B+LNZ Focus Group Workshops: Canterbury

B+LNZ will be introducing Focus Groups into the extension programme. These will be topic focused, and outcomes driven, with an opportunity to learn from other members and subject matter experts. We're keeping the numbers small to ensure everyone gets a chance to share insights and learn from each other.

What is a Focus Group?

A Focus Group is a small group of farmers with a shared interest in a particular topic who meet regularly over a one to two-year period to discover and learn together. They will hear from subject matter experts and commit to making changes in their businesses, exploring what works, and sharing their experiences. Spaces will be limited.

Programme requirements

• Before the first meeting, there will be a small amount of information for you to collect about your farm business. After meeting you will commit to taking relevant actions in your business to implement the newly acquired knowledge.
• This programme is free to all associated levy payers and their employees.

Selection criteria

Actively working on a sheep and beef or drystock property (associated levy payers).

• Willingness to learn new skills and understand the drivers to improving on farm production and profitability of the sheep and beef sector.
• Participants must attend all Focus Group meetings.

Focus Group topics 

Financial management – budgeting for business results

In this focus group participants will improve their knowledge and skills to understand their farm business’s financial performance and improve financial literacy. This group will spend the first year understanding benchmarking and KPIs for improvement, managing budgets and forecast cash flow. At the conclusion of this group, each farm business will have a current budget and be proactively managing their business with confidence.

• Cashflow budgeting
• Financial analysis
• Identifying opportunities
• Financial Benchmarking

Animal production

In this focus group participants will better understand key drivers of animal performance and feel confident to make informed decisions in your farming business. The focus group will spend the first year being taken on a learning journey that starts with benchmarking your current production performance and identifying opportunities for improvement supported by industry experts. As well as identifying actions that you want to test on their farm and reporting back on your progress and sharing knowledge farmer to farmer. There will be a large emphasis on shifting your animal performance and sharing your learning with the group.

• Drivers of animal performance
• Benchmarking + KPI’S
• Animal health
• Pasture management
• Systems to optimise production

Forages for production

This Focus Group is all about identifying opportunities to improve your pasture and forage production by adopting management practices that increase your total dry matter grown and drive your farm profitability and performance. Group participants will spend the first year starting from the soil up, considering how to optimise fertiliser requirements, selecting pasture and forage options to achieve their goals and feed budgeting to optimise livestock production and drive profitability.  

• Soil health
• Feed budgeting
• Pasture management
• Animal nutrition
• Optimising production

Register for a group

Register your interest for one of the workshops below. 

Keep an eye out throughout 2025 as we roll out more B+LNZ Focus Groups through Canterbury.