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Holistic
Conference all about
Business
“If you are forever dealing with the
wholesaler, how can you ever expect to be
financially rewarded in the market place for
your innovation?” asks John King, Holistic
Management
educator. Families
practicing Holistic Management are meeting at
Lincoln University on August 16th
and 17th,
2004. The purpose
of the event is to look beyond production to
entrepreneurship.
As King
points out, “Quantum leaps in profitability do
not come from incremental increases in
efficiency; they come from doing business
differently.” All
speakers and visited businesses are addressing
this point
directly. Ewan
Campbell of Cambrian Meats has altered the
balance of minerals in his farm’s soil to
produce beef that has three times the level of
Omega 3 than fish, a product that has instant
appeal to the health conscious consumer and
demands a premium.
With his animals, soils, and bank balance
healthier, he is enjoying his farming more
than ever.
Barrie Ridler, former
Massey farm manager and lecturer, now spends
time helping farming families run low input,
low stress
operations. The
current focus in farming on biological
efficiencies seldom accounts for the true cost
of running a
business. The
marginal rate of return for farm expenses is
seldom optimised burdening the business with
unnecessary costs, often to sort out problems
as the result of excess
inputs. The
overuse of technologies to solve business
problems is often a sign that the business is
not well.
“Like most businesses,
farming measures growth by volume, not by
quality,” says Mr
King. “This trend
is changing as consumers and regulatory bodies
alike demand greater
accountability.”
By observing and taping into ecosystem
processes, farmers can save money, time, and
resources to be invested elsewhere in the
business. The
great advantage of building biological capital
is that not only improves farm productivity,
its not taxed either.
Farming families practicing
Holistic Management value biological capital
alongside financial
capital. In doing
they report lower production costs and greater
flexibility to be
profitable.
The event will also be
visiting Peri Drysdale at her boutique café
and shop Untouched
World. “As the
event is about embracing entrepreneurship,
said Mr King, we are visiting a couple of
businesses that are using corporate practices
at a family business
level.
Entrepreneurs like Peri are great role
models. Many women
arrive on the farm with a multitude of skills
ideal for operating an entrepreneurial
enterprise.”
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