The research commissioned by the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) and carried out by UMR Research suggests high-performing sheep and beef farmers are front footing the challenges facing their sector.
Report author Marc Elliott says high-performing farmers do not blindly follow trends, rather they introduce new practices and then tweak to suit both their style of farming and the environment in which they operate.
The 2020 research aimed at identifying the main drivers of their performance follows a similar study conducted in 2015.
Elliott says the latest study identified five challenges that stood out as being at least more prominent than five years ago.
The five main challenges detected were around an increasing need to farm sustainably with proof of activity; increasing negative public perceptions linked to growing regulations; climate change; changing consumers preferences and covid-19.
This year’s research also focused on what had changed for these farmers and how they were responding to the issues.
The research found there was a stronger focus among high-performing farmers on addressing environmental challenges through quality assurance programmes.
Farmers noted that additional regulations had led to an increasingly negative public perception towards farming.
Many high-performing farmers want to take ownership of this issue with some keen to help show the public how they farm with integrity, especially regarding animal welfare and the environment.
Facing droughts, dealing with climate change, and the need to map pathways towards becoming carbon neutral were also more prominent issues.
Farmers recognised the changing consumer preferences and what this meant for the long-term viability of their businesses.
Covid-19 threw in a range of challenges and opportunities.
The research shows most high-performing farmers are continuing to do what they have already been successfully focusing on for many years.
The study suggests high-performing farmers, through a strong sense of self-awareness, are particularly good at translating their values or what is important to them into a style of farming that is profitable and sustainable for the environment they occupy.
The research also highlights ways to support other farmers to improve their performance by helping them to understand what they value most in farming and translating this into a plan that suits their circumstances.
“This will be a several year journey and is likely to require facilitation and peer support,” Elliot said.
“The capacity to consistently execute will be hard to build among other farmers who may not be interested in working the long hours required to achieve this.”
While each plan may be slightly different, measuring and recording performance should be universal and small steps adopted.
The decision on what to measure and focus on first should be driven by what the individual farmer values and enjoys the most about farming.
The ultimate outcome from this approach will be sustainable ways of farming.
The study also suggested a range of other high-performing farmer practices that other farmers could consider adopting.
These include using technology to target inputs more efficiently, especially fertiliser and animal health interventions.
Making early decisions to pre-empt the loss of stock and pasture condition using an in-depth knowledge of their farm and animals via close observation over many years. These observations are almost always recorded, generally via technology, but also in some cases via extensive handwritten diary notes.
Having a clear picture of the three to five aspects of their farm that drive performance.
Investing in quality infrastructure, as the consequences of not doing so, are a distraction from focusing on what is most important – animals and grass.
Remaining alert to what is happening on the farm as while planning and office work are important, more money can be lost if farmers are not continually observing what is happening on the farm.
Working alongside other well-regarded farmers, rural professionals, and family members to test and tweak ideas and find new ones.
Elliot says the decision on what to measure and focus on first should be driven by what the individual farmer values and enjoys the most about farming.
“Other farmers seeking to lift their performance could consider which ones they would like to introduce into their own style of farming,” he said.
“The ultimate outcome from this approach will be sustainable, in every sense of the word, ways of farming.”
The full report can be read here
