P.PSH.1323 - ​Data integration and connectivity of extensive pastoral businesses for sustainable business resilience

Summary

Operational and strategic decisions, livestock inventory, business projections, monitoring performance indicators and risk management responses requires accurate and up-to-date live animal and property data. CPC own and operate properties across Northern Australia with data collected at an aggregated mob and individual animal level.

This project expanded and centralised their individual animal dataset across their stations. A crush-side, animal management system at Newcastle Waters was piloted and integrated with lifetime animal data.

The pilot trial reviewed the practical implications of implementing this system with four to eight data points per animal. Success can be partly attributed to the change management process and dedicated project management team who provided training, I.T. support, one-on-one guidance, mentoring and oversight.

Technology and animal management system providers were able to refine and develop robust systems that reliably function when operated in Northern Australian field conditions. This project has proven it is possible to collect individual animal data without internet connectivity and access to mains power, enabling improved operational and strategic decision making for pastoral businesses.

Objectives

The objectives of the project were:
- Enable data connection across the CPC supply chain to provide unrealised insights by connecting key financial and operational data.
- Identify data capture gaps which were constraining tactical and strategic decision-making to enable prioritisation of future projects and business planning.
- Build staff capacity to support their understanding of the importance of complete, accurate data collection and how it impacts, supports and plans for on-property decisions and the wider CPC business and supply chain.

Key findings

Prior to data collection, a framework needs to be established to outline information flows for operational, strategic and financial decisions per property and business level. The decision processes and data required per decision, report and analysis need to be mapped together with appropriate data granularity (individual animal or mob-based), accuracy, timeliness and feedback loops.

Data collection is often in different forms; paper, electronic, automated, third-party applications. The key challenge is bringing the disparate data sources together in a central location in an appropriate form as a single source of trust to support decision making.

Software challenges are being solved to work in Northern Australian field conditions. Hardware (EID readers, weigh scales) challenges still exist with difficulty connecting and collecting data. Changing data collection and integration across the business from operations to finance requires a Change Manager who can work on the ground at station and communicate with head office.

Benefits to industry

The early stages of this project helped provide feedback to Cibo Labs on connectivity, data presentation and data cleansing which they built upon as part of the industry rollout of data per property. This project has provided feedback to the development of an Australian-based individual animal management program, to be used for multi-property businesses with hundreds of thousands of animals.

Improved data accuracy to support decisions will improve profitability through proactive culling, selling and herd management.