MCDONALD’S has unveiled a new free business digital tool for beef farmers which has already helped one farmer identify potential savings of almost £10,000.

The What If ?’tool highlights where daily operations can be done more efficiently.

Dorset beef farmer Andrew Foot identified savings of £9,917 – and a reduction in carbon emissions – by improving silage quality and gaining better feed conversion efficiencies.

He said: “Monitoring business performance on the farm is incredibly important and I’m always looking to learn from other sectors and use technology to increase my farm’s efficiency.

“The What If? Tool demonstrates that making small changes to animal groups can really make a big difference to overall performance.”

McDonald’s UK and independent environmental consultants The E-CO2 Project have developed the tool over four years.

An early version was launched last year to help farmers measure their carbon emissions per kilo of beef.

Their feedback led to the tool being developed to identify cost as well as carbon savings.

Farmers input data including daily live-weight gain, feed use per animal, fertiliser use, forage quality and sale weights.

They can then run different “What If?” scenarios to see what changes would have the most impact on their business.

McDonald’s is making the tool available free of charge as part of Farm Forward, its longterm programme to create a sustainable future for British and Irish farming.

It is part of a £1m investment over six years to help beef farmers run efficient and sustainable businesses.

McDonald’s has also introduced Sustainable Beef Clubs, free networking sessions at which farmers share their knowledge and experiences in return for expert consultancy and access to research.

To access the tool visit mcdonalds.eco2project.com/Beef/