AgriCast Episode 10: November 27, 2024 | Knowla Livestock's approach to weather data - video Dailymotion

AgriCast

Jack and Ted Laurie from Knowla Livestock reveal how weather data impacts daily decisions on their beef cattle farm.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to AgriCast to talk about weather and how we can access the best data.

00:13We have Ted and Jack Laurie from Nola Livestock.

00:16Tell me about Nola Livestock, what you do and then why weather and knowing about the

00:21data up front is so helpful.

00:23Nola Livestock is basically a beef cattle property and we have a pedigree Angus herd

00:30and a bull sale every year, but also we have a commercial herd that's integrated into that

00:34program. The weather is crucial for us because we're primarily grass fattening and we don't

00:39supplementary feed a great deal, it's only in drought conditions, so rainfall predictions

00:44is crucial to our business.

00:46Research shows that farmers are actually accessing six or more weather sources daily.

00:52Is this true for the two of you?

00:54Look, I think it probably is really.

00:56As Dad mentioned, it's such a crucial part of our business, so the more knowledge we

01:00can source to try and get better predictions and make better decisions here on farm, that

01:05number is probably pretty accurate.

01:07I have about four sites to look at every day, twice a day, three times a day sometimes if

01:12I'm really interested.

01:13What are your main go-tos?

01:15The BOM obviously is probably a starting point.

01:17YRB, a Scandinavian site I look at a little bit, and also I've come across another one

01:22called Metrologics.

01:23I quite like it because it brings all the different European models, the US models,

01:28the GFS system I look at, brings them all into one site and you can get a little bit

01:32of a snapshot of what all the models are saying because quite often all the models over a

01:38week period can vary quite markedly of what you actually see.

01:42What do you do with that information, particularly if you can see differences in what the models

01:47say?

01:48Well I think a lot of the time it's an indication, it doesn't actually tell you how much rain

01:52you're going to get but it probably gives you a good indication whether there is something

01:56on the horizon.

01:57So it's basically a snapshot in time.

01:59I think too that then affects what we can actually do on farm, whether that is postpone

02:05weaning calves or we're right, we need to wean calves today to get ahead of the rain

02:09or postpone to get in on the back of some rain and I think that's the crucial part of

02:14looking at some of those, all those models is if all the models are saying we're going

02:19to get rain at the end of the week, well maybe we don't know how much but it still has an

02:23impact and we know right, we need to do dry weather jobs now and wet weather jobs at the

02:27end of the week.

02:28I suppose that blending of regional knowledge as well is really important.

02:32How much do you rely on that sort of data?

02:35It's essential, you know, all regions are different.

02:38You know, in the last six months is a classic example, you know, the south's been dry and

02:42we've been wet, unusually wet for us this time of the year.

02:45So I think if you look at history in the long range forecast, you'd be a pretty good bet

02:50to say next year the south will be probably pretty good through the winter and the spring

02:53and there'll be probably a greater than average chance that we'll be dry and that's not based

02:57on any forecast, it's just based on what's happened in previous years.

03:00I think the technology is getting better.

03:02I think it comes down to a user-based scenario.

03:06So some people will use it, some people won't.

03:09Adoption of that technology probably still has to go a long way from a broader perspective

03:13across the industry.

03:14Whatever the average age of farmers are, but I'm guessing it's up around the 60 mark.

03:18And quite often, you know, we're probably not the best users of new technology, especially

03:25I don't think Jack's 60, are you?

03:30So, you know, so maybe that is a bit of a limiting factor that, you know, some of my

03:35generation is not as skilled as digital technology and bringing it all together as some of the

03:40younger generation.

03:42Jack and Ted Laurie, thank you both for joining us on AgriCast.

AgriCast Episode 10: November 27, 2024 | Knowla Livestock's approach to weather data

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