The benefits of a Teagasc Profit Monitor
The Teagasc Profit Monitor has been around for many years with many additional features and reports available to help farmers assess their farm financial performance. Teagasc Advisor, Eamonn Dempsey writes on some of its benefits.
The operation of a successful farm business is often likened to that of a three-legged stool. The business is the seat that is held up by three legs. Each leg is critical to ensure the business is viable and sustainable.
The first leg is Grassland Management; the second leg is the Breeding and Performance of your animals and the third leg is the financial performance of the business. All three are intertwined and very much connected to the overall farm performance.
The Teagasc Profit Monitor is the only financial package that links your technical and physical performance on the farm to the financial performance. Therefore, it shows you the impact that improvements in technical and physical efficiency have on the overall profitability of the farm.
Farms operating the same production system are often found to have a wide variation in their costs of production and profitability. It is important that each farm business should identify their own costs of production and look at each enterprise individually.
Completing the Teagasc Profit Monitor
Farmers can access the Teagasc Profit Monitor mainly through their advisor. An input sheet will be given out at to your discussion group or can be emailed or posted out to you for completion. Your advisor is there to help with any queries in completing the input sheet.
- The key pieces of information needed to complete the profit monitor include:
- Details of the product sold off the farm – kgs of liveweight and the total value of all sales.
- Details of all farm expenses/production expenses and overheads that were incurred in the operation of the farm business during the year (farm invoices).
- Details of scheme payments, mart/factory sheets, bank statements, ICBF monthly stock inventory table and cheque books.
The farm cash flow position can be examined using a dedicated cash flow report looking at all cash flows in and out of the farm business, as well as the ability to check on farm output, costs and profitability.
Once inputted, the advisor will generate the key reports, check them for accuracy and highlight the key points from last year that can be used to plan for the 2026 farming year. The advisor will identify reasons for high variable or fixed costs and set a plan in place to improve e.g. high veterinary, feed or fertiliser costs given the number of animals on the farm.
An analysis on the labour hourly input to run the farm business from both paid and unpaid labour is also looked at in detail.
Farmers are advised to complete a profit monitor annually to provide a financial analysis of the farming enterprise which is of great benefit when planning for the year ahead.