Lawson Grains
Lawson Grains is Australia’s leading corporate grain farmer. Operating on a national scale, the business is spread across 11 farms in six regions, spanning nearly 120,000 hectares of land (just shy of 300,000 acres). The company grows wheat, barley, and canola, which make up about 90% of their production, as well as legumes, sorghum, and cotton.
As an industry leader, Lawson Grains takes a hands-on approach when it comes to managing the business. The company places a strong emphasis on controlling as much as they can in an unpredictable industry. They are in charge of their supply chain, including storage and handling of assets on both sides of the country. They employ all of their staff and own their equipment in order to manage timing, which is crucial to maximizing profitability. Their farming strategy includes managing a diverse portfolio of properties in different climates, which helps them balance out the risks of farming, such as weather volatility, ensuring more consistent returns.
At a glance
Lawson Grains
Headquarters: Albury, NSW, AUS
Crops Grown: Wheat, Barley & Canola
Challenges
Data Fragmentation
Emissions Accountability
Time Management
Resource Optimization
Managing a farming enterprise of Lawson Grains’ size comes with a unique set of challenges. The operation spans vast geographical areas, and the sheer volume of data generated across 11 farms—from machinery reports to spray tickets—was overwhelming and difficult to consolidate into a single, consistent view. The manual data entry system lacked the ability to efficiently track inputs and comply with complex government regulations. Furthermore, without a unified system, consolidating financial data and preparing reports was time consuming, complicated, and prone to mistakes.
Results
Planning, Tracking Data & Reporting
Traction Conservis plays a crucial role in supporting Lawson Grains’ operations by allowing the company to manage and integrate data. The system pulls from various farming sites across Australia into a unified financial statement, which is essential for business planning and reporting to stakeholders.
Andrew Croce, CFO of Lawson Grains, has been with the business for nine years. Andrew says the system is something Lawson Grains relies on for success. “It's the ability to use Traction Conservis as our primary planning tool. Being able to build budgets and forecasts from the system which consolidate into a set of financial statements is imperative for us as a business.” He continues, “Traction Conservis forms the foundation of the preparation of our financial statements. Again, it builds the financial statements from the paddock level up and through continued consolidations all the way up to the corporate level. It provides us a source of truth for those numbers that we present to our board and our other stakeholders.”
"Traction Conservis helps Lawson grains thrive by having the right information when we need to make decisions. "
Traceable Emissions for Grain Marketing & Reporting
Sustainability is at the heart of Lawson Grains’ operations. As industry leaders and one of the country’s biggest grain producers, they’ve designated themselves as long-term custodians of the environment. As sustainability becomes more regulated, Traction Conservis helps Lawson Grains track their emissions data accurately, aligning with complex government requirements.
"Traction Conservis allows us to capture all of the data that we need for all of the reporting that we require, and that's been seen particularly in the emissions space where we can capture things that we weren't previously capturing with other competitors."
This traceability also provides a competitive edge to capitalize on the growing demand from consumers for sustainably sourced products. CFO Andrew Croce says, “Traction Conservis provides the data we need to track our emissions profile and calculate it accurately, as well as participate in various opportunities that are presenting themselves in the sustainability space and the way we market our grain.”
Business Analyst Layton Taylor adds, “Sustainability in agriculture and tracking emissions is a really topical space at the moment and it's presenting a lot of opportunities, especially on a grain marketing front. It's something that we intend to utilize to market our grain as sustainable or traceable. I think we're starting to see premiums in those markets. Having a system like Traction Conservis where we can be completely granular on that traceability is really important to us and we're finding a lot of value in the market.”
Saving Time, Saving Money
"It's hard to quantify the amount of time that Traction Conservis has saved us over the journey, but it's a tool that we wouldn't be able to operate our business without."
CEO Angus Blair says, “The accuracy of that data that flows from the paddock through to a board report that a director's reading in a board meeting, that's one of the main benefits of Traction Conservis. The fact that it aligns with a lot of accounting principles means that we have less translation of that data before it flows into those reports.”
On the farm, Henry Prinsloo, Lawson Grains Farm Manager of the 14,000 hectare Borambil property, says Traction Conservis technology allows all of the team to be where they need to be on the paddock.
“You can send spray tickets to the operators and they can select it once the paddock starts and they say when they're finished so you can track the spray records.” In addition to managing day-to-day activities such as delegating work orders, Henry uses the platform to track month end input inventories, margins, crop percentages and budgets, to name a few. “I don't have to run to the office every time I need to go check what's in my inventory if I need to order chem or just make decisions on the go.”
“Traction Conservis helps me thrive by simplifying everything, so just making it easy just to get out of the office, keeping track of everything that goes on and not having to be in the office - you can be outside on the go, and it just makes it easy on us.”
Henry says if it weren’t for the automation and streamlined communication that the platform provides, there would be a lot more time in the office doing paperwork, bookwork and filing. Traction Conservis “just saves that bit of extra time you can spend with your family.”
Customer Experience
Lawson Grains’ relationship with Traction Conservis is underlined by a strong commitment to data transparency. Traction Conservis is Ag Data Transparent Certified, ensuring that valuable information is being handled with the utmost respect. Along with data transparency, comes an appreciation that Traction Conservis isn’t owned by an inputs company.
"Traction Conservis helps us thrive by making sure that we have actually got more time to farm."
“Being independent allows software providers to focus on the customer and meet those customer demands,” says CEO Angus Blair. “We see if the software is not independent, it ends up being incentivized to do things that are not the best right thing for the customer. So it gets pulled in different directions potentially to drive sales of another product or drive outcomes for an ulterior motive.” The software’s ability to protect sensitive information while providing accurate, reliable data is a win-win. It supports both operational decisions and stakeholder relationships, helping the company thrive in a competitive and regulated environment.
“We've had a long journey with Traction Conservis. We were the pilot customer in Australia and worked very closely with Traction Conservis in building out the product, effectively replicating spreadsheets we had within our business, and designed software around that to service our needs,” says Angus. “It was a great advantage being able to tailor the product to our requirements early on.”
“The things that we like about Traction Conservis are it provides the backend flow of information from the farm to the head office that we require,” Angus says, “But its things like inventory and budgeting are very much designed around our requirements and continue to meet those requirements.”
In addition to ensuring the platform meets the individual needs within the corporation, Traction Conservis provides rigorous training for employees at Lawson Grains from the farm to the boardroom. “Traction Conservis have been really engaged from day one in terms of making sure that any new staff member is really onboarded properly. That includes getting out on farm and teaching those guys how Traction Conservis works and then any support. It's been fantastic.” says Mat, “It’s nothing to pick up the phone or get an email and the guys are really, really responsive, which has been really good.”
Traction Conservis is very interested in understanding what we think is coming up as well. So what do we think are going to be our big concerns in a few years time, and then understanding what that roadmap might look like.
Business Analyst Layton Taylor adds, “Yeah, Anthony and Michelle at Traction Conservis have been extraordinarily helpful whenever we need them. They're just a phone call away and are always able to help us with whatever support we require, whether that be on usability or a new feature that we'd like to see. We've been really impressed with the customer support.” The ongoing support and flexibility provided by Traction Conservis ensures Lawson Grains’ ability to continue to lead the industry for years to come.
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