Young farmers hoping to make the most of four years and $6 million

On a shoestring budget, the Young Farmer Business Project has managed to deal in 1500 burgeoning producers over the past year.

So imagine what $6 million will do.

An unexpected - but warmly welcomed - state budget boost for the youth finance initiative has locked it in for at least four more years.

That’s on top of a successful pilot year already under its belt, essentially stretching the project across five years.

Project organisers are also hoping supercharged resources will allow it to carve out a foothold so it can exist well into the future, be it through attracting new investment and new partnerships, which would allow it to deliver more advanced projects to those already in the fold.

More than 1500 have been engaged so far in activities and workshops across the state designed to boost financial and business literacy for young farmers.

Government predicts more than 8000 will come through the program in some way in the coming years, be it through  the online hub, professional development programs, training workshops and leadership opportunities, think tanks and farming business tours.

“There has definitely been a gap there, in what young people want and what they need to know (to get on farm),” says 28-year-old project committee member Claire Walker, Wagga Wagga.

“We’re talking about everything from the most basic financial stuff, like how to approach a bank, to succession planning.”

Brendan Murray, 31, Coleambally, said these days young farmers weren't just producers.

“You’ve got to be across everything,” he said.

“You’re a farmer, an accountant, a business owner, a marketer… the job has grown and expanded and the new generation needs to bridge the gap somehow.”

The Young Farmer Business Project, born out of a 2015 deal between state government and NSW Farmers, was given pilot status about 18 months ago and has since seen workshops mentoring on finance, access to land and business knowledge.

The project has been headed by a working group features DPI and NSW Young Farmer Council representatives.

An inaugural project officer was on deck for most of 2016 a with the recruitment process underway for a replacement.

Over the past 18 months the project has held 10 bank-ready workshops across NSW with over 280 participants, while 112 subscribers have signed up for the online resources.

The next two young farmer bank-ready workshops will be held at: