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We're almost mid-way through March. Management Consultants are coming to the end of post-harvest 2023 farm business reviews, Agronomists are always busy out and about, Grain Marketing are on their phones, and someone from Precision Ag is probably flying a drone.
But on their devices, in their inbox, on the kitchen table will be a copy of this month’s Farmanco Facts. We hope you enjoy our articles. Contributed to this month by Keith Symondson, Mae Connelly, the Farm Management Team of consultants, David Cameron and Jo Smallacombe, Marketing Manager for Farmanco.
Farmanco Facts is our premium information resource for Australian farm businesses.
The Farmanco Facts App (iOS devices) provides up to the minute Ag Business information in research, technology and ideas in Ag. You can also search over 10 years of articles , with additional content in Video and Audio format.
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Risk: How to Deal With the Unknown Unknowns
Keith Symondson (CEO)
You can try to have actions in place to mitigate every risk, but inevitably you’ll encounter something you never could have planned for.
Accept that you can’t plan for every contingency. Try not to put all your eggs in one basket. Control what you can control, but remember that even if you have unexpected failures, things generally get better in the long run.
Don’t make snap decisions after bad events happen and make sure you protect your base assets for your family.
You can follow all the rules, do all the right things, but would you have predicted a worldwide pandemic, which closed down most of the world for two years?
Octopusbot Predicts Australian Production Earliest … Again
Mae Connelly (Grain Marketing Consultant)
Octopusbot provided the earliest and most accurate forecast of the 2022/23 Australian and record WA crop.
2023 proved this to not be a one-off lucky guess, as Octopusbot again was the most accurate and earliest predictor of the much smaller WA and national 2023/24 crop.
The output from Octopusbot is actionable insights, which help us to help you make proactive data-driven decisions that align with Farmanco Marketing’s objectives for our clients — to protect profit, manage risk, and save you time.
Around the Traps
The Farmanco Farm Management Team
(A post-harvest 2023 review of where our farm business clients are at)
There were similar themes for the northern climes. A dry year, poor results, and tight but manageable budgets.
In the south, results were still varied, but they definitely had better financial outcomes than northern zones. Although, they’re still facing tight budgets.
Crop budgets remain tight, with historically high costs.
Livestock budgets are tight, also with everyone watching to see if meat prices can be sustained through the middle of the year. Wool remains positive for most growers focused less on meat production.
There are conversations around insurance.
Herbicide Residues Following The Dry
David Cameron (Agronomist)
Herbicide breakdown is slow in dry conditions.
Low rainfall last season means the risk of carry-over is high.
Rotation planning is the key to managing residues.
Very low rainfall in many areas during the 2023 growing season and the summer so far means there is a high risk of carry-over, which can affect crops this coming season.
Farmanco Products
Jo Smallacombe (Marketing Manager)
(Farmanco has a range of publications that could add value to your business)
And iPestbook App
New Edition approximately April 2024
Australian Ag Benchmarking (with Aglytica)
New Edition approximately July/August 2024
Monthly source of Ag Info
Grain Insight Newsletter
Grain Marketing insights from the source.
Weekly publication
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