Tuesday, March 19, 2024

New data system makes life simple

Avatar photo
Introducing information technology systems on Leveson and Vicki Gower’s farm has led to an overhaul of the whole business and created more chances for off-farm activities.
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Major changes happened for the King Country couple in the last year as they re-evaluated every aspect of their 1416ha (800ha effective) sheep and beef business, Stockland Trading, and put in systems to let the farm to operate in their absence.

After many years of farming and with a busy 11-year-old son the Gowers were at a stage when they wanted to physically leave the farm to pursue outside business and recreational interests while still running a successful farm operation.

Vicki, who is a chartered accountant, was keen to integrate a cloud-based farm management system into their business and jumped at the chance to do it through their processor, Greenlea Premier Meats’ involvement in the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) programme.

Focused on using IT-based farm management systems to improve analysis and drive greater production, they adopted the Farm IQ and Farmax software packages. They were being used in conjunction with an accountancy package, a farm consultant and farm environment plan.

Most importantly, those management tools and systems were part of a business development model Vicki was developing.

Having spent 20 years helping retail businesses use a simple, four-stage model to develop and grow, Vicki saw potential in adapting that model for their own and potentially other family-farming businesses.

It was about starting with an end goal or objective and using the four points to develop a strategy to achieve it.

For them that was the ability to ensure the farm remained fully functioning in their absence.

They also wanted to focus on producing a better product for their customers by growing high-quality red meat to meet Greenlea’s market specifications.

When examining their business it became clear they needed to simplify their whole operation.

The couple had been running a complex livestock policy, which included running, breeding, finishing and trading stock along with dairy support.

It took two to three months to determine what their future stocking policy would be and that was where the suite of software tools was so useful. It meant the couple were making decisions based on objective data and information.

They made the decision to reduce ewe numbers and sell their breeding cows, which wasn’t easy because the family had run a breeding herd for 53 years.

But they built a more efficient and environmentally friendly, cell-based bull finishing system and it made day-to-day management more streamlined.

The new stocking policy came into effect on May 1 and Vicki said it was now a simple system Leveson ran with the help of a 16-year-old worker.

“In a way it’s like paint by numbers.”

They have essentially divided the farm into blocks incorporating 800 dairy grazers, 460 bulls, 1000 ewes and 280 trading cattle.

With them in mind, they developed clear plans around stock and pasture management. They knew what the stock rotation would be three months ahead of time but also had the flexibility to allow for weather and market fluctuations.

Leveson and Vicki used Farmax to work out the grazing policies in each area of the farm and that represented a major shift in the way the farm was managed; from making decisions day-to-day to planning months in advance.

Part of the simplification process meant an investment in infrastructure. Stock handling and weighing facilities were upgraded and new fences built but the couple was confident setting the farm up now would pay dividends in the future.

Vicki said they would continue to evaluate stock and management policies but knew they were making decisions based on objective data generated by Farm IQ, Farmax and their budgeting software.

“I’m not saying we’ve got it right but at the end of the day we’ve started the ball rolling.”

While Vicki was computer savvy, Leveson was not, but he had found the systemisation to be quite straightforward though he was still getting a handle on entering data into his cell phone – something their young staff member is adept at. 

Total
0
Shares
People are also reading