“This year the reports had a revamp which is very exciting, and we’ve got a range of new features and efficiency metrics which are included in that for farmers.”
The report looks at the farm’s big picture, and the first section includes data around things like production per cow, purchased nitrogen surplus, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Fonterra shows how this information has trended over time for a farm and also how that farm compares to similar operations.
Fonterra is benchmarking against farms in similar areas and similar systems to give farmers that extra insight.
There are also sections on feed efficiency, animal efficiency, and a greenhouse gas breakdown.
The Farm Insights Report is really about giving farmers that overview of their farms.
Kelly asked, “Are these reports personalised for each farm?”
Good said the Farm Insights Reports were personalised.
They use a range of data, so Fonterra pulls together things like their farmer’s farm dairy records that they provide to them annually.
With information in there based on milk collections, and with an increasing number of partners who are providing data to Fonterra, being a bit of an added bonus, the more information that Fonterra can get from those kind of partners, the less that farmers have to double handle information and that the cuts down on admins for them.
Having compiled a range of data sources, with every farm different and depending on the system, the goals, and the unique way of farming, each farm will be different.
This report gives farmers a personalised snapshot of how their farm is performing and how it compares to other similar operations.
So having that personalised view is also really useful for our field operations.
That means that Fonterra can work one-on-one with their farmers to help them make plans and to connect them with relevant tools and other specialist expertise available in the industry to make some of those improvements in their business.
Examples of efficiency opportunities
The report provides advice and resources on a range of topics.
There’s information on farm efficient emissions, what the emissions levels are, and what farmers can do to help lower their emissions intensity, there’s also information in there on nutrient optimisation, so Fonterra’s farmers get the best growth response from the fertilisers they’re using.
For example, there’s a section on feed efficiency, and how Fonterra can help farmers to get higher production per cow using their existing feed inputs.
There’s a section on animal efficiency that looks at the opportunity to reduce health issues on-farm and improve herd reproduction.
And then lastly there’s a section on milking efficiency, and how farmers can save time in the milking shed.
