This article was originally written by Kylie Wright for Queensland Country Life and published on 20 February 2025. We’re sharing it here as it highlights valuable insights for farmers looking to build financial security.
Farming is the most volatile sector of our country’s economy. Adverse weather conditions—droughts, floods, extreme high temperatures and frosty lows—are certainly the most publicised risks facing farms, but extreme weather is just one of the many threats our country’s farmers encounter daily.
There are risks to production, fuelled not just by weather, but also by disease and pests. There’s personal and human risk—workplace accidents, ill health, and relationship breakdowns. Market risks can push expenses up and profits down, while institutional risks stem from government decisions or the uncertainty surrounding them. On top of this generous serving of daily risk, there’s financial risk.
While there is no silver bullet for removing all risk from farming, Ulton’s expert wealth advisor Kylie Wright says off-farm assets are a powerful tool for mitigating financial risk, which can, in turn, help address other types of risk too.
“Off-farm assets make everything easier to deal with. They can be used to hedge against bad times and provide security in uncertain times”, said Ms Wright.
Ms Wright adds that the value of off-farm assets goes far deeper than functioning exclusively as a risk-minimisation strategy.
Having spent her formative years on cattle and dairy farms and going on to become the trusted advisor to many multigenerational farming families, Ms Wright has an acute understanding of farmers—the challenges they face and the motivations that drive them.
“Simply, off-farm assets provide people with the means to achieve their goals,” she said.
“When you sit down and speak to people about what they want to achieve in life, you’re never going to hear things like ‘I want to own the biggest farm in the southern hemisphere.”
“What you will hear is the desire to give grandchildren a great education, to make memories on family holidays, and to pass the farm on to the next generation. To do any of these things—or achieve any other personal goal like this—you need off-farm assets,” said Ms Wright.
Off-farm assets can come in many shapes and sizes. There’s property investment, superannuation, investment bonds, the list goes on. While each type of investment typically serves a primary purpose—for example, investment bonds can be a well-fitting investment for those wanting to provide their children with private school education—what makes the ‘right’ asset mix will be different for everyone.
Ms Wright stresses the importance of not only considering your mix of off-farm assets, but also how these assets are held.
“Every person has a unique situation and it’s really a matter of sitting down and working through all the options and scenarios to identify the structure or blend of structures that feel most comfortable for them,” said Ms Wright.
“There’s plenty of different structures you can use to hold your long-term assets, be it a company, a trust, or your superannuation,” she said.
Ms Wright acknowledges that regarding superannuation as a structure rather than an investment may come as a surprise to some, but it’s a clear distinction she is passionate about educating her clients on.
“Superannuation is not an investment, it’s a structure in which you can hold your investments. It’s also the lowest tax rate structure we have in the country, which makes it an attractive place to house long-term investments,” said Ms Wright.
Ms Wright also adds that another key benefit of super is that generally speaking, if you keep up a long-term pattern of making regular contributions, your super balance can be protected from bankruptcy.
Despite the clear advantages of superannuation, Ms Wright says that all too often, farm owners allow their super contributions to fall through the cracks. So much so, it’s not uncommon for a farm worker’s super account to be healthier than the farm owner’s.
“Farmers will often say to me ‘my farm is my super’. That’s a great outlook to have, until you can’t or don’t sell it,” said Ms Wright.
Ms Wright cites the inherent volatility of farming and how sometimes, the great years can quickly turn bad due to factors far beyond any individual operation’s control. She also refers to the fact that while farmers might refer to their farm as their super, the reality for many is that they actually intend to keep the farm in their family.
“Especially when there’s more generations and mouths to feed than before, having super or other off-farm assets means that mum and dad can happily move into retirement and the next generation can get on with running the farm,” said Ms Wright.
This sentiment is echoed in a real-life example she shares: “We had a client who successfully retired and handed the farm over to their sons. Later, the husband needed aged care, which was a significant cost, but they were able to cover it because of their off-farm assets,” she explained.
“Farming is hard enough, especially with multiple generations involved. Having off-farm assets provides a safety net, so financial pressures don’t force emotional decisions,” she explains.
Off-farm assets may not eliminate every risk farmers face, but they create stability in an unpredictable industry. Beyond mitigating risk, they offer the freedom to take care of your family and pursue your goals without uncertainty getting in the way.
“It’s not just about protecting against the bad years. It’s about making sure the legacy you’ve worked so hard to build can continue on,” said Ms Wright.