Testimonials
Cumnock family named Conservation Farmers of the Year
Cumnock farmers, Mal, Annie, Andrew & Claudia McCalman have been awarded the prestigious title of Conservation Farmers of the Year for NSW.
The McCalman family has been farming in the Cumnock district for over 40 years and during this time has substantially improved their farming enterprises. Mal & Andrew have always been at the forefront of adopting innovative farming practices and this award recognizes this forward thinking approach and attention to detail.
The McCalman family has been a part of the AGnVET Services BettaCrop program since 2002. They have benefited first hand from the many features this proactive management program offers. It is an intensive service ‘partnership’ program that aids in the planning and monitoring of the cropping & pasture program, increasing efficiencies and profitability. Andrew McCalman has been an avid supporter of the program since its introduction. “As we are cropping a large area as well as managing our livestock, the program offers us peace of mind to know that our agronomists are checking our crops regularly to optimise productivity. We also work to a cropping plan, and now after being in the program for 5 years, we are getting some useful data outcomes that have helped us identify inefficient practices or crop enterprises” Andrew said.
AGnVET Services would like to congratulate Mal, Annie, Andrew & Claudia on this very well deserved award.
BettaCrop Benefits
Farmers today can no longer afford to be a "Jack of all trades", taking on the jobs of physical labourer, scientist, marketer and strategic planner. The competitiveness of the market place and international trade issues have seen the profit margins of rural enterprises whittled away, with a steadily growing gap between the top 10 per cent of farmers and the rest.
While the secrets to success within the "top ten" are often many and varied, it is the use of professional expertise for the key parts of the farming enterprise that often set this group apart.
Agronomy is one such area of expertise, which has seen a dramatic increase in demand for skilled agronomists to service those farmers keen to monitor and analyse their cropping programs, without having the expense of dedicated, on-farm staff.
In the past, the cost of dedicated agronomy services has been unaffordable for most growers. However, the benefits of such expertise can be accessed through agronomy service programs like BettaCrop from AGnVET Services.
Forbes farmer, Peter Hammond, "West Plains" has recently been one of those farmers who utilised an intensive fallow, crop and pasture monitoring program with AGnVET Services to fine-tune his 1,200 hectares of cropping.
"We were down a staff member and by signing up to BettaCrop where I had access to a senior agronomist, it allowed me to get on with the practical day-to-day running of the farm," he said.
Previously, Mr Hammond monitored his own crops, with the assistance of a local agronomist.
"I believe each farm needs specific agronomy expertise, as farming has become a science. And then there are all the other things that need to be done - and we just can't do it all.
"We've only just signed on to this program and we'll see how it goes over the next two or three years, evaluate it, and make a decision then as to whether we go to the next step of doing more analysis, planning and benchmarking."
For Warren district farmer, Jim McKay, "Kulkline", being able to make decisions based on accurate information not only saves him time, but improves the timeliness of his day-to-day management and ultimately his productivity and profitability.
"Previously we had no guarantee of getting an agronomist when we needed one and often if you're noticing weeds standing above your crop - you're too late. It's much cheaper to get on top of problems when they're small ones," he said.
"By using the services of a contracted agronomist, we have regular crop records kept for us, rainfall and yield comparisons done, and regular monitoring of the crop on a 10 day rotation. If we have a problem in the meantime, we know we can ring and they'll be out here tomorrow."
Field Services Group Manager with AGnVET Services, Ian Elliott, said the relatively new services being offered by his company also bring the benefit of making leading edge technology and information, available to Australian farmers.
"Growers were demanding a more intensive service from us," he said. "And the intensity of broadacre cropping systems also made it a necessary next step for us, so that we could address issues such as water harvesting and management, reduced tillage systems, rotational crops and the like.
"It's certainly appealing to a range of dryland and irrigation farmers, but particularly those who are keen to expand their cropping operations by outsourcing expertise."