gfp-tamworth

A life changing experience that deals in depth with every part of your life, production, ecosystem and business.

Find the breakthroughs you’ve been looking for to increase profit, improve the health of your land, improve the relationships in your business and increase your satisfaction with your property.

When you attend the GrazingforProfit™ School, it will empower you to:

  • Define your goals and direction clearly
  • Take control of your time
  • Take control over your land
  • Take control of your enterprises
  • Take control of your business
  • Identify the strengths and weaknesses in your business
  • Develop your drought management plan
  • Improve stock health and performance
  • Increase rainfall use efficiency
  • Strengthen family communications
  • Work on the business as well as in it

You will leave with an action plan.

The GrazingforProfit™ School originated in Zimbabwe and South Africa over 30 years ago with Dr Stan Parsons, who has since taught it in the USA, Canada, Mexico and Australia. Dr Parsons taught the first Australian GrazingforProfit™ School in February 1990 for RCS. Terry McCosker and the RCS Team has since empowered over 5,5oo graduates with the GFP management concepts.

Today, the GrazingforProfit™ School is Australia’s premier business school for the agricultural industry, being the longest running, and most attended management school conducted in rural Australia. It covers everything that affects a family grazing and farming business in one holistic package and has been continuously updated for the last 30 years.

When you walk away from the GrazingforProfit™ School, we guarantee you will never look at land and business the same again.

This course is approved for funding for NSW Farmers, by NSWRAA. For a short video on how this can help you and your business, click here.

gfp

Your GrazingforProfit™ experience will delve into every aspect of your family farm business and outline the fundamental principles of people, land, livestock and business success.

 

People

Vision and goal setting
We will assist you to define your business and lifestyle goals and provide simple, effective methods of achieving them. You will develop strategies to overcome the constraints that may be holding you back.

Management effectiveness
It is possible to be 100% efficient but zero percent effective. We’ll introduce you to management effectiveness; improve your decision-making processes; and give you tools to achieve your goals.

Time management
You will take away the key principles to manage your time.

 

Business

Three secrets of profit
You will learn the three secrets to improving profit in any business, and then learn how to apply the three secrets to eliminate dead wood from your operation.

Five principles of management accounting
Have you ever been confused by the documents your accountant produces? Learn an incredibly simple system that will have you understanding accounts.

Two principles of money
Understand the difference between economics and finance. You will be able to apply this knowledge when dealing with banks and other financial institutions, to your benefit.

 

Land

The ecological pie
As farmers and graziers, we get three of our raw materials for nothing. Sunlight, rainfall and ecosystem services are provided to us by Mother Nature. Learn how to harness these to improve ecosystem health, reduce costs, increase production and increase profit.

Six principles of regenerative grazing
No matter what landscape you graze animals on, these principles apply to you! A major revision of the principles in early 2015 has transformed the way our course graduates look at how they manage their land when they go home. How you apply these principles will be different for everyone depending on their personal goals and circumstances.

Grazing chart
The most powerful tool you will take away from the GrazingforProfit™ School is the grazing chart. It has the capacity to pay for the School ten times over, every year. It is our best-kept secret.

Physical planning
There are a few basic principles that could save you a great deal of sweat, anxiety and money. Thousands of farmers have made these decisions before and now you can learn from their experiences. It will be worth tens-of-thousands of dollars to you.

Drought
Develop your own drought management plan, which will help you prepare for, manage and recover the four key elements of drought. Our goal is for you to have your land and livestock in such condition that one would not suspect any deterioration in season. You’ll learn strategies that farmers on three continents have used successfully for decades.

 

Livestock

Nutrition principles
High animal performance is a direct consequence of nutrition. At the school you will learn the basics of rumen function and when and how to use protein and mineral supplements. Our focus is on increasing the gross margin of livestock rather than just production.

Reproduction principles
The nine reproduction principles have evolved from practical experience over the last four decades. Applying these principles will increase the gross margin of breeding stock.

Managing livestock for profit
There are six key areas of concern for profitable animal production, which you will learn. Within grazing management there are a further six mistakes to avoid. Take away the knowledge to avoid the mistakes that others have learnt from.

What is the difference between GFP and FGFP?
Farming&GrazingforProfit™ (FGFP) is conducted like a GFP covering similar topics though with a strong emphasis on implementing the RCS Regenerative Cropping Principles so your land can be passed on to future generations in better condition. Through FGFP, young farmers will learn how to reduce inputs and maximise soil health and production potential through unlocking the power of soil micro-organisms, understand and manage the ecological indicators – soil health, biodiversity, water cycle and energy flow, learn to manage seasonal and climatic variation, and become more resilient to extremes.

