So What Do We Do With All This Info?

As we wrap up our comprehensive Harvest 24 Review, one question lingers: What do we actually do with all this information?   

Essentially – So what? What does it all mean for you and your farm? That’s the question I’ll answer in this short blog.  

Lay of The Land 

Towards the end of last year, I attended a farming meeting, and one farmer’s comment struck a chord. He stood up and said, “We’re being asked to spend more every year, but the price we’re getting for outputs is so variable. How are we supposed to make this work?”  

The pressure is real. And the challenges keep stacking up. Even with a gradual return to more stable nitrogen prices, dropping notably since 2019, we’re seeing many farmers applying less nitrogen compared to just a few years ago.

The 2024 season, however, saw a side effect: a decrease in grain meeting milling specifications. Farms that held back on nitrogen saw the impact on quality and returns, with fewer hitting the premium milling thresholds.  

And then, we had the rain. A wet 2023 autumn washed nitrogen reserves & other nutrients from the soil, further reducing crop quality and yield potential.  

For some, the response was simply to “close the chequebooks” and accept that it was going to be a tough year. However, farms that chose to invest strategically, even as conditions turned unpredictable, managed to meet milling standards.    

What Now? 

The answer isn’t easy, but it starts with rethinking investment.   

Investing in your crops isn’t just about throwing money at inputs; it’s about understanding where that money will have the most impact. This requires knowing your land intimately - your varieties, your fields, and what they need to thrive under varying conditions.   

Farming has always required a high level of investment, both initial investment and seasonally. Investing for eleven months before gathering your return in one month, all whilst navigating the weather, cashflow, interest rates and commodity markets... Few other industries have such a challenge.  

How do you prepare to meet these risks and seasonal volatilities, whilst planning further ahead?   

At YAGRO, we’re here to guide you through this rapidly evolving landscape. We can help you to understand your farms’ needs by providing the data-driven insights necessary to identify opportunities for investment that pay off.   

Every farm is different, and a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works. The information in our Harvest 24 Review showed us that with the right data, tailored to your unique setup, you’ll be able to see where investments are worth making - even in a challenging year.  

 If you’re looking for answers or to discuss what the future might hold, reach out to me and the team at YAGRO.  Or schedule a free, no obligation demo of our tools with my colleague James

Together, we can help you answer that question: How do we make this work?  

Let’s find the best path forward for your farm, starting with informed decisions that drive real value.