Increasing Victorian beef production through data-driven insights

As the third-largest beef producing state in the nation, operating from the second smallest state by land size, Victorian beef producers are well and truly punching above their weight.

To meet the growing demand from global consumers, however, finding production efficiencies will be necessary for the state’s producers.

Key to this will be the use of data-driven insights, to achieve maximum kilograms of beef turned off per hectare of land.

Based in northern Victoria, Jess Sampson knows all too well the challenges of using data in beef production, having spent 10 years as a pasture agronomist in the region.

Now a Client Account Manager for livestock analysis software company, Black Box Co, Jess said her time spent working with hundreds of beef producers across the southern states made clear many of them faced the same hurdle - knowing what data to collect and understanding how to use it.

“For producers that are collecting data, being able to use and understand that information can be confusing, yet it is key to driving success and profitability,” Jess said.

“Black Box makes generating livestock insights simple by surfacing each individual animal’s information collected from across the supply chain onto easy-to-use dashboards.

“The integrations with on-farm devices, feedlots and processors means you can link all your data from genetics and fertility to growing management and performance, right through to feedlot and carcase feedback data.”

Collecting the right data

Whether you are a large commercial enterprise, a small family operation, or a producer who is trading, breeding or lot feeding, Jess said your business goals will help determine what data to collect and how best to interpret it.

“Using Black Box is a modular approach and what dashboards you use depends on the insights you need to help achieve your goals,” she said.

“You can view average daily gains by paddock, so this is a good indicator of pasture quality and performance, and you can also create lists to push back to your crush-side device, so you know which cattle to draft when you’re in the yards.

“Many producers also find a huge benefit in using our predicted weights table to see when cattle are ready to send, which can be a great tool with negotiating forward contracts.”

Linking carcase data to on-farm data

Where carcase feedback data from the abattoir was previously hard to draw actionable insights from, Black Box Co has not only streamlined the process, but also enabled this information to be linked with data collected on-farm, to show the full picture of an animal’s performance.

“The ability to link carcase feedback from an individual animal, back to their on-farm performance can be key in decision-making and future profitability,” Jess said.

“We have grass-fed clients who have analysed carcase data and linked trends back to on-farm management or sires of those particular cattle.

“They were then able to change the way cattle were managed in the future to avoid lost opportunities and reduce financial losses.”

Fast-tracking certification audits

For grass-fed accredited and certified organic producers, Jess said Black Box makes the auditing process as simple as clicking a button, saving hours of time collating data for auditors.

“Black Box has full individual lifetime traceability of all animals in the system, so you can search an EID or VID at any given time, and it will provide a full history on that animal for you within seconds,” she said.

“Collating monthly, end of financial year and herd inventory reports is easy. You just insert a date range and export your data to provide to auditors or banks at the click of a button.”

Having the records and data readily available for organic certification was historically a tedious task for Lyndavale Cattle Co Manager, Lily Stanes.

A fourth-generation family-owned business producing grass-fed, certified organic and EU-accredited beef in Central Australia, as well as owning and operating several farms in South Australia, Lily said they had traditionally relied on spreadsheets and diary records to satisfy traceability requirements.

“We have always been good at collecting livestock data, however this was time consuming, so the move to Black Box has certainly saved a lot of time when it comes to preparing for organic audits for each property,” Lily said.

Lyndavale Cattle Co uses Black Box to assist with compliance for all their organic certifications and some of their European Union Cattle Accreditation Scheme (EUCAS) certifications, particularly relating to animal traceability requirements.

“I now only need to log into Black Box during an audit and all the records are there, readily available for the auditor to view,” Lily said.

“The ability to search for individual animals and view their lifetime data has made compliance with traceability requirements very easy, and I’m able to demonstrate an animal’s history, from weaning induction data, treatment records and movement and transfers, all the way through to carcase results.

"During a recent audit, the auditor was very impressed with our ability to trace back an animal’s lifetime history and even asked if he could recommend Black Box to other producers he’s audited.”

Improving productivity and profitability

As Victorian beef producers continue to meet the growing demand for high-quality beef, both domestically and in export markets, making informed decisions backed by data is key to improving productivity and profitability.

“Identifying and culling the underperforming cattle, selecting the right animals for the markets you want to sell into, forecasting or forward contracting, identifying lost opportunities at abattoirs and avoiding them moving forward - the list is endless,” Jess said.

“On a crush-side device, you can see your average daily gains, whereas on Black Box you can see multiple insights and they can really inform your decision-making.

“Black Box is easy to use and simple to set up. All our team has boots on the ground experience in the ag industry and can help upload historical data and ensure you have the right templates to collect the right data for your operation.”