Hebert Grain Ventures CEO Kristjan Hebert has built a sharp strategy for managing the machines and people that stretch across his 41,000-acre small grains venture in western Canada.
“We use data to make decisions; we’re trying to turn our farm into blackjack farming,” Hebert says. “Because Mother Nature is always going to have one buried card, right? So, you know that everything can’t be perfect, but at the same time, we already know the odds. When I have a king and the dealer has a six, I know what I would do, and I know what I would tell my team to do.”
Historically, Hebert says, the machine performance data he meticulously collects and analyzes in John Deere’s Operations Center has shown it takes his team about 1.25 hours per acre to successfully farm a field. By looking at performance data metrics and experimenting over the years, he has whittled that metric down to 1.05 hours per acre. To Hebert, that means he’ll need enough human labor to cover 43,000 working hours during spring planting.
Hebert Grain Ventures has also established some basic performance benchmarks, based once again on machine data. During spring planting, the operation runs four 80'-wide air seeding drills with the goal of each drill planting 500 acres per 24-hour cycle. That equates to 2,000 acres in total planted per day, which puts the operation right at the 21-day mark for planting his 41,000 acres.
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Now, Hebert can always know if his team is ahead of, on or behind schedule and adjust accordingly so the operation hits its 21-day planting window.
The management team uses John Deere’s Operations Center to stay engaged with the real-time machine data coming off its fleet. The app shows estimated field completion metrics so Hebert can proactively stage inputs and fuel to cover each field crew’s needs.
Field prescriptions are all pre-loaded into the app and tied to a specific field by agronomists, so once an operator arrives at the field, they will know exactly what to do and where to do it.
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These same efficiencies extend to human resource planning. Each machine is staffed with two operators, overseen by day and night crew chiefs. The management team meets weekly with each crew chief to identify where improvements can be made. During seeding and harvesting, metrics such as acres per hour, work-to-idle ratios and transport times are tracked down to the individual operator. Leaderboards are reviewed each week, and decisions are made to boost performance.
When the night shift comes on and it’s time for the morning crew to go home, Hebert insists that crew changes are conducted with NASCAR pit-change precision. He has each crew’s start and end time overlap by one hour, which helps with the efficiency of machine handoff and information exchange from one operator to the next. This reduces machine downtime.
A Backup Plan
By tracking the data and sharing these insights throughout the farm team, crew chiefs are able to match less skilled operators with more experienced workers to smooth out uneven performance, as well as increase training where required.
“What we want to create over time is a blackjack cheat card for our team. Any task with, for example, over 75% odds of it being successful, they can just do it — they can say ‘hit me’ and they don’t even have to ask,” Hebert explains. “Everything between 50% and 75% probability, you have to ask me first.”
Above all, Hebert’s optimized approach to planning underscores the value of good, clean data collection. The ability to constantly analyze, diagnose and adapt its field operations in real-time is essential to the operation staying on schedule.
“We just try to worry about what might go right, and we try to plan for what will go wrong,” Hebert says. “Most people in this world maybe don’t make a decision because they’re worried about what might go wrong. The biggest thing for me is, when it does go wrong, now what’s the plan?”
Taking A Systems Approach
Here are seven areas of focus we culled from our interview with Hebert to help you implement a well-rounded, systems approach to managing the people and machines on your farming operation.
- Commit To Data-Driven HR: Analyze machine and operator data to determine the number of hours required for each field operation the foundation.
- Utilize Online Time Clocks: This streamlines the process of tracking the working hours of equipment operators. Use the data to adjust schedules based on actual work done and efficiency.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Use mobile apps that provide real-time data on equipment status and performance.
- Performance Metrics: Regularly review performance metrics (weekly during busy times and monthly thereafter) such as acres per hour, working time versus idle time, and transport time. Use this data to identify areas for improvement.
- Team-Based Scheduling: Encourage a team-oriented approach to scheduling. Humans tend to perform better when they work in teams.
- Training and Development: Use performance data to identify operators who may need additional training. Pair less experienced operators with seasoned ones to develop their skills.
- Logistics Coordination: Ensure that logistics crews are informed about the needs of each field based on machine data, preferably within a single digital platform that all parties can access at anytime.
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