The Role of Historic Farm Records

Coming from a farming family and in my role as Customer Success Manager at YAGRO, I’ve seen firsthand how historic farm records can make a real difference in helping farming businesses succeed.  

Many farms have a wealth of existing data - spray records, invoices, rotations - and your farm is likely no different. The challenge is often turning those records into actionable insights.

That’s why we created YAGRO Analytics, your individual farm’s goldmine of valuable information, often going unnoticed sat within your farm office... 

With the right tools, it’s possible to make your farm records work as hard as you do.  

By learning from historic data, you can go a long way toward answering tomorrow’s questions.  

Small Changes, Big Results  

The saying “what gets measured gets managed” couldn’t be truer in farming. Without a clear understanding of where you’ve been and where you are now, how can you gauge your progress toward business goals?  

Start by asking yourself:  

• What could my farm be trying to tell me?  

• What answers do I wish I had? 

• What insights could my records unlock to support important decisions?  

Take margins, for instance. If fertiliser is your costliest input, you may be considering cuts - but it’s risky to make sweeping changes all at once. By using your historic records to visualise performance over time, you can pinpoint the impact of gradual changes and reduce uncertainty.  

Over several seasons, analysing farm performance at the crop, field, or overall level provides building blocks for smarter decision-making. Incremental improvements take time but reduce risk, and your data will tell the story of whether your strategy is working, or if it’s time to pivot.   

Adapting to Adversity 

We’ve all had poor years and good years, where things either worked out or didn’t. Instead of relying on memory, your farm records are a reliable resource to refine your decisions today. 

Take one farming customer I previously worked with as an example. Facing challenging weather during autumn drilling, they persevered with higher seed rates in sub-optimal conditions, as many would. However, by later analysing seed rates, drill dates, and the resulting yield and costs, it became clear that this wasn’t necessarily the most profitable decision. 

By comparing these results to their spring-sown fields and incorporating the season’s learnings into future planning, they turned perceived mistakes into tangible value. Farm records reveal what worked, what didn’t, and how to keep moving in the right direction. 

Supporting decisions on drilling and rotations during adverse weather is just one way YAGRO’s platform delivers year-on-year value for farmers.  

For quick insights on exactly how our tools help farmers achieve their goals, check out my videos in YAGRO’s Knowledge Hub.  

Justify Every Decision 

At its core, success comes down to truly knowing your numbers. Associating costs with every decision has never been more critical. 

With tools like ours, tracking performance and identifying problems becomes effortless. Historic records aren’t just a static archive - they’re an active, valuable resource that can drive more accurate and profitable outcomes for your farm. 

Take those records off the clipboard and start using them to make data-driven decisions that set your business up for success. 

For a free demo of our tools tailored to your farming needs, reach out to my colleague James (pictured with myself below) by clicking ‘free demo’ on the top right of your screen.