GRAIN INVENTORY AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT APPS
As cropping enterprises have expanded in size, so too has the complexity of managing their grain logistics, not only during harvest but also throughout the whole year. End users are consistently paying a premium to source grain from outside receival sites, plus many growers who deliver their own grain to port and return with fertiliser, are capturing significant freight premiums and can therefore justify investing in high quality truck and trailer setups. As a result, a significant increase in on-farm grain storage has occurred in the last 10-15 years, to access these premiums, manage the price fluctuations of the pulse market, plus improve harvest logistics.
With the increased number of storage sites on-farm, tonnes of grain being stored and the increase in the number of trucks required at harvest, it can be challenging to track and record the movement of grain during harvest. As a result, it is very common for multiple loads of grain to become temporarily “lost” between on-farm storages and within receival sites. This can lead to warehousing fees being paid unnecessarily or missing sales opportunities. In addition to this, with multiple trucks and multiple trips per day leaving a farm during harvest, it is possible that loads of grain could be stolen.
It is therefore very important that a good understanding of how much grain has been produced, its quality, where it is located and what contracts have been taken out. Most clients who do this well are very diligent in their record keeping and can set up and manage an Excel spreadsheet. Those who don’t have the time or skills to maintain these records may be better off utilising the numerous grain management software packages available.
Examples of grain management apps designed for the Australian industry include:
Agri Digital
Cart (Agworld)
Agri Chain
Go Grain
Each of these apps have very similar functionality, however there are differences, particularly in the pricing structures and integrations with other software platforms.
The key features of these apps are listed below:
Track and record truckloads and delivery dockets
Record grain location, quantity and quality, both on-farm and withing receival sites
Manage contracts and automatically update outstanding balances
Some apps can also integrate with brokers and other advisors
While these apps can provide great information, there is still a very high requirement for attention to detail, particularly when setting up the account. Making sure truck drivers enter data into the app when delivering to on-farm storages may be problematic and recording deductions such as seed, spoilage and stock feed is necessary.
There are many benefits to storing more grain on-farm and strategically marketing this throughout the year. However, this process needs to be well managed. For those who are time poor, or have very complex marketing systems, the use of a grain management app could be very useful. Though they still need to be set up accurately and will require diligent monitoring.