Market information tailored to you

MLA’s online service, myMLA, is proving a hit with producers, with users reporting ‘convenience’, ‘relevance’ and its ability to aid in ‘streamlining administration’ as some of the positive features. See case studies below:

myMLA, a new component of the MLA website, offers personalised, relevant content delivered to an online dashboard unique to each user.

To sign up for a myMLA account, producers enter their email address and choose a password. Users then configure the myMLA dashboard to suit their enterprise.

After entering their postcode and enterprise type – choosing from grassfed cattle, grainfed cattle, sheep and goats – myMLA provides:

• information from the MLA Prices and Markets team based on the production type and location; users can also customise up to eight online ‘market information/indicator cards’
• a customised seven-day weather forecast
• information on nearby events
• pertinent industry news, market news and advice, and information from MLA and other sources
• links to relevant research resources and tools
• a link to a single sign-on facility for key industry integrity and information systems.

Information: www.mla.com.au/about-mla/mymla/

Meet the myMLA converts

James and Georgie Knight, ‘Dornoch’, Mortlake, Victoria

James and Georgie Knight moved to ‘Dornoch’ 12 months ago to manage the family beef business. They run 900 Angus and Angus-Shorthorn breeders.

What motivated you to sign up to myMLA?

Streamlining administration and keeping informed are key areas of focus and interest. We saw the myMLA portal as a great tool to access multiple platforms from the one site and be provided with up-to-date data.

How has it changed how you manage information and marketing?

We have myMLA set as our homepage on our office computer to give us a daily snapshot of the EYCI, saleyard prices, market and industry news, and MLA-supported events and resources. Key measurable indicators are set within our new business and the portal allows us to track those indicators and manage our marketing cycle.

Name the best feature of myMLA

It is a very user-friendly interface and is easily modified to suit a producer’s business. The LPA, NLIS and MSA-linked account has streamlined administration and is a key feature for our business.

Any suggestions for improvements?

Although the site is mobile compatible, it would be beneficial to see it released as an App, given the increasing amount of time spent working outside the office.

Stuart Austin and Trish Cowley, Managers, Wilmot Cattle Company, Ebor, NSW

Wilmot Cattle Company is a grass-finishing and backgrounding enterprise that processes 60–120 head a month and trades 3,000–5,000 head a year into feedlots.

What motivated you to sign up to myMLA?

We buy a lot of cattle out of saleyards in spring and out of the paddock later in the season. The ability to customise myMLA with snapshots from the saleyards that we buy from regularly and to watch the market in more detail than the EYCI (Eastern Young Cattle Indicator) presents was very appealing.

Single sign-on for the integrity programs was also a big attraction. When I need an MSA declaration or eDec NVD in a hurry, I don’t have to go looking for oddly configured user names and passwords.

How has it changed how you manage your enterprise?

myMLA has given me the ability to value cattle in the paddock more accurately. I can monitor regional market trends and how they are correlating to the EYCI to make marketing decisions on forecast sales.

We endeavour to manage risk by forward selling cattle as far out as the market will allow. By monitoring what’s happening in the market, we can get a better feel for where we think it is heading. This enables us to make decisions in advance to maximise profit, rather than speculating and taking a price on the day.

Name the best feature of myMLA

Up-to-the-minute, customised, detailed information relevant to my enterprise.

Scott and Anna Anderson, Killara Pastoral Company, Flinders Island, Tasmania

The convenience of myMLA was the main attraction for beef and lamb producer Scott Anderson.

Q. What motivated you to sign up to myMLA?

A. The linked accounts are much more convenient than having different account numbers and passwords for the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS), Livestock Data Link (LDL) and Livestock Production Assurance (LPA).

Q. How has it changed how you access information?

A. It has made it more convenient. We’re mostly a backgrounding operation, but we also finish heifers and cows. We access NLIS data to look at carcase weights of cattle we have bred and to check transfers have been done correctly, as these are usually handled by a third party. We access LDL for feedback on the cattle we sell over the hooks, and we access our LPA account to manage eDECs. I also look at National Livestock Reporting Service market reports and general market news through our myMLA dashboard.

Q. What is the best feature of myMLA?

A. The single password for the three systems that we use: NLIS, LDL and LPA.