Famanco Facts - November 2020

The editorial this month has been written by Blake O'Meagher, Agronomist and Precision Ag Specialist, based at Beverley, WA.

Article key points of November include:

Harvest Loss

by Brent Pritchard (Agronomist)

• Average harvest grain loss from the @harvestloss survey - $9,200

• Drop tray options: Bushel Plus; Ag Gear; ScherGain; HarvestCalc

• Find that sweet spot of acceptable loss and capacity

• If you do not measure, you do not know.

Is now the time for Robots in Ag? Part 1

by Keith Symondson (CEO)

• A combination of factors (improvements and reduction in costs of tech, greater take up in other industries, availability of people and WHS concerns) are driving the introduction of autonomous tech; basically, robots are coming to agriculture.

• Robots will potentially bring great benefits to farm businesses, but the technology is still in its infancy.

• This article starts with the state of the art in driverless tractors - looking at aftermarket solutions; concept autonomous versions of current machines and purpose built robots

Grain Marketing Tips for the 2020 Harvest

by Mae Connelly (Grain Marketing Consultant)

• Payment terms vary by buyer and range from 48 hours to 30 days from end of week of nomination.

• Deferred (July 2021) Transfer contract options are limited again this season.

• Allocate canola by the nett value of each load (including oil and admix).

• Barley and wheat contracts – Consider which grades and varieties you need to cover on a contract and allocate by grade spreads rather than prices.

• Farmanco Marketing can help with correct allocation to contracts over harvest.

What does Footy Tipping have to do with Farm Business Management?

By Stacey Bell (Management Consultant)

• Playing the odds at football is like playing the odds with your farm

• Sticking to established rules of thumb pay out over the longer term

• It won’t always work, but in the end, it will work most often

Every Farmanco Facts edition includes:

WA and NSW / VIC Livestock Market Reports.

You can subscribe to any Farmanco publications via our Shop.