Farmlands’ stake put it on an equal ownership footing with Silver Fern Farms and Landcorp, with Te Awamutu based VetEnt taking the other 10%.
FarmIQ chief executive Darryn Pegram said it had been a lengthy courtship.
The union meant farmgate inputs might ultimately be captured with the software package, further enhancing transparency and traceability further up the supply chain to processors, including Silver Fern Farms.
The partnership, which now included investment from all points of the agri-supply chain, was fulfilling the original aim of the Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) under which FarmIQ was established.
“The PGP never set out to simply create a farm management software company. It was to add value to red meat through integrating the value chain, which included getting farmers on board.
“So now joining up the elements of the value chain means market signals can be returned down it, on things like product quality.”
Pegram imagined the signals would also move the other way with investment from a rural supplier like Farmlands enabling the traceability of farm inputs through to processing and beyond to market.
“Increasingly we are seeing customers expecting that type of quality control.”
He agreed the next step would be to adopt a form of block chain technology capable of offering insights at every point in the supply chain, open to all parties involved in the transaction.
FarmIQ claimed a critical mass of drystock farmers in its subscription base and had recently launched a dairy package.
Subscribers so far include 1600 active sheep, beef, deer and dairy farmers and 3700 users.
Pegram acknowledged the software market was now a crowded place in the dairying sector but research showed farmers were increasingly seeking a one-stop package for farm apps and data access.
“We have been blown away by the enthusiasm the dairy sector has shown for FarmIQ. The subscription cost has not proven to be a barrier to uptake.”
He was encouraged by moves in the industry to avoid re-inventing the wheel when it came to software packages.
Greater connectivity and the internet of things meant companies wanting to develop specific software for their equipment were increasingly approaching established platforms like FarmIQ to integrate with them.
The high cost of development for farmers’ increasingly sophisticated software needs had also prompted more companies to seek joint cost-sharing for development.
“For example, we had a pasture meter company come to us wanting to be on board and Giltrap had a smart silage wagon system.
“They did not want to have to develop the software for it, rather approaching us to develop and integrate it with FarmIQ.”
Farmlands chief executive Peter Reidie said the shareholding was another step in the co-operative’s goal in becoming market leader in agricultural knowledge and expertise.
