A farm is ultimately a business enterprise that needs to account for its cash flow, manage payrolls, budgets and more.
Previously we have explored the top 3 types of data collected by Australian crop farmers and Australian livestock producers, using insights from the 2017 “Precision to Decision “or P2D project.
This study revealed that financial data was the most popular data type collected on farm, and that majority of farmers stored this data electronically on farm (Jakku et al, 2017).
This study also looked at the types of financial management software used by different agricultural industries (Jakku et al, 2017), utilising the extensive farmer database from our data provider, KG2, to survey producers across all industry types, including viticulture and even aquaculture.
The study was designed to benchmark Australian farmer’s needs, perceived risks and expectations regarding the digitalisation of agriculture and farm data (Jakku et al, 2017). KG2 was engaged to conduct this agricultural research with 1000 Australian farmers.
Here are the top financial management software brands that were used by Australian farmers, alongside key insights regarding aquaculture, dairy and grain industry use rates.
Heavy software users: which industry has the heaviest use of financial management software?
Overall, 495 farmers indicated that they collected financial data in the survey (Jakku et al, 2017).
It was found that pork, cotton, grain mixed and vegetable farm types had the highest use rate of farm financial management software (Jakku et al, 2017).
Interestingly, the sugarcane industry had the lowest use rate (Jakku et al, 2017).
So what software was most popular?
Overall, AgData had the heaviest average use at 21% (Jakku et al, 2017).
“miscellaneous” represented 13% (so technically second place) followed by QuickBooks at 12% (Jakku et al, 2017).
Agrimaster (11%) and MYOB (11%) were the next named software providers by usage rate, and overall, 11% didn’t know what financial software provider they used (Jakku et al, 2017).
A closer look at specific industries….
Dairy
Of the 47 dairy producers that used financial management software, 21% didn’t actually know who their software provider was (Jakku et al, 2017).
Xero (15%) and CashFlow (13%) were the next software providers with highest usage rates amongst Australian dairy producers (Jakku et al, 2017).
Aquaculture
Of the 20 aquaculture enterprise managers that used financial management software, 35% used MYOB, 20% used Quickbooks and 20% used Reckon 20% (Jakku et al, 2017).
Grain only
Of the 49 grain crop specialist that used financial management software, 31% used Agrimaster and 27% used AgData.
“Miscellaneous” represented 18% of the software use and MYOB was used by 7% of grain crop specialists overall (Jakku et al, 2017).
Market sizing of the Agriculture Software industry
This part of the study ultimately gave unique insights into the relative market share of financial software providers in the Australian agricultural industry.
Taking a deeper look at specific industries via market research using the extensive KG2 farmer database would provide further understanding in relation to the pros and cons of different software from a farmer’s point of view.
Farmer market research of this type using our farmer database would allow for even bigger samples when looking at specific industries, which would provide more robust insights and understanding.
While this study didn’t dive into the benefits farmers feel they receive from certain software providers, it does open the door to further market research opportunities when it comes to understanding the value drivers behind market leaders in the farm software industry.
See the full P2D report here
Interested in learning more about engaging farmers using Agricultural Media? Get in touch to find out how the Allegiant Media team can help you target farmers with maximum efficiency and minimum waste on your next campaign.
This article was originally published on www.kg2.com.au on March 9, 2021.
Source: Jakku, Emma; Zhang, Airong; Llewellyn, Rick. Producer survey to identify accelerating precision agriculture to decision agriculture (P2D) needs and issues. Final Report. Brisbane: CSIRO and Cotton Research and Development Corporation; 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/87458?index=1