Fortify Your Farm

Fortify Your Farm: Using farm data to mitigate risks to your business. 

Building upon our previous blog regarding the benefits of data-led decision making, we are furthering the discussion on how accurate farm data analysis can specifically help mitigate risks to your business.  

We have established that accurate farm data plays a vital role in modern agriculture, enabling data-driven decision making and helping businesses strategise efficiently. By harnessing the power of data, farmers and advisors can gain valuable insights into their operations, identify potential risks and implement proactive measures to safeguard their business.  

Agricultural businesses face various risks that can impact their operations and profitability. Such as unpredictable weather patterns, disease pressure, market volatility and resource constraints. Although we may never be able to predict the weather, having a robust and accurate data strategy in place certainly empowers your decision making and helps insulate your business against adverse risk.  

If you’re seeking the ability to proactively mitigate risks, having YAGRO clean, verify and structure your farm data offers valuable clarity. When presented visually in relatable terms, your data provides clear insights for you to action and pivot upon and achieve greater risk mitigation.  

Tracker 

Our Tracker feature enables in-season monitoring of your variable Cost of Production and sales against your budget. Meaning you have a detailed picture of your operation as the season progresses, identifying areas of potential risk along the way. It enables visibility across your farm, provides an opportunity to detect potential pitfalls early, thus empowering your decisions when taking any preventative measures you deem necessary.  

For an example, if you’re growing OSR which reaches November, but shows signs of low vigour, you can accurately assess your sunk costs so far and pivot in time to re-drill with a Spring crop that can reward better. As exemplified below by YAGRO farmer Alan Clifton-Holt.  

How often have you had to piece together expenditure, gathering invoices or pouring over spreadsheets? Monitoring your budgets within the Tracker feature provides you with an up-to-date overview of your gross margins. The platform is designed to ingest data from sources ranging from Farm Management Software to invoices, so the heavy lifting is done for you. Illuminating the path to minimising financial hardships throughout the season by casting light via comprehensive financial overviews as the year progresses. 

Other financial insights for risk mitigation include the Crop Progress section of the Tracker feature, which visually displays your accurate sales figures. Visualising these details empowers your decision making ability by revealing your exact progress to date, helping you identify areas with potential risk of loss (see below). 

Tracker also enables you to monitor the commodity market seamlessly alongside your own operations as stated above, so your ability to purchase at the opportune time is bolstered, alongside the insights on the sale-side of your business. The combination of these through accurate data truly empowers strategic decision making on farm, allowing optimal pricing strategies, and reducing the risks posed by market volatility.  

Analytics 

As your engagement with your data continues, the year-on-year analysis will form a detailed picture upon which you can hinge your decisions going forwards. The YAGRO Analytics feature compiles your historical analysis, always visually for ease and speed of use, and provides the insights you need to identify patterns and trends across your operation. Essential insights for enhanced risk assessment and mitigation.  

For example, when planning a rotation, Analytics can help mitigate the risk of producing sub-par crops. By precisely monitoring the performance of your rotation at a field, crop and variety level (including everything from drill dates to input applications) you are able to glean detailed insights according to your needs and adjust your plans accordingly.  

Every input, across every field, and every variety of every crop – all this information presented visually to you is a powerful asset. Empowering yourself with clear and actionable insights across your fields enables you to assess and cross-reference performances of land, inputs and varieties, ensuring your decision making is always properly informed.  

Whether it’s the nitty-gritty detail of field-level or variety performance (below) or comprehensive overviews of farm operations, YAGRO Analytics is a tool specifically designed to empower your decision making and help mitigate risk. 

To conclude, accurate farm data analysis is a powerful tool for mitigating risks in agriculture. By harnessing the potential of data, agricultural businesses can gain the valuable insights needed to anticipate challenges and implement proactive strategies. 

Your pre-existing farm data holds value far greater than the sum of its parts. Embrace data-driven practices and utilise your farm data to enhance your ability to mitigate risk to your business.