Top 3 Tips for Spring

Here’s a question you, as a farmer, should be asking yourself today: How flexible are my drilling and input plans this Spring?   

With a challenging season like this, it's crucial to keep an eye on factors which can impact your farm's success.   
  
To bring this point home, look at these two charts on Spring Wheat:  

The first chart shows the increase in Cost of Production for Spring Wheat over the past five years, and the second compares drill rate with the associated yields achieved for spring drilling.   

 As the charts suggests, it’s not always a case of ‘put more in, get more out.’  

Upping seed rate this Spring is no substitute for achieving an optimum drilling window, and the graph on increasing Cost of Production highlights how essential monitoring costs is right now.  
  
So, saving costs on seed and focussing on efficient drill timings is one takeaway...  

But here are my top 3 tips for Spring to ensure a profit this harvest:   

1.      Take Emotion Out of the Crop, and Focus on Gross Margins & Spend Monitoring:  

Having the ability to associate a cost with each decision you’re making stops the season getting away from you. Your gross margin come harvest is dependent on decisions this Spring, so make sure your breakeven figures are top of mind, and track spend accurately.    

2.      Focus on the Outcomes YOU Need From Your Inputs:   

Are you considering tailoring your applications, either to preserve Cost of Production or to meet end market needs? Whether you’re focusing on a robust T1 & T2 strategy, or carrying on from T0 to T3, it’s important to make outcome-based decisions. Evaluate the effectiveness of your input strategy and benchmark it at the variety, crop, and field level.    

3.      Be Flexible in Your Decision Making:   

Being able to adjust plans within your operation is essential to avoid risks posed by market volatility and poor weather. Do you have a winter sown fields that are patchy or sitting wet? Understanding sunk costs and the input requirements of the crop going into Spring is essential for realistically identifying crop potential and maximising your Gross Margin.    

How Our Software Can Help:   

·         Clear visibility and control over your budget.    

·         Breakeven monitoring for financial awareness and effective grain marketing.    

·         Track current season spend effortlessly to improve your Gross Margins.   

·         Gain variety, crop, and field level insights to inform decisions.     

·         Easily evaluate input strategies for efficient Cost of Production.    

Your decisions today shape your Gross Margin at harvest. Ensure they are well informed and backed by data.   

It’s more essential than ever so be associating costs with each decision, and to have the data necessary to drive efficiency across your operation and protect that Gross Margin.  

The Data Team here at YAGRO are working daily to support our farming community with valuable insights through clean, structured and verified farm data.  

Imagine if your farm records were put on steroids and set to work, and you won’t be far off imagining what farm data analysis can do for your business. Book a meeting with me HERE and I’ll show you what I mean by that, and how we can help your farm this Spring.