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The Farm Economic Analysis Tool (FEAT) is a planning and decision-making tool used to assist cane farming enterprises. FEAT enables users to evaluate the economic impact from changing farm management practices. Other uses for FEAT include evaluating farm labour requirements, preparing cash flow budgets and quantifying the impact of “what if” scenarios. The type of questions FEAT can help answer include;

• How would my farm profitability change if I adopted a new farming practice?
• What is the economic impact of changing row widths or adopting controlled traffic?
• How do different farming systems compare in terms of the amount of labour required?
• How profitable is my farming enterprise at different sugar prices?
• What is the most profitable mix of fallow crops on my farm?
• How many ratoons should I grow to maximise profitability?
• Should I buy new machinery or use a contractor?
• If the price of diesel increases, how will this affect my profitability
• Should I purchase a new farm or lease a portion of the farm?
• Which farm should I sell?

Farm information required to use FEAT

FEAT calculates economic performance indicators based on specific production information entered by the user. Users do not require accounting records to use FEAT. In general, the information required to use FEAT includes;

• Production data
• Harvest costs
• Sugar price
• Agronomic practices in cane (plant, ratoons and rotational crops) such as;
  • Land preparation and planting operations (implements used and number of operations, contractor rates)
  • Chemical input; type, rate and cost
  • Irrigation; volume applied and cost
  • Machinery and implement information (repairs and maintenance costs, speed, field efficiency)
• Fixed costs (insurance, land rates, etc.)
• Asset values (land value, value of machinery)