When Martin Knowles looks across the 2,000-acre dairy operation he helps lead in South West Victoria, he sees years of steady growth and hard work behind it.
Originally from Taranaki in New Zealand, the Knowles family moved to Australia in 1996 to start fresh. What began as a smaller setup has grown into a large-scale dairy business milking 1,500 cows through a 60-bail rotary. The farm now includes 250 hectares of irrigation, three centre pivots, and well-developed infrastructure such as feed pads, herd homes, and grain storage.
One thing that has stayed consistent over that time is their use of Farm Focus.
“We’ve been using Farm Focus since the early days,” says Martin. “As the farm has grown and I’ve taken on more responsibility, we’re now using a lot more of what it can do.”
As the operation has expanded, so has the need for better visibility and control. Farm Focus plays a key role in how the business is managed today, both financially and operationally.
A big advantage for the Knowles family is how easy it is to share information with others involved in the business.
“The beauty of Farm Focus is how user friendly it is. Our bank manager can jump on and have a look at what they need. Our consultants can access the data they are interested in, like feed usage and purchases. It makes those conversations a lot easier.”
Having everyone working from the same information helps with clearer discussions and quicker decisions.
Running a farm of this size, with 12 staff living and working on site, brings a lot of moving parts. Farm Focus helps keep things organised.
From budgeting through to tracking costs and performance, Martin uses it to understand what is happening across the business and to plan ahead with more confidence.
“It helps us see what’s going on and share that with the people around us. That’s really important.”
The farm has grown from around 600 cows to more than 1,500, with milk solids increasing from about 600,000 to 880,000 kg. Like any farming business, there have been tough seasons along the way.
“We’ve had some really good years and some challenging ones, especially when it’s been dry or things haven’t worked out as planned. But overall, we’ve kept moving forward.”
Strong productivity per hectare and a solid return on assets have been key to that progress.
With Martin stepping further into leadership and the next generation taking on more responsibility, Farm Focus continues to play an important role in the business.
“We’re starting to use more of the integrations and really get the most out of it now.”
