It’s spring, and everyone is very busy. Life is certainly hectic at ecogent.biz and I missed out on producing a column for the last issue

Even in that short time a number of critical issues affecting the future direction of farming have cropped up. What they boil down to is that we keep short-changing our soils, our pastures, our stock, our products and ultimately ourselves in the ways we measure the health of the various components of our businesses.

After a seminar in Hawkes Bay recently a lady came up to me and thanked me for my presentation. She was adamant that every farmer in New Zealand should be using robust profit measures to guide their farm management decisions. Naturally, agreed with her. I can’t help but get really enthusiastic about the positive results I see farmers achieving every day, and it is exciting.

As we learn more and more about the inputs at various stages of the production and processing chain, the importance of making the right measurements at the right points is highlighted. For example, a farmer recently told me that he had converted to organics, and he was fencing off his waterways and planting more trees because his forestry consultant said it should help his carbon credits. I asked him what measurements he was making, and he responded that he had a cash book system, some gross margin calculations, a feed budget, and a very good accountant.

I then asked him if he could identify which activities were not profitable, but he didn’t really have an answer. Marking and measuring in the traditional way is all very well, but isn’t it more important to measure profitability of the various mobs or enterprises within the farm business?

Yes, the types of measurements you make are critical. There’s no point in collecting truckloads of information and hoping that somewhere in amongst it all there is something useful. Having spent much of my life gathering information I am now very conscious of how much of it is redundant and, in fact, was almost totally useless when I collected it. But at least I have learnt that there is a better way.

Measuring the right indicators makes the difference between success and failure in any business. Farming is no different, and most days of the week I see or hear of the tragic consequences of using poor measures or the wrong indicators. A case in point is the idea that topdressing with nitrogen is profitable and safe. That’s the influence of the production culture, which tries to persuade you to produce more and more at whatever cost or quality. It has Shanghaied our thinking, distorted behaviour and certainly played havoc with our future food markets.

Contrast the production culture with the attitude of a growing band of sound thinking farmers who have put together a suite of management practices that can increase the depth of topsoil under their pastures. Measurements they are making now will show the extent of the increase and indicate the amount of atmospheric carbon being locked away in the soil. Using these techniques most farmers can enhance the quality of their soil, plants, animals and products through using the right measures and indicators, and my clients begin to notice the difference within a few months of joining eCOGENT.

I know I’ve said this before, but we have fallen into the trap of believing that current science always knows best. I admit that when I was involve in research I was convinced I was right and knew the answers, but the older I get the clearer I am that unless you actually measure the right indicators then you are really farming by guesswork.

And you don’t have to. Using profit as a measure makes it clear to me that, for example, putting on nitrogen is usually a no-no. Using less of it generally results in better Brix readings in pastures and more profit. There are many similar examples I can tell you about, so give me a call as we certainly need to make progress on carbon. With the right measures and a bigger band of clear thinking farmers we will build and refine a robust set of measures that will be practical and sustainable.

 Peter Floyd is the Managing Director of eCOGENT.biz
www.ecogent.biz ph 0800 433 276