Having a good team of trusted advisors to call on is essential for a modern farm business, according to Charlie Perry, principal of Trent Bridge Wagyu, a Wagyu seedstock and feeder operation based at Aberfoyle in New South Wales.
It's why he has worked with regional advisory firm Roberts + Morrow (R+M) for the past 10 years, drawing on the firm for accounting and taxation advice.
"We've gone through multiple acquisitions over the past few years, and our main partner there is (R+M Partner Business Services) Sam Notley. He's always been very good with his strategic insight in how to manage these purchases. Whether it's cash flow or structures to buy them, we try to buy them in more creative ways, like vendor finance, and Sam's very useful with that."
Each acquisition has brought its own layer of complexity beyond financing that they've worked through together.
"When you buy a farm it comes with a big lick of stamp duty, so working with what those tax obligations is also important," Mr Perry said.
"It's not just about tax minimisation, it's about the business performance in totality."
Mr Perry said that while he remained the decision maker on the business, having R+M as a sounding board gave him access to critical and strategic thinking he could test decisions against. The R+M team have supported across accounting and taxation, and have also been part of wider succession discussions as one part of the business' broader planning.
"We tried to have a creative approach to utilising the strength of our balance sheet and capability in our family to execute succession, and Sam has been very useful in helping us structure that."
Mr Perry stressed that annual reviews of business structure were essential in modern agriculture, with shifts in government policy and the natural evolution of the business itself meaning that what worked structurally a few years ago may no longer be optimal.
When recent changes affecting trust arrangements were announced at a federal level, he said he sat down with Mr Notley early, not to rush into decisions, but to get ahead of any implications for the business.
R+M, which has 75 years in regional business advisory across New South Wales and Queensland, brings accounting, legal, tax, SMSF, financial planning, audit, business intelligence and IT together under one integrated team, working on the basis that farm business decisions are rarely just financial or just legal, but usually both at once.
For producers navigating their own growth, whether that's a land purchase, a change in structure or simply trying to get better visibility over cash flow, Trent Bridge Wagyu's experience with Roberts + Morrow points to a practical takeaway: advice grounded in a genuine understanding of the business tends to hold up better than advice given in isolation.
If you’re ready to be supported by a fully integrated advisory team – reach out for a complimentary discovery call.
Trent Bridge Wagyu's fourth on-farm sale will be held in September, with Mr Perry highlighting a focus on increasing carcase wight and early growth while maintaining high marbling and carcase traits across the lots offered.
The Trent Bridge Wagyu Bull Sale will be held on Thursday, September 3 on AuctionsPlus.