App-based connectivity driving corporate farm gains

One of Australia's largest corporate farms adopts Agworld platform to improve business productivity through having a central point to store and analyse production, business planning and budgeting data.

Managing 9 Property aggregations spanning more than 100,000 hectares across four Australian states requires an easily accessible and robust system for paddock data collection and analysis. To address this challenge, Hassad Australia, one of Australia’s biggest corporate agricultural companies, adopted the Agworld suite of collaborative farming solutions 12 months ago.

Any business that encompasses more than 100,000 hectares spread over 4 states in Australia will tell you that the flow of information within the business becomes critical with such scale and distances. It was for that reason that the Hassad Australia managers sought to adopt a system that improves business productivity through having a central point to store and analyse production, business planning and budgeting data. Dubbo based Senior Business Analyst Lachlan Smith indicates that being able to view live data from anywhere, as operations are conducted on-farm, allows recommendations to be updated and implemented as necessary. “Spraying, for instance, requires specific rates for different areas. Staff can easily see and act on the recommendations, then update the app to show what has been done,” Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith adds to this: “We used to use a range of data collection methods, many cumbersome, and all needing to be done after the event. Now we can add and access information in the paddock using a tablet, or similar device, which avoids paperwork and double handling. With the size of the properties, and their geographic spread, having detailed information in one place allows us to compare paddocks, properties and states, then plan operations well in advance. At any point, we can collate information straight from the app to provide reports to head office.”

Agworld’s farm management platform provides a suite of tools to help agronomists and farmers work collaboratively, in real-time, to maximise productivity and return on investment. Agworld collates on-farm recommendations from advisers and ‘actual’ activities carried out by staff and machinery operators to facilitate seasonal and longer-term planning and budgeting, scheduling and record keeping.

Mr Smith commented that all Hassad staff – from on-farm machinery operators through to senior management – can now instantly record and view all activities being carried out in each paddock on every property as the season progresses. “We need each paddock to provide the optimum grain yields or livestock turn-off that is possible for its geographic location,” he said. “The Agworld platform allows the whole group to track and measure productivity changes to help tackle the issues associated with cropping and running stock in wide-ranging seasonal, environmental and soil conditions.”

Over 50,000 farms and 30,000 users are managed in the Agworld platform globally. Agworld Australia general manager Simon Foley explains that a key feature of the Agworld platform is the ability to build a full set of farm records and share them in real time: “As new technologies change the face of agriculture, it is important for farmers to consider a farm data strategy that results in collection of useable, relevant production information to help them manage business risks”.

It is a global trend that markets, regulators and financiers are increasingly seeking easier access to vital farm enterprise information that is collected electronically from machinery, or through integrations between data systems. Growers can use Agworld data to assess farm business performance annually, track trends across different years, and plan for next season. The system is cloud-based and can be accessed online and offline via web browser or through Agworld’s mobile apps.

To find out how Agworld can help you simplify the flow of data within your operation, visit Contact us or your nearest Agworld representative.