Your Farm Business Podcast

What does it actually take to plan your farm's future with confidence? In Episode 11 of the Your Farm Business Podcast, host Tom Moir sits down again with Mike Krause — founder and CEO of P2P Agri — for a deep dive into the software itself: what it does, how it came about, and who it's built for.Mike reveals what "P2P" really stands for (Plan to Profit), and traces the journey from building one-off Excel spreadsheets for every farm he visited, to the "Risky Business" farming game farmers refused to hand back, to a 200-farm benchmarking project that exposed a hard truth — benchmarks tell you how you compare, but they rarely answer the big questions. Like: should I buy the neighbour, and will the bank still love me if we hit two years of drought?A practical look at how farm business modelling works — and why understanding your own numbers changes every conversation you have with your bank, accountant and advisors.WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:What P2P Agri stands for and the real problem it was built to solveWhy generic advice and benchmarking fall short — and what bespoke modelling does insteadThe "teach a farmer to fish" philosophy behind the trainingThe three levers of every farm business: liquidity, wealth and efficiency — and why focusing on just one is a mistakeHow the bank, the accountant and the advisor are each motivated differently from you — and what that means for your decisionsA walkthrough of the scenario analysis tool: modelling a drought, testing a land purchase, and reading your farm through your banker's eyesHow AI and cloud tech (including Xero integration) have made the platform 5x more productiveWho P2P Agri is for — and the free Essentials tier you can start with todayCHAPTERS:0:00 Welcome 01:07 What "P2P Agri" actually stands for 01:46 The development journey: from Fortran to spreadsheets 05:14 More than advice: software built around your farm 06:20 "Teach a farmer to fish" — the training philosophy 07:37 How the training actually works 08:54 Technology adoption in farming: GST, cloud & Xero 13:07 The bank, accountant & advisor triangle 17:27 The three levers: liquidity, wealth & efficiency 20:16 Live software walkthrough: modelling a drought 24:03 Training 100 farmers a year with TOCAL Ag College 27:24 Who is P2P Agri for? 29:38 How to get started: free demo & Essentials 31:01 Wrap upABOUT THE GUEST:Mike Krause is the CEO and founder of P2P Agri, an Australian software and training business that helps farmers analyse profitability, model "what-if" scenarios, plan succession and make confident long-term decisions. P2P Agri delivers training one-on-one and in partnership with TOCAL Ag College in NSW.LINKS & RESOURCES:P2P Agri (free demo & Essentials tier): https://p2pagri.com.au"Farming the Business" by Mike Krause (GRDC)SUBSCRIBE for more conversations with the people shaping the future of Australian farm business.#YourFarmBusinessPodcast #P2PAgri #AustralianAgriculture #FarmBusinessManagement #AgTechLearn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au 

What does it really take to help Australian farmers make smarter financial decisions? In Episode 10, host Tom Moir sits down with Mike Krause — agricultural economist, author, and founder of P2P Agri — to unpack his journey from wheat-breeding glasshouses at Roseworthy Ag College to building one of Australia's most trusted farm business modelling platforms.Mike shares the full story: growing up the son of a wheat breeder, studying agricultural economics at the University of New England, completing a Masters in computer simulation at Lincoln University in New Zealand (back when he was coding in Fortran), and cutting his teeth as a government ag economist in the Riverland. From there it was four years inside a bank during one of the toughest periods Australian farmers have faced — when keys were being taken off properties on Eyre Peninsula — before a move into ag insurance consulting and eventually launching his own farm business advisory practice.A conversation packed with practical wisdom for any farmer thinking seriously about profitability, succession, expansion, and long-term resilience.WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:Why financial literacy is the single biggest lever most farm businesses are underusingThe "Risky Business" simulation workshop that proved farmers love what-if modellingTwo real case studies — a citrus grower's seven-year forecast that hit "to a T," and the farmer who bought the neighbour at auction, weathered two droughts, and didn't lose a night of sleepWhy benchmarking against other farmers can do more harm than good — and what to do insteadThe story behind "Farming the Business," the GRDC manual now in its 7th reprint (and how dyslexia helped Mike write it simply)Mike's outlook for 2026: how AI, drones, satellite imagery and virtual fencing are reshaping farming — and how P2P Agri has 5x'd its development speed using AIAdvice he'd give his 20-year-old self about building a career in agricultureCHAPTERS:00:00 Welcome & what is P2P Agri 02:23 Growing up at Roseworthy Ag College 03:27 University, Fortran & computer simulation 06:11 Government, banking & the keys-off-farmers era 10:07 Closing the farm business knowledge gap 12:08 The Risky Business workshop that changed everything 14:08 Why P2P Agri was born 15:47 Real client stories: the citrus grower & the drought question 20:37 Writing "Farming the Business" for GRDC 23:00 Dyslexia as a gift for simplifying complexity 25:21 Advice to 20-year-old Mike 27:36 AI, drones & the future of Australian agriculture 30:00 Benchmarking vs modelling: what actually works 32:07 Wrap upABOUT THE GUEST:Mike Krause is the CEO and founder of P2P Agri, an Australian software and training business that helps farmers analyse profitability, model "what-if" scenarios, plan succession and make confident long-term decisions. P2P Agri also delivers financial literacy training one-on-one and in partnership with TOCAL Ag College in NSW.LINKS & RESOURCES:P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au"Farming the Business" by Mike Krause (GRDC) — available in print or free on iTunes with 50+ embedded training videosSUBSCRIBE for more conversations with the people shaping the future of Australian farm business.#YourFarmBusinessPodcast #P2PAgri #AustralianAgriculture #FarmBusinessManagement #AgTechLearn more about P2P Agri: https://p2pagri.com.au