In this BULLETIN we discuss:
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WITH NEXT SYNCHRONISE
We have just released the latest batch of changes to Red Sky, all of which are available without the installation of a new version. You will notice that this will mean that the “Fetch” screens will take a little time to work through and be ticked off next time you synchronise. Alternatively you can select “Refresh Static Data” under “File” and retrieve these changes without synchronising. You should then ensure that whenever you open any Years that you firstly select “Run All Calcs” in the “General” tab so that all the new calculations take effect.
For those using the Cash Flow please read the next section. Following that section the more noteworthy changes are listed in bullet point form.
CASH FLOW CHANGES WITH LATEST UPDATE
The changes to the Cash Flow format will have an impact on the monthly values for some codes, although the total for any codes and/or for the entire cash flow should be unchanged. The main monthly changes are likely to be with the Feeds as these have been combined to improve the layout. For instance maize and cereal silage are combined in the one line, so if both of these were in the cash flow then there will need to be some readjustment of the monthly totals.
The most efficient way to complete this would be to ensure a hard copy of the existing cash flow is available. If a hard copy is not already on hand then please open up Red Sky and print the cash flow before synchronising or completing a refresh static data.
CHANGES TO RED SKY WITH LATEST UPDATES
NEW METHODOLOGY FOR ANALYSING DAIRY BUSINESSES GAINING MOMENTUM
As outlined in the recent Red Sky NEWS, within dairying there is a growing use of just 5-6 key profit drivers that are then used to identify the most significant opportunity to lift farm performance. We have developed a simple spreadsheet that incorporates these key profit drivers for assessing dairy business performance, with different adaptations for Financial Only (‘Accountant’) and/or Financial & Physical (‘Consultant’) analysis. You can place your own logo on this report and further adapt it as you wish.
To view the accountant example please click here and for the consultant example please click here. Please contact us if you would like a copy of the spreadsheet at feedback@redskyagri.com.
ACCLIPSE BENCHMARKIT/RED SKY SINGLE SOFTWARE SOLUTION
We are now into the testing phase of our new software solution and are still hoping to have it available this month. We are certainly working as rapidly as possible to complete this and will contact you as soon as it is available.
NEW ZEALAND 2004/05 DAIRY BENCHMARKS RELEASED
We released the first of our 2004/05 New Zealand benchmarks in late December. This benchmark covers the entire country and confirms the impact of the more difficult weather patterns during the year. This resulted in lower pasture harvest and increased costs in most districts, which eroded some of the benefit of the higher milk price. The benchmark login name = nzd05owner1 (no password).
AUSTRALIAN, NEW ZEALAND & SOUTH AFRICAN BENCHMARKS
We now have sufficient farms to produce 2004/05 Victorian dairy benchmarks (Gippsland, Northern Victoria and South-West). We also have sufficient farms in our database to produce 2004/05 New Zealand sheep & beef benchmarks, as well as regional dairy benchmarks for Waikato, Taranaki and Canterbury along with 50/50 sharemilker benchmarks. All of these benchmarks will all be available over the next two weeks.
We expect to have the 2004/05 Tasmanian dairy benchmarks available in February as the entrants in the Tasmanian Dairy Business of the Year are presently being processed through Red Sky. We are also confident of having our first Australian sheep & beef benchmarks available in February/March.
We will be in a position to produce benchmarks for Northland, Manawatu/Wairarapa and Southland in early 2006, although these will have a lower level of reliability than the other New Zealand Dear Neil,districts.
Although we have produced our first South African dairy benchmarks, we have not yet reached sufficient use in South Africa to justify the calculation of publishable benchmarks. As a result these are presently only accessible to those people using Red Sky as we consider the reliability too low for us to make the results publicly available. We expect to have publishable benchmarks by mid-2006.
If you would like further information on any matter relating to Red Sky then please contact us at feedback@redskyagri.com