The GFP and FGFP teaching style encourages teamwork, peer interaction, major paradigm shifts and suits the range of learning styles that exist in adult audiences. It is designed and delivered to accommodate young farmers from entry to experienced level.  The rationale for this training is to equip participants with the financial, business, production, ecology, land and people management skills that will provide a foundation for subsequent extension and mentoring. These transferable skills will provide the basis for participants to be able to evaluate and implement new practices on-farm.

Yes. When you enrol you will be sent pre-work. This pre-work will help you apply the business principles you will learn at the school to your own business.
GFP is taught using an accelerated learning teaching style, which means it caters for different types of learning, promotes higher retention and you will reach a deeper level of understanding. Whether you have an honours degree, or didn’t finish high school, are an old bushie, or from the city, each and every participant is catered for!

You will work in groups, specifically chosen to offer a broad range experience, helping you gain a broader knowledge base of the agricultural industry and the possibilities within. Graduates not only benefit from a support network through course, but into the future.

During the school, there is a hands on field trip, where you can see what you’ve learnt in classroom in real life, and ask questions of people who are putting the principles into practice. This reinforces the learning, shows you the proof in the pudding, and puts you into contact with those already having success.

The GFP School usually begins on a Wednesday and ends the following Tuesday. On Wednesday, the School begins at 2:00pm and ends at about 7:00pm when you’ll be our guest at a group dinner. Wednesday through to Tuesday, kick-off is at 8:00am and goes through to about 6:00pm. On the last night, you will again be our guest at a graduation dinner. Each night there will be homework to complete in which you’ll apply the principles of GrazingforProfit™ to your own business.
The GFP School runs for 6.5 days straight, including the weekend, so that people can make the most of their time away from their home and business.
For a current schedule of GrazingforProfit™ Schools, click here.
The fee for the School is $4,000 for the first person from your family or business.  Additional people attending the School from the same family or business pay the discounted fees of:

  • Second person: $3,300
  • Third person: $3,000

We also offer a GFP graduate repeat fee of $1750.

RCS currently have Early Bird Savings available. Please contact our office for pricing and dates.

The hotel and accommodation costs are separate and vary from location to location. All morning, afternoon teas and lunches are included in the catering package along with the first and last night School dinners – the catering package is part of the School fee. Breakfasts and evening meals are the responsibility of the participant.

*All prices quoted above are in Australian dollars.

The course fee includes tuition, pre-work materials, a workbook with a comprehensive set of School notes, lifetime access to our online vault of tools and 6 months complimentary access to the online Farmer’s Guide to Ruminant Nutrition home study pack. The fee also includes a meal package, which provides daily tea and coffee, morning and afternoon teas and lunches Wednesday through to Tuesday. RCS hosts two dinners on the first and last nights of the School for all participants.
No, but we recommend that even if participants live nearby, that they stay at the venue so that they can participate in the informal after-hours discussions. Some people commuting to the school have a harder time focusing on $100,000 issues facing their business because they are distracted doing the $10/hour chores at home before coming to class.
You’ll be on your own for breakfast and dinner, but the class eats lunch together. RCS hosts a class dinner on the first and last evenings.
Registration is easy. Just email us at info@rcsaustralia.com.au or free call us on 1800 356 004 and secure your place.
A lot of people who attend our programs share your concern. But, our specialty is breaking down what can be complicated concepts into very simple principles and step-by-step methods. If you are concerned about your skill with numbers, you won’t be alone, and you won’t be left behind. Each section of the course is designed to help you understand economic and financial principles and apply them to your property.
This course isn’t dumbed-down. While the step-by-step methods are simple, the economic and financial principles are extremely powerful. MBA’s and accountants attending the School tell us the simple, powerful tools we provide have deepened their understanding and enhanced their ability to serve and advise their clients.
We asked a recent graduate with no farming background to answer this question for you! Here’s what she said.

“Yes, it is not a problem at all as the School isn’t just about farming. It is a holistic program that also goes into personal development, finance and team building. It helps to have an interest in agriculture, however, the training is delivered within groups so the other members of your group can help you understand the finer points of agriculture. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t nervous before the course but that dissipated on day 1!”

