Measuring performance builds a stronger dairy business
27 July 2026
For Jake Connor, tracking financial and physical farm performance has always been central to decision-making, identifying opportunities and improving efficiency to build a stronger dairy business.
Milking 750 Holsteins, including 15 per cent Jerseys, across two robotic dairies alongside his parents Michael and Jodie, sister Chelsea and brother-in-law Reece Donhardt, and brother Brad, the Connor family relies on data to understand everything from pasture growth and feed utilisation, to cost of production and profitability.
The family's commitment to measuring performance spans decades.
"My parents were analysing data long before I came back to the farm. It's been drummed into us because it works," Jake said.
"We measure a lot of things, including pasture growth, dry matter intake per cow and the cow's diet through every stage of lactation. That's all part of the benchmarking."
Detailed financial planning is equally important.
"We're a highly geared business, so preparing detailed annual cash flow budgets and financial reports is a requirement of our banking arrangements," Jake explained. "But it's also how we understand our business. We know what it costs to produce a kilogram of milk solids before finance costs, what our finance costs are per kilogram of milk solids and what influences those numbers.
"That understanding flows through to every decision we make. It determines how much we can invest in areas like repairs and maintenance, while also influencing the physical side of the business, including whether we're milking enough cows, growing enough home-grown feed and achieving efficient liveweight-to-production."
The Connor family has benchmarked their business through their use of Dairy Australia's DairyBase tool since 2015, and they’ve participated in the Dairy Farm Monitor Project (DFMP) for the past four years, using these tools to compare their business with other farms and guide major decisions.
DairyBase is an online tool for dairy farmers to benchmark business performance over time, while the DFMP provides physical and financial analysis across 250 dairy farms nationwide.
Each year, Jake, Jodie and an external adviser review their DairyBase report to measure progress, identify opportunities for improvement and update cash flow budgets.
"It's important to understand the trends across the industry and the differences between dairy regions," Jake said. "That helps us understand what system we need to be running in our region."
Comprehending their financial position also gives the family confidence to invest.
"We know whether we need a new tractor and whether we can actually afford it," he said. "Every decision comes back to the numbers."
For Jake, DairyBase's greatest strength is how it brings the physical and financial sides of the business together.
"It gives us everything from milk production per hectare and home-grown feed, through to cost of production and profitability in a format that's easy to understand. You need to know whether your business is moving forward, standing still or going backwards,” Jake said.
"DairyBase gives us that picture and helps us understand what we need to change to keep improving."
To find out more about how Dairy Australia supports farmers to strengthen farm business management, visit our Farm Business page or contact your local office.
The family's commitment to measuring performance spans decades.
"My parents were analysing data long before I came back to the farm. It's been drummed into us because it works," Jake said.
"We measure a lot of things, including pasture growth, dry matter intake per cow and the cow's diet through every stage of lactation. That's all part of the benchmarking."
Detailed financial planning is equally important.
"We're a highly geared business, so preparing detailed annual cash flow budgets and financial reports is a requirement of our banking arrangements," Jake explained. "But it's also how we understand our business. We know what it costs to produce a kilogram of milk solids before finance costs, what our finance costs are per kilogram of milk solids and what influences those numbers.
"That understanding flows through to every decision we make. It determines how much we can invest in areas like repairs and maintenance, while also influencing the physical side of the business, including whether we're milking enough cows, growing enough home-grown feed and achieving efficient liveweight-to-production."
The Connor family has benchmarked their business through their use of Dairy Australia's DairyBase tool since 2015, and they’ve participated in the Dairy Farm Monitor Project (DFMP) for the past four years, using these tools to compare their business with other farms and guide major decisions.
DairyBase is an online tool for dairy farmers to benchmark business performance over time, while the DFMP provides physical and financial analysis across 250 dairy farms nationwide.
Each year, Jake, Jodie and an external adviser review their DairyBase report to measure progress, identify opportunities for improvement and update cash flow budgets.
"It's important to understand the trends across the industry and the differences between dairy regions," Jake said. "That helps us understand what system we need to be running in our region."
Comprehending their financial position also gives the family confidence to invest.
"We know whether we need a new tractor and whether we can actually afford it," he said. "Every decision comes back to the numbers."
For Jake, DairyBase's greatest strength is how it brings the physical and financial sides of the business together.
"It gives us everything from milk production per hectare and home-grown feed, through to cost of production and profitability in a format that's easy to understand. You need to know whether your business is moving forward, standing still or going backwards,” Jake said.
"DairyBase gives us that picture and helps us understand what we need to change to keep improving."
To find out more about how Dairy Australia supports farmers to strengthen farm business management, visit our Farm Business page or contact your local office.