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Merry Christmas

The Farm Office Team has wrapped up the year in the office. We are taking two weeks off to relax and re-energise. We will be back on the sixth of January bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.We wish you a relaxed, heartwarming Christmas with your loved ones and the very best for 2025!...

Change to Accredited Employer Work Visa requirements

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford announced immigration reforms this week, including changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa requirements. These changes make filling gaps in your team with overseas staff easier, as the requirements are more reasonable.The changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa requirements include:• The AEWV changes taking effect from March include:Removing the median wage threshold, so jobs will not need to pay the median wage or higher to be eligible for the vi...

Government goes back to the drawing board on Holiday Act review!

Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden announced today that the government is returning to the drawing board for another Holiday Act review after listening to feedback on the current draft. She says feedback indicates the draft Bill will not solve the Act's issues. This is a relief as the draft did not solve any problems; it just added more complexity. It is good that feedback was requested from a wide variety of people that at least included people with extensive pay...

Pre-plan your holiday season payroll

I am sure many of you have already started planning for Christmas and making sure your roster works, and so have I. In my case, I am pre-planning payroll processing for my clients so my team can get a break and payroll gets processed and paid on time. Payroll processing is relatively simple this year as the Public Holidays fall on Wednesday and Thursday. The complication comes from the public holidays falling on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the paydays for most of the payrolls. This means they...

Cyber Security Week 2024

It is Cyber Security Week 2024. Consider how you can keep yourself and your business a little safer.Turn on 2-factor authentication where you can. At minimum, this should be your bank, IRD, accounting software, and email. Please turn it on for those programs you rely on, such as Facebook/Instagram, WhatsApp, or Office 365.If you use the same password for everything, you may as well not have a password; one breach, and they will have access to everything! If you cannot remember passwords, get a ...

Trust

Trust is a cornerstone of building a successful team. Trust means having confidence in each other's intentions. Trust is gained when promises are kept and lost when they are broken. The easiest way to foster trust is to only make promises you can keep, and follow through on the promises you make to yourself and others. It is very interesting to see that the things that foster trust are all closely aligned with our values @ The Farm Office.So what can you do to build trust in your team? Lead by e...

Changes to the Accredited Employer Worker Visa Scheme

On the 7th of April the government announced significant changes to the Accredited Employer Worker Visa (AEWV) scheme.These changes affect the dairy sector the most, especially for employers seeking to hire international dairy farm assistants, or for those currently employed in such roles from overseas. We encourage you and any international employees in your team to read about these changes.The biggest change is from a maximum of 5 years down to a maximum of 3 years, followed by a year stand d...

The Vital Role of Succession Planning for Kiwi Farmers

So, what's succession planning? It's essentially ensuring your farm can transition smoothly when it's time for you to step back from farming. Whether you're passing it on to the next generation or selling up, having a plan in place saves headaches down the line.During February, some of my clients were confronted by situations that highlighted the importance of early succession planning and the issues of not having a plan yet. Succession planning is a crucial but often overlooked aspect of runnin...

International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day!Today is a great opportunity to honour and celebrate the wonderful women who enrich our lives!My field of bookkeeping and payroll is dominated by women playing a pivotal role in managing the financial affairs of countless businesses. To all my fellow bookkeepers around the globe, here's to your exceptional contributions to the world!On farms, countless women work on the farm and do the HR, payroll, bookkeeping, budgeting, and planning, all while balancing the dema...

Rescue work: why is it rewarding?

Rescue work in bookkeeping is like being a financial detective, and it's a task that many experienced bookkeepers find themselves undertaking at some point. Essentially, it involves helping a client whose books or payroll have fallen into disarray – whether due to falling behind or simply getting things wrong.Picture this: you're tasked with untangling a mess, perhaps even going back to square one, to pinpoint where things went off track and set them right. This often requires a strategic appr...

Minumum wage update

The government has announced the minimum wage raise from the 1st of April 2024. The new rate is $23.15 per hour, an increase of 45 cents or 2 percent. We have two months to prepare for changes we have to make to salaries to make sure staff get paid at least minimum wage at the hours they normally work. The living wage has been $26 per hour since the 1st of September 2023.My salary check spreadsheet has been updated. If you want a copy please send an email with Salary Review as subject and I will...

Welcome to 2024!

We started again on the 3rd of January and are finishing our first working week of the year. We feel energised refreshed and ready for 2024. We wish you and your loved ones a year filled with love, health, joy, and prosperity....

Christmas hours

We are all taking some time off over Christmas to rest, recharge, and spend time with our family and friends. We are closed on Friday the 22nd and will re-open on the 3rd of January. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!...

Fonterra lifts forecast FY24 earnings and Farmgate Milk Price after strong Q1

Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd today increased its forecast Farmgate Milk Price and earnings guidance for FY24 following a strong start to the year. The forecast Farmgate Milk Price midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25 cents to $7.50 per kgMS, with the forecast range moving from $6.50 - $8.00 per kgMS to $7.00-$8.00 per kgMS. Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell says the revised forecast reflects recent strengthening in demand for reference commodity products from key importing regions...

