In today’s dynamic agricultural landscape, profitability is no longer just about producing more- it is about producing smarter.

Llewellyn Collett of Pinion SA says farmers can unlock hidden value in their operations and drive sustainable success using optimisation tools. While there are common profit drivers, there will be factors specific to each farm and its specific resources, he says.

“The process to identify the true drivers of profit in any given operation and match these to the business resources is the crux of an efficient advisory service that is not spending time solving challenges while creating others. Pinion’s approach focuses on identifying and enhancing these drivers through data-driven insights, access to global expertise, and a collaborative approach to ensure sustainable profitability starts on the right foot,” he says.

Each agricultural sector has its own profit drivers. “Across the various sectors there is no one size, and even within the same sector there can be variances. As commodity producers a key consideration regardless of sector will be the ability to produce product at the widest margin possible.

“Until you control the market pricing your focus will sit squarely on the ability to manage the controllable – input costs. “Whether the outcome goal is yield, quality, conversion efficiency the question around margin has to be a driver. An advisor can help farmers to assess where their current state is, and then how to move from current to optimal. Sometimes less is more.”

The tools used are a combination of on-farm consulting, financial analytics, physical performance data, and benchmarking to build a picture of what now looks like. “Industry benchmarking allows the advisor and farmer to explore performance measures that matter, from where a collaborative approach is adopted leveraging internal and external resources to identify true root causes.

“It is crucial that the farmer be fully involved in this process. A willingness to explore and engage with an external sounding board is key. When they leverage their own in-depth knowledge of their farm while being open to external inputs and ideas, is where the magic happens,” he adds.

Success in any change environment rests on clarity of scope, commitment, and capability. The best laid plans without the genuine belief in their outcomes, coupled with a lack of implementation skill will result in an outcome far from the one mapped out, warns Collett.

“Setting out the vision for any change project, the reasons for change, and the set deliverables for the process are paramount to success. It is also crucial to ensure the change being explored is fit for purpose to a specific set of resources. The process of settling on a change plan includes scenario planning, risk modelling, and skills assessment.

“We believe in a non-dependency approach to engagement with clients. We deliver value to their business through empowerment and knowledge transfer and not the need to be continually engaging over prolonged periods on the same matters. The goal is to create resilient businesses that thrive independently,” he says.