CAFRE benchmarking helps Co Antrim sheep farmer boost flock performance and profitability
- Love Ballymena
- 5 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Ronnie Duncan from Ballycastle encourages other farmers to compare their business with others through using the CAFRE Benchmarking Tool.
Farm businesses that have a clear understanding of where they are performing well – and where improvements are needed – are better placed to strengthen profitability and resilience, according to the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).
While farmers cannot control external pressures such as weather conditions, volatile market prices or rising input costs, many of the key drivers of success remain firmly within the farm gate. CAFRE advisers say benchmarking is one of the most effective tools available to help farmers focus on those controllable factors.
“Benchmarking helps farmers focus on those drivers and make decisions based on evidence rather than guesswork,” said Faith Stewart, Beef and Sheep Adviser at CAFRE.
Faith has been working alongside Ballycastle sheep farmer Ronnie Duncan to demonstrate how CAFRE benchmarking can deliver tangible improvements in performance and profitability.
Ronnie is an active member of his local CAFRE Business Sustainability Group (BSG), where benchmarking plays a central role in reviewing results and guiding discussion among fellow sheep farmers.
As part of the BSG programme, Ronnie benefits from one-to-one support from his CAFRE adviser, alongside clear, practical benchmarking reports produced by the CAFRE Business Team. The reports are designed to simplify complex data, allowing farmers to concentrate on the most important aspects of their business.
Benchmarking allows Ronnie to measure how his farm is performing on a per head, per kilogram and per hectare basis. His results can be compared with industry averages, as well as the top and bottom performing farms within the benchmark group.
Ronnie has used benchmarking for more than 30 years to track trends, assess the impact of management changes and inform future decisions.
He first recognised the value of benchmarking while studying at CAFRE and later when managing large-scale farming enterprises, where regular monitoring of costs, output and targets was essential.
However, Ronnie believes benchmarking only delivers results when farmers are prepared to engage with the figures and act on them.
“There’s no point collecting data unless you’re prepared to act on it,” he explained. “The figures give you the confidence to change things and invest where it really matters.”
CAFRE benchmarking breaks farm performance into clear financial components, including output, variable costs, fixed costs and margins. Output reflects livestock sales, adjusted for purchases and changes in stock value. Variable costs include feed, fertiliser and veterinary inputs, while fixed costs cover machinery, buildings, insurance and utilities.
Understanding how these costs interact helps farmers identify where money is being made – and where it is being lost.
Alongside financial data, benchmarking provides valuable physical performance measures such as lambs sold or weaned per ewe, concentrate usage, lamb weights and carcass output. Ronnie uses these indicators to set clear goals for his farm and monitor progress year-on-year.
By comparing his results with those of other farmers, Ronnie identified opportunities to improve efficiency, leading to changes in breeding policy. By focusing on carcass output per hectare, he moved from an all-Mule ewe flock to a mixed flock including Texel crosses, improving carcass weights and grading.
Ronnie now encourages other farmers to use benchmarking to establish a strong baseline, compare performance and identify realistic opportunities for improvement.
A detailed understanding of production costs, he says, allows farmers to target efficiency gains, control spending and plan with greater confidence.
According to Faith Stewart, benchmarking is about far more than administration.
“Benchmarking is not about paperwork or ticking boxes. Used properly, it is a practical management tool that helps farmers make better decisions, improve profitability and plan ahead. Farmers who take the time to understand their figures and act on them are far more likely to build resilient and profitable businesses,” she concluded.
The CAFRE Benchmarking Tool is available to all farmers and is free to use. More information is available at:
Farmers can also contact the CAFRE Business Team directly by emailing cafrebusinessteam@daera-ni.gov.uk.