Introduction to Benchmarking in Farming

Identification

Overview

In this lesson, you will learn how to identify problems, performance indicators and benchmark farms. Your learning group will get involved in the task of identifying problems at your farm, identifying performance measures and potential benchmarking farms in your area. The lesson will cover step two to four of benchmarking process. By the end of this lesson, your learning group will have the necessary information to proceed to the next step of benchmarking process. The objective of these three steps lesson is to come up with written document/notes identifying problems, performance indicators and benchmark farms.

Subject and Key terms

Identification, Performance indicators, Benchmark farms, Benchmark indicators, Priority indicators, Controllable indicators.

Objectives    

• Participants will be able identify relevant problems for benchmarking purposes.
• Participants will be able identify performance indicators.
• Participants will be able identify the relevant benchmarking farms.

RESOURCES

Reading - Click here: Farm Business Analysis Using Benchmarking

               Part 2 (pg. 47-76)

READING INSTRUCTIONS

This reading and associated tasks will guide you in identifying problems, performance indicators and benchmark farms. The reading is a practical guide and you should engage in the tasks outlined to start the benchmarking process. Read each step and make notes on the about the decisions reached by your learning group. The objective of this reading is to guide you in completing the identification category in the benchmarking process.

ACTIVITIES

• Brainstorm problems, performance indicators and benchmarking farms
• Shortlist priority problems to be addressed
• Shortlist sufficient problem indicators
• Shortlist benchmark farms  

DISCUSSION

• What are the problems affecting your farm?
• What indicators will accurately measure the problems identified?
• What are the priority indicators?
• What are the controllable indicators?
• What are the basis of selecting benchmark farms?
• What are the challenges and successes of the identification process?

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

• How will you identify the problems?
• How will you identify performance indicators?
• How will you identify benchmark farms?

SUMMARY

Problems can be identified and examined by holding discussions in the learning group and arriving at a consensus. You may need to engage in a discussion about aspects of their farms that they are satisfied with and aspects that they are dissatisfied with. Such discussions provide a good foundation for the selection of indicators and benchmark farms. This involves identifying measures that best illustrate and describe farm performance. Performance measures can be described in both physical and financial terms. They can be applied to the whole farm business as well as to individual farm enterprises. Farmers in the learning group need to know their own farms well. A good understanding of the farming system in which the farmers operate will greatly increase the success of any plan made at the end of the benchmarking process to improve the performance of their own farms. It is important to identify farmers in the learning group or in the area who are performing well and can be regarded as benchmarks. With technical guidance from you the extension worker, farmers should agree on the farm or farms to be used. It is also important that those considered are representative of a known farm type, so that those conclusions drawn would have the widest possible application(Kahan 2013, p.22).

                                                     Click to continue to: Data Collection-Analysis-Comparison