Boost milk monitoring online

Graincorp Feeds general manager Daniel Calcinai.

Latest results show farmers using an innovative online milk monitoring and prediction tool have experienced a whopping 9.55 per cent more production than the average Fonterra farmer this season.

The results come off the back of another previously successful season where Tracker, a free online tool provided by GrainCorp Feeds, helped farmers increase milk production by up to 30 per cent.

Tracker was launched by GrainCorp Feeds to the clients in June last year for dairy farmers wanting to improve pasture utilisation and feed conversion and increase their financial returns from both homegrown and bought-in feeds.

Since its release farmers have been praising the reporting and recording functionality of Tracker and the technical support provided to help maximise their production and profitability.

GrainCorp Feeds general manager Daniel Calcinai said the results show that Tracker is helping dairy farmers achieve production levels that are well above the industry average, and in many cases, well above farmer expectations.

"Despite it being a challenging season, our Tracker subscriber group have achieved significant production lifts over last year. More than 71 per cent of this group have achieved production increases of over 7.76 per cent year-on-year, as at 31 March 2017," said Mr Calcinai.

"A fifth of our subscriber group have increased production by over 15 per cent compared to last year".

By comparison, Fonterra reported that farmers averaged a 5.16 per cent reduction in production at 31 March 2017.

Using Tracker, GrainCorp Feeds and its clients set production targets each season. The programme collates live data around dry matter availability, feed conversion and margins, and a customised feed plan is developed to deliver profitable production growth.

"Our team's focus is to maximise on-farm feed utilisation and complement that with the right supplementary feed at the right time. Tracker enables farmers to continually see their progress towards reaching their targets and where they are heading in terms of milk volume, composition, quality and profitability," Mr Calcinai said.

Te Pahu dairy farmer Shane Swinerd said Tracker has added value to his overall business with 16.5 per cent more production to end of March and 22 per cent up this season. He believes it is a direct result of knowing exactly how much his cows are being fed, how much they are eating and at what cost.

"Tracker has all of the information in it and it's easy to understand. One of the biggest things is that I'm not very computer savvy. It's a hell of a lot easier to use that I thought it'd be," he said.

Mr Swinerd said by using Tracker, production and feed gaps are easily identified and he can project how to increase production and profitability in advance.

GrainCorp Feeds is launching a new app version of Tracker at this year's National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek in June and demonstrations will be available.

Registering a farm business on Tracker is free and includes complimentary support from GrainCorp Feeds.

* For more information and other innovative products from GrainCorp Feeds visit www.graincorpfeeds.co.nz