Started in 1930, Garrickfield Limited is a family farm specialising in the production of high-quality potatoes, ryegrass, spinach, vegetable brassicas, wheat and cereals. At certain times of the year, the team fatten lambs in some of their paddocks too.
The farm has been handed down through the generations, with each generation proud to work on the land they love. Malcolm Cairns, who runs the farm now, hopes that this tradition continues. “My goal is to create and maintain a diverse, resilient, profitable farm that my children will want to work at rather than feeling obliged to. I want them to go to work with the same enthusiasm that I do.”
Garrickfield Limited has certainly set up an efficient and effective operation, touting twelve varieties of seed potato alone. Part of their success is due to rotating crops and lambs to get the best product produced in a timely manner. “The lambs seem to help the paddock’s soil by recycling nutrients and organic matter,” Malcom explained. “I’ve found that the crops we put in paddocks that have previously had lambs are the best, so it’s a good sustainable business model we will continue.”
Such ideas and business strategies are one of the key reasons Malcolm loves his job. “I enjoy the strategic side of farming, the puzzle of working out where and how to grow the range of crops we do. That ability to think strategically while being able to get outside makes this a pretty fantastic job.”
In order to come up with such strategies, Malcolm needs time and space. As any business owner knows, this can be hard to come by, especially on a farm. A huge proponent of hiring the right people for the right tasks, Malcolm brought on LP Assist to do his monthly bookkeeping and free up his time so he can focus on his business. “With LP Assist, we know that our books are in good shape, every month. I get to spend my time working on the business and with my family instead of worrying about whether I’ve coded something properly. And I know that I can take the high quality, accurate data from Xero and Figured to my farm and financial advisors and we can use it to make smart financial decisions about the farm.”
LP Assist was originally brought on board a few years ago to set Garrickfield Limited up with Xero and Hubdoc to streamline their business using modern accounting software. “Georgia Goodman was great for this. She made everything easy. She’s so patient and such a pleasure to work with. And she’s knowledgeable, not only about accounting software and bookkeeping but also about broader farm accounting practices too. Once I realised just how good at her job she was, I thought that we better bring her on board for our regular bookkeeping too.”
LP Assist thoroughly enjoys completing Garrickfield Limited’s monthly bookkeeping and GST returns. “We’re so glad to be able to take bookkeeping tasks off Malcolm’s hands to give him back some valuable time,” Georgia Goodman, Division Manager at LP Assist said. “And to provide the quality data he needs to confidently make long-term strategic decisions. We’re excited to see the farm continue to grow and thrive for many more generations.”
