L.ADP.2510 - Understanding the Value of Livestock Advisors On-Farm

Summary

An in-depth survey of 19 Livestock Producer businesses was undertaken to gain insights into how they work with advisors, practice change and impacts resulting from advisor input, and associated attribution of improvements to advisors. This allowed assessment of the overall value delivered by advisors. 

The project found that 100% of respondents find advisors broadly beneficial to their business, across a range of decision-making activities (from problem definition and resolution to solution implementation, continuous improvement and as an ongoing sounding board). 

Advisors were pivotal in producers delivering a range of material tangible impacts (such as production, financial impacts) but importantly extensive intangible impacts (such as confidence, wellbeing). The assessment of value was considered highly personal, but with identified improvements being attributed on average 80% to the support of the advisor, it is clear that advisors are highly valued by red meat producer respondents and are a strategic industry asset.

Objectives

The overarching objective of the project was to improve the understanding of the impacts and value (triple bottom line focus) of red meat livestock advisors  across the red meat industry; to be achieved through:

•    Developing, testing and validating a methodology to define and attribute the impact and value of advisors to producers, in alignment with MLA Frameworks and MLA’s Privacy Policy and across the triple bottom line
•    Defining value indicators of the value and benefits of advisors to red meat producers 
•    Improving the understanding of the impacts and value of red meat livestock advisors across the red meat industry 
•    Conducting an initial assessment of the impacts and value of advisors to producers. 

The project outcome was to create, test and validate a methodology of defining the value of advisors, to red meat producers, MLA and the industry, based on current MLA Frameworks.

Key findings

•    Producers seek out advisor support for a variety of reasons, sometimes in response to an emerging problem or a crisis, other times as part of continuous improvement or to gain support during “business-as-usual”
•    Advisors support producers across the full lifecycle of decision making, from problem definition, solution definition and implementation, to continuous improvement and use as a sounding board.
•    Often a suite of advisors are used – on occasions to address complex problems and more often than not, to fulfil specific technical requirements of the business and to fill skill gaps exhibited by the business owners and the team.
•    Impacts resulting from practice change were both tangible (i.e. a measurable change in a production related metric such as branding rates, mortality, revenue etc) and intangible (improved confidence in decision-making, subject-matter knowledge, well-being / “sleep-at-night” factor).
•    When considering the level of improvement to the business, due to the strategic intangible impacts of working with advisors, the average rating was 8.1/10.
•    While the advisor-producer relationship is highly complex, Project Study Group respondents attributed an average of 80% of the identified improvements to their advisor support. This high average attribution rating highlights the weighting and value given by producers to the support of the advisor.
•    Respondents sought unbiased advice and insights and a majority paid fee-for-service to ensure transparency and integrity. The primary driver in their decision to use particular advisors was the experience, expertise, integrity and trust able to be placed in the advisor, based on the relationship built over time (many were longer term relationships based on mutual esteem best described as A Trusted Advisor relationship).

Benefits to industry

While there are challenges in measuring impact and attribution to advisors, there are substantial positive tangible and intangible impacts that justify the use of advisors by livestock producers.

These impacts extend to improved subject matter knowledge, improved confidence in decision-making, and confidence around running and growing a business. These impacts have potential far-reaching flow on effects into the wider industry, well beyond the specific advisor: producer engagement. 
Livestock advisors could therefore be regarded as a strategic asset to support industry development.

This study has provided valuable data to support the development of a future “Advisor Value Proposition”. This is intended to increase the utilisation of advisors across the sector.

MLA action

Focus on ROI of engaging advisors for producers, and the ROI of investing in advisor training.

Future research

To more accurately understand the value that an advisor presents, to individual livestock producers and to red meat industry development (as a strategic industry asset), further work is proposed:

•    Analyse the extent to which advisors are used and needed
•    Understand and maximise the producer-advisor relationship
•    Develop a value proposition(s) targeted to particular producer segments
•    Define the ‘value’ for the value proposition – with a particular focus on producers, MLA and advisors themselves (as the three key beneficiaries of the value proposition)
•    Create a more robust understanding of the tangible financial values – as the likely entry point for greater producer use of advisors
•    Determine how to maximise the value from livestock agents – due to their significant geographic footprint and as a primary advisor interface with producers
•    Enhance the professionalism of livestock agents (and other advisors) – to support increased industry professionalism
•    Maximise the value of advisors to younger, more professional producers – representing the industry’s future (with their stronger ‘can-do’, professional business-like mindset)
•    Examine the extent to which environmental advisors are available to meet current and emerging needs; and 
•    Examine and more fully understand ‘confidence’ as a key intangible impact – being a significant outcome of the trusted advisor relationship with livestock producers, as well as a being a significant influence on producers’ decision-making process.