While most farmers have planned for the season already, tools like the Farm Insights Report are a great way to reflect on those plans and ensure they’re headed in the right direction.
Over the last decade, the agri-industry has seen many software tools become available to help farmers with insight and decision-making. The number of tools and data available can sometimes be daunting for farmers who are used to a trusty spreadsheet. But there are some tried and true methods for getting the most out of your data.
We spoke to the Co-op’s On-Farm Excellence Programme Manager (Environment) Louise Cook about how farmers can use data and insight to make their farm more efficient and their business more profitable.
Know your goals
Whether you’re thinking about per cow production, feed efficiency, pasture growth or something else, it’s key to know what’s important to you and your farm.
“Farmers are often clear on what they want to achieve, but when you’re head down on-farm it can be hard to take a step back and look at the big picture to decide if you’re chasing the right goals.
Sometimes an outside perspective just gives you that fresh set of eyes – whether that’s one of your farm’s trusted advisors, or one of our Farm Source Sustainable Dairying team.”
“I always come back to this idea of Google Maps – it’s easy to hop in the car, but if you don’t know where you’re headed, then you might just end up driving aimlessly. We have to help farmers get that overview of the journey, clear on where they want to go and how to get there so they can set off with confidence,” says Louise.
Reflect on the year past
Performance and benchmarking information over time can help farmers to see trends that might be surprising or interesting.
“In a car, the rear-view mirror is a lot smaller than the windscreen for a reason, because what's in front of us is far more important than what’s behind us; but then we also know that history is a great teacher. There is value on reflecting on where you’ve been,” says Louise.
“Do the numbers reflect where you thought you were? Where is your farm sitting relative to other farms? If you’re not tracking where you thought you would be, now is a great time to think about how do I use that information and figure out a way to improve the result that I was getting.”
Look at the big picture
While farmers tend to have a fair idea of their herd’s mastitis percentage, lameness and somatic cell counts, production, and nitrogen fertiliser use, it is not often that they have a chance to view the information as a whole.
“The power of some of the tools available, including the Farm Insights Report, is that you can line up all of those measurements to build a more comprehensive picture of the farm’s performance. It provides valuable insights into where opportunities for improvements may lie,” Louise says.
Efficiency improves profitability
The more efficiently a farm runs, the more productive it is likely to be and the more profitable.
“It’s key that farmers think about the connectedness between all the metrics. You can’t take one number in isolation, because it might not show you the full story. The tools out there can help farmers understand connections between what is driving the efficiency and profitability of their business and environmental sustainability, emissions and carbon footprint. It provides another perspective on their business and can support efficiency gains,” Louise says.