ABSTRACT
The objective the group set it was to develop a co-ordinated approach to provide sound, robust data and consistent benchmark calculations which would provide increased clarity of data for dairy industry and benchmarks that could be relied upon. Operating profit, often termed Economic Farm Surplus in New Zealand, is calculated both for dairy farms and for sheep and beef cattle farms in annual statistics collected by the respective industries. Indicators of success for both the property and the farming businesses was needed to ensure a holistic evaluation was made of overall investment strategy. DairyBase enables timely analyses carried out as close to the end of the financial year as possible; this in turn ensures the early creation of benchmarks that can then be used by farmers to compare their businesses with chosen benchmark groups. DairyBase is an example of how inter-disciplinary groups can work towards a common goal and suggests a framework for farm analysis that could be used internationally.
