The joint venture was formed last year to develop and commercialise what has been named Agrigate, to put data collection and report generation together seamlessly.
The dashboard would run on smart phones, tablets and personal computers.
Access to Agrigate will be free for Fonterra and LIC farmers until July 31 and after that subscriptions will be related to what information farmers want available on their dashboard and the cost will be kept as low as possible.
“Having data in one place and working in real time makes it easier to make comparisons, see trends and make better management decisions,” LIC chief executive and Agrigate chairman Wayne McNee said.
It would help farmers plan ahead, using existing data to assess the interaction between different onfarm factors, such as weather conditions, animal health, milk production, financials, pasture cover and fertiliser applications.
Farmers would be able to track what effect each factor had on the others so they could plan accordingly.
For example, they would be able to see what impact factors like herd size, milking frequency and fertiliser use had on pasture cover, milk volume and quality, and milksolids production.
Agrigate would also allow farmers to benchmark those farm factors on a scale they hadn’t been able to in the past.
“The ultimate goal of this project is to support our farmers by giving them a tool to help maximise their onfarm performance, productivity and profitability,” Fonterra Farm Source chief operating officer Miles Hurrell said.
“As a simple, easy-to-use tool Agrigate is a great example of dairy industry innovation.
“It allows farmers to identify areas of their business where they are performing well and areas where improvements can be made.”
Waikato farmer Bill Aubrey, one of 70 farmers who tested a prototype last August, said benchmarking with past, present, regional and national data would be a powerful tool.
“Agrigate streamlines the way I view and analyse my farm’s most important data.
“Combining information from multiple sources, it gives me a top-line view of everything I need, at any time and in real time, on one web page.
“Weather forecasts, pasture growth and cover, production data and more, all on one single dashboard.”
Farmers could join by visiting the web page www.agrigate.co.nz and the new service would be featured at regional field days and at National Fieldays this year.
