasts that impact dairy farming.
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10-year equity forecast tool
Quickly creates an equity forecast for a dairy farm business over 10 years.
What's timely
Support clearer winter decisions through cashflow planning
Farmers who have a clear cashflow and annual plan are better prepared for what’s ahead. They understand their position and can act with more certainty.
Access templates farmers can use to work through their numbers, helping them see options early, manage change with less pressure, and have more constructive, confident conversations with their bank.
Winter is a good time to step back and review benchmarks
While financial accounts often aren’t available until later, farm physical data can be entered into DairyBase now to support early benchmarking and planning.
- Get farmers signed up to DairyBase
- Record farm physical data
- Share DairyBase access with advisers
- Compare KPIs to relevent benchmarks
- Identify priorities for the coming season
DairyBase provides credible benchmarks that help farmers see what’s working and where change could lift productivity and profitability. It also sets them up to get more value from financial benchmarking later in the year.
By interpreting DairyBase reports, you can turn benchmarking into clear, farm‑specific actions and evidence‑based decisions.
Explore more tools to strengthen your advice and support farmers
Stay up to date, the industry resources to have on hand:
New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024-25 (PDF)
Resources
NZ Dairy Statistics
New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024-25 is a report that shows historical information up to and including the 2024-25 season.
DairyNZ Economic Survey 2023-24
Resources
Economic Survey
The 2023-24 DairyNZ Economic Survey is the nineteenth annual survey of New Zealand dairy farmers using dairy farm business data from DairyBase®.
Cashflow & budgets: Building a successful farming business
Support farmers with practical resources that help them make confident business decisions, including choosing the right business structure, managing finances, and planning for growth. Access practical tools below to help farmers manage risk and build resilience:
Business planning & scenarios: Create the dream with your clients
Partner with farmers to shape thriving, future-focused businesses, starting today. Whether you're helping farmers craft a compelling business plan, define a clear vision statement, or build a practical action plan, these tools are designed to support meaningful conversations and confident decision-making:
Managing risk & uncertainty: Guide succession planning conversations
Navigate the complexities of farm succession with resources that support conversations, planning, and smooth transitions across generations with confidence. Discover key resources below to help facilitate conversations around succession planning:
Mid-season updates now available: See on-farm success in action with these budget case studies
A high-performing farm equity partnership operation
Huntly Road Dairies Ltd, is an equity partnership operated by Duncan & Anne-Marie Wells. They share how their mid-season 2026 is tracking against budget, with a strong focus on feed position and cost control. They also highlight how wearable technology is supporting on-farm decision-making, helping balance production while protecting margins heading into the second half.
Leadership in profitability and sustainability
Justin and Melissa Slattery have been on their 100 ha farm at Elstow, between Tahuna and Paeroa for 6 years. Their approach to farming is to be good stewards of the environment through having simple systems that are resource efficient.
Recommend courses that unlock farmer potential and build success outside the paycheck
Free Business Courses
Dairy Training offers farmers practical learning opportunities to build their business skills and gives business advisors a strong way to grow farmer confidence.
Explore courses
Mark and Measure Courses
A three-day course to help dairy farmers at any business stage. It offers tools and coaching to create wealth, set aligned goals, and analyse their farm business.
Learn moreGet the latest insights shaping farm finances with these podcasts
A curated selection you'll find both relevant and thought-provoking for your role.
Looking for something else?
Explore the links below to return to the Rural Professional Hub, contact your local area manager, explore current research, or sign up for updates on upcoming events, resources, and insights to support your work with farmers.