No. Our graduate support is unparalleled. A coaching program is available to help you apply the concepts taught in the classroom to your situation.

You will have membership access to the RCS vault of online tools, which is constantly updated as our on-ground consultants make new developments and changes.

You will also be eligible to enrol in the RCS Next Steps coaching program. 

Each GrazingforProfit™ School is taught by one of three highly qualified instructors, all with practical experience. For a brief biography of the GFP instructors (Terry McCosker, Matt Barton and David McLean) view Our People.
Class size varies. The average school is 25-35 participants with a maximum number now capped at 48. Regardless of class size, you’ll be working in a team with four to five other participants.
You’d be well served to use the School to clarify your goals and build a business plan to achieve them before you start your business. Most of the participants usually have several years of experience in farming and grazing. You’ll be able to draw on their experience and contacts to avoid costly mistakes.
Your completed pre-work and true/false questions, comfortable clothes for the classroom, a hat and outside footwear for the on-property field trip, lots of questions and high expectations. We’ll provide a manual, notepaper, pencils, erasers, calculators and everything else you need to learn how to get in control of your business.
Rather than bring your financial statements, we recommend you complete and bring the pre-work which will help you summarise key data from your statements.
All information is treated with strict confidence, and you don’t have to reveal any more to anyone than you want to.
Yes. We’ve been working with agricultural businesses of all sizes and types on four continents for over 30 years and have encountered about every exception to the rule. We have yet to find one that could not benefit from these principles and methods. Occasionally processes need to be adapted to accommodate unique situations. Our Instructors will work with you to help you apply the principles and processes to your situation.
It has to be. The future of rural communities depends on it. Our graduates are the ultimate test of the validity of the principles and processes we teach. The average Australian rural business Return on Assets in recent years has dropped to 0.5%*.  This is before servicing any debt and given the high rural debt, it is an unsustainable situation.  Analysis of years of data shows the average GrazingforProfit™ School graduate participating in the ExecutiveLink™ program increases ROA by 3.5%. The RCS business is all about helping you structure healthy, happy profit into yours. You’ll find that structuring your farm or property to make a profit will reduce your stress and increase your enjoyment of the great lifestyle this business can offer.

*Source RCS ProfitProbe™. Not including land appreciation.

If you complete the GrazingforProfit™ School and at the end believe you have not received your money’s worth, we will refund the fee in full.
Please see our funding summary. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list, so be sure to do your own research and contact the relevant bodies for full information. Often your local Landcare, LLS, NRM or regional bodies have funding available that we are not aware of and you can enquire with them about this on an individual basis.

RCS currently have Early Bird Savings available. Please contact our office for more information.

We are proud to deliver training of superior value, and are certain the value you will gain as a result of completing the GrazingforProfit™ School, will be more than ten-fold your financial investment.

Reductions and discounts to the GFP School are available for participants in the following circumstances:

  1. If you have more than one person attending the same School from the same family or business.
  2. GFP Graduates repeating the School.
  3. Current ExecutiveLink™ members.

We’re also pleased to confirm that RCS currently have Early Bird Savings available for all participants, whether you have completed training or consulting with our organisation or not. Please contact our office for more information.

The School is constantly evolving and we are forever tweaking the teaching order to continually create the best learning environment possible, therefore, the outline below is a guide only.

Day 1: Introduction to the course and review of the blue book.

Day 2: Three secrets of Profit, business analysis tools, business control tools, people issues, Visions & Goals.

Day 3: Overcoming constraints, planning tools, analyzing a business, benchmarking, finance and money management.

Day 4: Ecology, Grazing management Systems, Regenerative Grazing Principles.

Day 5: Property Planning, grazing errors and Field Trip.

Day 6: Drought planning, Grazing review, Reproduction and Nutrition.

Day 7: Review, Time management, Working on the business, pulling it all together.

Our team is happy to assist you with recommendations for local babysitting and child minding services. While it is not our forte or something we have local knowledge on for every School, we are more than happy to help where we can.
Request a free information pack
Learn about the GFP experience
View the upcoming schools
Money-back satisfaction guarantee

We are passionate and committed to empowering you. Attend the GrazingforProfit™ School in its entirety with an open mind for learning, and we are confident you will receive the tools and knowledge to return home and improve your business and relationships. If, for any reason you don’t believe the GFP has delivered on our promise we will refund the entire course fee within one month of its completion.