If you’re wondering how your farm’s tracking in comparison to others in the sector and where there could be room for improvement, check out your latest Farm Insights Report.
Exclusive to Fonterra farmers, this report is a way to measure on-farm productivity and on-farm efficiencies.
The Co-op has refined its approach over the last five years. Combining personalised farm information, milk quality, production data, and industry data, the report provides potential areas for fine-tuning farm efficiency.
This year’s individualised Farm Insights Report provides more detail than ever, providing insights and opportunities across homegrown feed, animal performance and feed efficiency.
Co-op Programme Manager (Environment) Julie Morris says the Co-op takes a whole-of-business approach to compile each report.
“There are a range of different insights in the report. Every farm has different goals and opportunities, and it’s important to cover all the areas that contribute to business success. The report is really focused on farm efficiency – with efficiency-related metrics and opportunities that drive productivity, profitability and sustainability. The report also focusses on other crucial areas that are the foundation for an efficient farm – water quality, biosecurity and animal health,” she says.
“There’s a lot of detail, and the report has evolved over the past five years to provide an easily digestible summary of efficiency insights, with clear depiction of potential opportunities for future gains. It’s also about giving farmers back value for all the information they provide us over the season.” says Co-op Programme Lead (Environment) Julie Morris.
One of the points of difference of the Co-op’s Farm Insights Report is its benchmarking data.
“We’re able to capture big picture trends for farms and benchmark them against their peers. This allows farmers to understand their performance from last season relative to previous seasons specific to their farm, and also their peers – locally and regionally. The benefit of the Co-op’s scale here is that we have a huge dataset that we’re able to draw insights from.”
This year’s report provides detailed sections on homegrown feed, feed efficiency, reproductive performance, animal health and herd improvement among others.
“By benchmarking farmers against the average and top 20% in their region, the report shows farmers both what’s possible and where they can aspire to. The report also provides clear pathways for farmers to access support both with the Co-op and with industry experts,” Julie says.
Another feature in this year’s report is an analysis of animal efficiency and herd breeding worth and detailing where a farm’s 6-week in-calf rates compare to neighbouring farms. “By highlighting the breeding worth range, farmers can see the opportunities and performance between their top cows and their bottom cows. The scale can vary year-on-year, but it’s about ensuring that we’re breeding from the top cows in the herd,” Julie says.
The Co-op has a range of support, tools, services, and solutions to help farmers get the most from their report Farm Insights Reports.