Credit Crunch

This month I have again been confronted by the crunch created by a low payout, high costs, high interest rates and a change in how banks operate with a couple of clients. Ironically, it is the seasoned farmers who get caught out by this. They have been with the same bank for years and are used to a relaxed bank manager. Until recently they got an overdraft by calling their bank manager and the overdraft was available within days. Banks have become much more formal in their processes in the...

Include your values in your recruiting process

This month I got inspired to challenge you to define your values and the mission of your farm and include them in your recruitment process.Why are your values important when recruiting?The reason for struggling to find the right staff or retain staff (even if they have the skills) is that their values do not align with yours. When you hire someone who is inspired by your passion for your farm and shares your values, they may lack some skills, but they will learn the skills they need. Yet if thei...

Breakeven Price for Milk Updated

DairyNZ has revised its breakeven milk price, as one way to help farmers navigate the challenging economic conditions they face this season. DairyNZ head of economics, Mark Storey, says many dairy farmers will be finding the current milk price and inflation issues difficult to take, and how to navigate this season’s reduced income will be causing real concern on many farms.“We know dairy farmers have a difficult season ahead, in light of the reduced milk price and continuing high farm costs,...

‘Farm first’ approach wins plaudits for West Coaster

Meet West Coast dairy farmer Panda Mirfin.Panda Mirfin can’t actually remember how he got the moniker — it dated back to primary school and stuck — but he definitely gets called Panda more than he is called Andrew.Panda’s family have been on the coast since the 1860s.He was born and bred there himself on what was originally a sheep and beef farm on the outskirts of Ikamatua, in the Grey Valley. It was converted to dairy in the mid-1990s.Panda’s nominator, who has worked in the agr...

Year of the Farmer 2023

Farmlands is backing ‘Year of the Farmer 2023’ by sponsoring this year’s People’s Choice Award.   ‘Year of the Farmer 2023’ is all about highlighting the achievements of South Island farmers and growers who pride themselves on their excellent farming practices, positive impact on their community, and their contributions to our economy, our land and our identity.   As the go-to for everyone connected to our land, this is a great way we can support Kiwi farmers and farming.   Th...

Nurturing the Land and the Soul

Farming is not just a profession; it's a way of life deeply intertwined with the rhythms of nature. However, the life of a farmer can be incredibly demanding, both physically and mentally, especially during challenging years when factors like market downturns, cost increases, unpredictable weather, and personal hardships converge to create a perfect storm of stress.In such times, practising self-care is essential, enabling you to navigate adversity with resilience and maintain your own vitality ...

Financial Year End is here!

For many New Zealand businesses, the Financial Year ends on the 31st of March, including my own business. For most farms, the year-end is the 31st of May or the 30th of June to fit with the farming season. This is a busy time of the year as the farming season ends, cows are dried off, animals are shipped off to grazing, the staff is trying to take a break, and maintenance and setup for the new season all need to be finished before the next round of calving/lambing starts.  Some prepara...

Minimum wage increases to $22.70

On the 8th of February, the government announced that the minimum wage would increase by $1.50/hour to $22.70/hour per the 1st of April 2023, a 7% increase in line with inflation.A salary review should be done before the 1st of April for those of you employing staff. Check if your team still gets paid above minimum wage at the hours they are contracted for once the minimum wage rate is $22.70/hour.For years I have run the salaries of all my clients' teams through a spreadsheet showing how many...

New year, new plans

Start this second half of the season by updating your cash flow budget or plan. It is easy to create a cashflow budget for the upcoming season, get caught up in calving, mating, cropping, etc, and not monitor or update your plans. Use the energy of the New Year to evaluate your budget and even think about next season. What is not going to plan? What do you want to do differently? What do you need to do next season? Do you need to invest in technology or people? Buy cows/sell cows? Test...

Getting your Christmas payroll right

Christmas/New Year fall on Sunday and Monday this year. The 25th of December and the 1st of January can move to Tuesday depending on the employee’s roster. I always make a little flow chart (see above) and work it through that for every Employee for the Public Holidays. Everyone gets 2 Public Holidays (not 3!), but which ones they get is determined by their roster. For each day there are three options, which depend on whether it is Tuesdayised: Sunday the 25th (can be Tuesdayised): 1. The Empl...

Holiday Hours

Like most people who can, we are taking a break to rest, recharge and spend time with our families. We will be out of the office from the 23rd of December until the 16th of January. Payroll will continue on it’s normal schedule as usual. We are happy to pre-process Christmas payrolls (with any corrections if needed in January) if you would like to free up your own time around the public holidays.Feel free to email, message and call us during this time, just be patient as we are soaking up som...