Everyone's asking the same farm for the same data, differently

Most of what a bank, a processor or a retailer needs to know about a farm business already exists somewhere on that farm. The problem has never really been a lack of data. It's that everyone's been asking for it separately, in a different format, through a different channel.

Our COO Will Onus came back from a Greenham Producer Day in Launceston recently with that point sitting front of mind. It's one he returns to often, and the day gave him a couple of fresh examples of how it plays out from different ends of the supply chain.

At the producer day itself, Peter Greenham walked the room through the capability being built into the Smithton facility. The pattern was a clear one: as the business grows its markets, it needs more from its supplier base to match that demand, and that flows through as a higher level of compliance for the producers supplying it. What stood out to Will was how directly Jess Mitchell addressed that with the room, laying out clear guidance on how producers could engage with the programs on offer rather than leaving them to work it out on their own. That kind of straightforward communication is what makes rising compliance requirements manageable, rather than another unexplained ask landing on a producer's desk.

A conversation with Sam Conibear from Commbank while Will was in Tassie reinforced the same point from a different angle. Banks are working through much the same problem as processors and retailers. They want to make good lending and risk decisions based on real information about a farm business, rather than asking a producer to fill out yet another form to explain what's already happening on their property.

Put those two conversations together and the shape of the problem gets clearer. A farm business generates one set of facts about itself: what it produces, how it operates, what its risks and strengths are. Every part of the chain around that farm wants a version of those same facts, but has historically had to ask for them separately, in its own format, through its own process. None of them are wrong to want the information. The inefficiency sits in how many times a producer ends up answering variations of the same question.

A big thanks to Georgia Turner and Stephanie Leamy for organising a well-run day in Launceston- we hope to be back soon!