Seizing Growth Opportunities
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Beyond Bank Finance
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Seizing Growth Opportunities • Beyond Bank Finance •
“CowBank’s confidence in our operation got us over the line”
The opportunity to buy the neighbours farm at auction, and double his dairy operation, was too good to refuse for Tim Dwyer. The Gippsland dairy farmer had bank finance approved for the auction, but he knew competition would be fierce and he needed a little more wriggle room.
His winning bid was 12-15 per cent more than his approved banking limit - the bank covered this shortfall - but he also needed cows to make the most of the new land.
Enter CowBank.
“We had options, rather than operating on a shoestring (budget) and scraping for cows,” Tim explained.
“There was a good herd available and we were able to get good cattle and as many as we needed.”
“The confidence Rod Banks and CowBank had in us got us over the line at that land auction,” Tim said.
“We knew we had their support to purchase cows, once we got the land, and three years later it turned out that it was cheap land.”
Adding this extra land to his farm, Tim quickly expanded his operation from 185 cows to 310 and in 2024 he will be calving down 400-head.
He said CowBank’s backing enabled him to “pick and choose” the best cows possible to underpin his business expansion.
“We had options, rather than operating on a shoestring (budget) and scraping for cows,” Tim explained.
“There was a good herd available and we were able to get good cattle and as many as we needed.”
For Tim, CowBank’s approach to finance, and developing a business partnership, made sense.
“CowBank looks at your ability to farm, look after cattle and manage money,” he said.
“If you can prove that, they will back you. It’s a two-way confidence thing, because if you can’t do that - it’s a risky thing for them.”
Taking advantage of CowBank’s livestock lease also helped Tim manage cash flow and minimise tax. He said CowBank’s fixed interest and lease payments was “good discipline”, while the nature of the lease reduced a tax liability.