In sheep and beef, over the past decade, those using Farmax made gross margins totalling $425 million more than Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Economic Service industry average figures, the Waikato-based firm calculates.
“And that’s only on sheep and beef farms, not accounting for dairy farm users,” says general manager Gavin McEwen.
He’s quick to say Farmax can’t claim all the credit but what is known is that using Farmax, with good advice from consultants and the right motivation, can make a huge difference to returns.
One farmer who’s been using Farmax since its launch is Rob Buddo, Hawkes Bay. In that time his sheep and beef operation has grown about 500ha and over 10,000 stock units.
“Through incremental growth, Farmax has helped us double our farming area and financial return,” says Buddo.
“Quite simply, it allowed us to challenge the status quo and minimise our risks.”
He says Farmax is a key management tool used to achieve his goal of a 5% lift in farm performance every year. After a decade of use, he’s probably one of the most experienced with it.
“Farms are massively complex systems and businesses, and no two seasons are ever the same. With its modelling capability Farmax is simply unique in being one of the most powerful pasture management and feed budgeting tools you can use - we wouldn’t be without it.”
Farmax’s analysis shows sheep and beef farmers using its software performed 78% better than industry average over the past decade. North Island hill country farmers, strong adopters of it, grew gross margin 157% on average over the same period.
McEwen says Farmax’s goal is to help sheep, beef and dairy farmers capitalise on New Zealand’s competitive advantage in growing pasture. Better use of pasture is something Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Scott Champion highlights as a priority for the sheep and beef sector.
“Tools like Farmax can support better decisions about managing the supply of pasture and the livestock demand, which in turn can help farmers become more profitable – it’s that simple,” says Champion.
Encouraging wider use of such tools is part of the Red Meat Profit Partnership BLNZ’s involved in with six meat companies, two banks and a business services firm, he adds.
The technology behind Farmax was designed and developed by Crown Research Institute AgResearch, using models of the biological systems in pastoral farming. The CRI still owns 50% of the firm and has a “heavy involvement” in keeping models up to date with the best proven knowledge, as does DairyNZ, says McEwen.
David McCall, now Dairy NZ’s general manager development and extension, was a lead scientist on Farmax’s development during the 1990s. He says Farmax is to be congratulated on making the tool one of the pre-eminent decision support tools used by farmers.
“Technology on-farm is being successfully used by the early adopters but it’s going to be mainstream very quickly as farmers continue to adapt to and manage the environmental constraints and challenges we all face. Farmax is a vital tool that is being used to do this, and DairyNZ’s extension team is committed to its use.”
McEwen says even though farmers are doing well at getting more from grass, their cheapest feed, Farmax modelling estimates there’s still millions of dollars of profit left in the paddock every year.
“We can help farmers claw back some of those profits and put it back in their pockets, simply by helping them make better pasture management and farm system decisions.”
