Mike Krause is the CEO of P2PAgri, a company providing powerful farm management software designed to improve farm profitability, sustainability and risk management.
Growing a financially fit farm
Mike Krause
Australian agricultural training is changing, especially when it comes to farm financial management. Fortunately, there’s a simple way to jump on this change and thrive.
Years ago, when state government departments of agriculture had strong extension programs for farmers, governments used to help fund this type of training for farmers, who would spend hours – sometimes days – travelling to and attending significant workshops held in regional centres. However, government-funded workshops have all but disappeared in Australia. This gap has been left to ‘private providers’.
Also, at this time, Australia had a number of tertiary institutions offering a range of farmer financial management courses, whereas these courses are now offered by only a handful of public provid-ers.
We once had farm and adviser groups called ‘Farm Business Management Societies’ around Australia, and they have all gone too!
So, does this mean the economic challenge of maintaining viability is no longer affecting farmers? Not at all, as we must manage the increased uncertainty of climate change and its effect on the world’s rural commodity markets. We now have more government resources being allocated to the farm financial counsellors and disaster grants helping financially challenged farm businesses.
The job of up-skilling farmers has been left to the private providers, whose innovations have im-proved efficiencies of time and money, particularly during the peak of COVID-19.
These changes have generally provided huge benefits, and recent farmer feedback has indicated strong support for this improved technology over the more expensive and time-consuming ways of the past.
What exactly has changed? In summary:
- Decreased travel costs – The use of online communication with Zoom and TEAMS means we don’t have to waste time travelling, the tyranny of rural living!
- Improved learning experiences – Small group webinars and 1:1 sessions make instruction more efficient and have taken course completion rates from 50 to 90 per cent!
- Tailored data usage – No longer does learning depend on Case Study farm data - stu-dents can now use their own farm data, which significantly enriches learning.
- Convenience of your own farm office – Improved rural connectivity to the internet in recent years has been a technology game changer.
- Cloud-based software – The cloud ensures that users’ software is always up to date. You can also get multiple cloud-based applications sharing data to automate good business practices, like automating cash flow management.
- Bespoke learning – Because there is a mix of group and 1:1 learning opportunities availa-ble, students can have their learning needs met more effectively.
The bottom line is, if you want to stay ahead of increasing farm and market risks in the Australian agriculture industry, seeking out these new ways of learning is key.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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