Upgrading the Farm Economic Analysis Tool (FEAT): a decision-support tool to assess farming options

The sugarcane industry contributes $4 billion in direct and indirect value to the Australian economy annually. Farm profitability is paramount to the sustainability of this industry, with individual farm businesses needing to adapt to changing market, environmental and regulatory conditions. Sugarcane growers have had limited access to user-friendly economic tools that can be tailored to their farm business and increase farm profit. The Farm Economic Analysis Tool (FEAT) was developed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in 2005 to assist sugarcane growers with decision making for improved farm profitability. This innovative tool was developed in Microsoft Excel® with the primary aim to compare the economic performance of different cane-farming systems by calculating gross margins, farm operating return and return on investment. Although this version was a powerful tool, major issues started to emerge with software compatibility, the ability to provide technical support and usability. A 2018 industry survey identified numerous issues relating to usability, accessibility and functionality of FEAT. A comprehensive review was undertaken, and a project was instigated to remedy the issues and reinvigorate the tool. The FEAT Online project was a 2-year collaboration led by DAF between 2018 to 2020. Key elements of project included the development of an online version, a collaborative research team, project reference group and training workshops. Major improvements included the ability to easily compare scenarios, streamlined data entry, an enhanced irrigation module, automated registration and live updates. Since the release of FEAT Online, 450 users have registered and 297 stakeholders have attended webinars and workshops across Queensland. Surveys were conducted on 78 workshop attendees and 93% rated the tool as very useful, with the majority planning to use the tool within a year for analysing farm profitability and production costs. Further extension of the tool is planned with the development of user support materials, peer-to-peer focus groups and updated regional example FEAT files.