Senwes Scenario December 2016 / January 2017 | Page 39

••• •• ARUB G RI TRIE IPSK •• Manage input expenditure during planting time B y the time you read this, you have hopefully finalised at least some of the following actions: • preparation of fields; • planting; • crop spraying for the season. Expenditure in this regard repre­ sents the largest part of any producer’s operating capital during a production year. It is of utmost importance to have the necessary record-keeping systems in place to record and monitor expenditure per item. If not recorded, it will be difficult to analyse inputs at the end. Think for yourself - it would be easier to regularly record all aspects relating to planting throughout the planting season than to do it at the end of the production year, when you will have to try to remember all the details relating to the planting period. Recording can be done in numerous ways during the plan­ ting season. List the inputs used as well as the fields planted. Each field can have its own book to be updated as cultivation takes place. After the last cultivation before harvesting, each field’s book can be taken to the office and the information entered into the computer. This will ensure more correct information than trying to process everything at the end of the season. In the end Rands and cents matter. The above information must be analysed at the end of the production year in order to measure performance. The Agricultural Services Division at Senwes assists farmers with these analyses. A platform was recently created on MySenwes, called E-Bureau. Farmers can register for access to this platform and can enter all their figures. The information will be processed and discussed with the farmer in the form of a report. The objective is to generate management statement driven information rather than financial information. Contact the Senwes Agricul­tu­ral Services Division regarding analysing the financial performance of your farming activities. 37