The real value comes when that information can be put into context. A number on its own only tells part of the story. Benchmarking helps farmers compare performance with peers, understand what is driving differences and make more informed decisions about where to focus time and investment. It’s not about telling farmers how to farm. It’s about using better information to support the decisions that are already being made every day.
But the value of farm-level data does not stop at the farm gate. Increasingly, customers want to understand the story behind the dairy ingredients they buy. They want confidence in how milk is produced, how emissions are calculated, what improvements are being made, and how claims can be substantiated. Comprehensive farm-level data helps us move from broad claims to better-evidenced ones.
We’ve have already seen this in practice. The data and insights farmers have built up over time helped unlock customer funding from Mars and Nestlé, which now supports the Emissions Incentive payment and the On-Farm Solutions available to farmers. That is a practical example of on-farm information helping create value back through the Co-op, not just meeting a reporting requirement.
For farmers, this is why the data conversation matters. It is not just about compliance or reporting. Done well, it supports better decisions on-farm, helps benchmark performance, and strengthens the value proposition of Fonterra dairy ingredients.
A key part of Fonterra’s strategy is to build on our sustainability position. Good on-farm data is one of the practical ways we do that. It helps protect what we already have, prove the value of what farmers are doing, and open the door to customers who value it.
