iAgri Newsletter - July 2011

Keep in Contact

To keep up with the modern world, we’ve been using the internet more and more to communicate with our subscribers. Trouble is, only 30% of our client-base opens the emails or visits our website. This makes it very difficult for us to provide the sort of interactive service we want to develop with our clients. Presumably some of our emails end up as spam. We try to avoid using the name “Lay” and the word “Specialist” for online communication as it increases our chances of ending up in the Spam folder. This is a matter that you can fix by checking your spam folder to see if we are in it. If we are there, select our file then look for a “Not Spam” button and click it. This should ensure you get all our future newsletters and communiqués. This newsletter will go out over the internet and in hard copy (to subscribers only) so that everyone gets it. Believe me, it’s not the most cost effective way to do business. Our database is large and, for most of you, we have an up to date email address. If you change your email address, as some of you have done when migrating into broadband, please let us know so we can update our records and stay in touch with you. While you are at it, supplying us with your cell-phone number could improve communication. An occasional Txt is sometimes more likely to connect with a farmer than other forms of communication.

There’s a lot of good stuff on www.iagri.com and we intend to use it even more in the future. For instance, there’s a series on “The Good Farm Management Effect” that’s viewed by people all round the world. It could be worth your while having a look at the first video at least, and then making a decision as to whether you want to carry on with the free, no cost, no commitment, email series.

Help & Support
Those of you who have been with us for a long time may remember we use to have a limited Audio and Video Help feature built into the LandMark program. Well, we are going to reactivate a modern interactive version of that using the internet. If you have a problem you can email or phone us with it and we’ll probably fix it for you on the spot with our remote help. But if the problem relates to a “how do I” feature of the program, we’ll add a video solution onto a “How Do I" reference library on our website. If its troubled one client its likely to trouble another so having this facility available for the reference of all and sundry could prove to be a useful tool.  Naturally it will take a while to grow the library but it has the potential to become a very important aid for getting the most out of LandMark.

Social Media
How many of you use Social Networking? Facebook, Twitter etc. If you are like me, you’ll probably respond with a sigh such as, what next (or worse)? We have to face it, Social Networking is taking over the world. It is a fantastic way of connecting interactively on a one-to-one or a one-to-many basis. Despite what you sometimes hear, social networking can be used intelligently and without risk. We have a Facebook site if you click this link it will take you to it, and if you click the like button (as above) it will allow you to keep up-to-date with information. You can also follow us on twitter as well.


Dropbox www.dropbox.com
Have you heard about “Dropbox”? For farms where there are two people who want to use the same set of LandMark data and who have access to broadband, say father and son or farmer and accountant et.al., Dropbox is the answer to your dreams. No need to shuffle the data backwards and forwards between computers on a disc or memory stick. If the Dropbox idea interests you, get in touch with us and we’ll help you get set up.

Datasafe www.datasafe.co.nz

We use a back-up service called Datasafe to take care of all our valuable records and data. They do it seamlessly and all of the data is encrypted. They report back each day letting us know what the action has been and if we were to have a tragedy, and we are pretty aware of tragic situations these days, they will restore our data and have us up and running in hours. Their data is stored in several widely separated geographical locations so there is little chance of data loss, other than the end of the world. We are now offering that service to our subscribers at a reduced rate. We are not simply talking about backing up Landmark data but all or any of your files including important documents and family photos etc.

i.Agri
Our brand in New Zealand is LandMark and the company is called i.Agri. LandMark is a name that is used widely throughout the English speaking world by all sorts of businesses. In Australia one of the major suppliers of agribusiness products is called LandMark. That’s why some time back, we  used a brand name "Aglogic" on our software in Western Australia, There are LandMark businesses everywhere. We coined the name “i.Agri” years ago. Apple Computing recently followed with their iPad and iPhone. (joke). i.Agri is fairly unique around the world and we intend to increase our world wide market. We are therefore contemplating changing our brand to a more global i.Agri Farm Software. What do you think? We are interested in your opinion.

The Cloud
A fair bit of our attention at the moment is based on producing a "Cloud" version of LandMark. To date progress is going well and we'll keep you abreast of developments as we get further down the track.

Spread the word
A way of spreading the word is to share links on social media. If you look at the bottom of this post, just below here, you will see a few small buttons that allow you to send an email of recommendation or link this article to your blog, twitter, facebook or google buzz accounts.
A lot of modern day communication has the ability to share through these social media sites.

"Applied Farm Management"

Farm Management is about managing and optimizing farming "systems". It includes, Financial Management but is much more than just that. Farm Management takes into account the best and most up to date scientific, technological, economic and market research available and applies it to farming systems with the objective of achieving the best outcomes in terms of overall profit and sustainability. It also involves applying that research to an individual farming operation whilst at the same time accounting for the farm's unique variables. Those unique variables include the plight of the farmer, his/her strengths and weaknesses, the nature of the land being farmed and the "climate", (in every sense of the word), in which each individual farmer operates.

It is not uncommon for a good farm management practitioner, be they a farmer or advisor, to identify and understand the application, and "practical fit" of research better than the researcher. Likewise, it is not uncommon for the good farm management practitioner to be able to communicate that research and its potential to a farmer in a language that is understood by the farmer. In addition to those attributes, good farm management practitioners are also adept at problem solving and at being reactive or proactive when farming circumstances change.

Lincoln College (now Lincoln University) and Massey University became internationally famous because of their unique applied approach to "Farm Management".
People who graduated from those institutions with degrees and diplomas at Lincoln University in farm and horticultural management actually had a comprehensive understanding of the industries in which they were involved and felt comfortable when in the company of practitioners. With very few exceptions, that couldn't be said of the graduates of tertiary agricultural institutions in many parts of the world whose focus, in the main, is based on academic achievement. Such graduates, although having a sound theoretical knowledge, often feel like a fish out of water and have problems when applying that knowledge in a farm situation.

In academic circles, Farm Management isn't considered to be a science and is therefore often misunderstood, ("mis-underestimated" to quote President Bush"). It's probably controversial to say that even in Massey and Lincoln whose academic base has broadened beyond agriculture in recent times, that the very meaning of "Applied Farm Management", which once differentiated and made those institutions internationally unique in the eyes of the world's agricultural communities, is also somewhat misunderstood. Having said that, it is a positive that Lincoln has re branded its self as a "Land Based University" and one can only hope that "applied " will be part of the mix.

There is no question, if New Zealand is to have an economic future it must be based in the area where we have a significant competitive advantage, Agriculture. With free markets opening up as we speak agriculture and agribusiness must be supported by a long term and well funded agricultural science and research programme in tandem with an applied farm management bedfellow.

i.Agri is offering a free - no obligation internet series on the fundamentals of "Good Farm Management". It is designed for folk with a genuine interest in farming profitably. To view the introduction to the series click here