It started with a meeting about succession planning.
Justin Webb was sitting at the table and asked the family's advisors, 'if we make a decision to spend on an improvement, what's our expected yield?'
To which he was told, 'farming doesn't work that way, you can't predict it'.
But what if you could?
Mr Webb, along with fellow AgriWebb co-founders Kevin Baum and John Fargher, set out to try and digitise the data farmers had previously stored in notebooks or in their heads.
Eight years on from the launch of AgriWebb and the 13,000 farmers and ranchers using the business management software are proof that not only can this data be captured, it can be used to generate actionable insights.
"The point was to create an interface that empowered and enabled data capture, super simply and intuitively," Mr Webb said.
"But then we got into the idea of 'let's not be a data graveyard', because ultimately just to gather this data and then look back and go, 'look at all this data I've gathered', is not that great.
"It becomes an idea of what action can I derive from the information I've captured."
Arming farmers with data
AgriWebb allows sheep and cattle grazing operations to track a range of information including livestock movements, feed on offer, weight gain over time and paddock treatment records.
This information can be viewed on a farm map, removing the need for spreadsheets and drop-down menus.
AgriWebb is a familiar face on the field day circuit and although Mr Webb couldn't attend FarmFest, the team was on the ground at the event.
Marketing executive Amber Woods said engagements with farmers had been positive, both in terms of leads and sales.
Ms Woods said there was a lot of hype about agtech, particularly software, which was exciting to see.
"AgriWebb is all about bringing people into the digital future of agriculture, getting people out of the office and out of Excel and spending more time with their families as well," she said.
"One of our most popular features and something that has really gotten people excited at this event is probably one of our most basic features as well - task management.
"Instead of trying to get on to people, sending text messages when no-one has reception, AgriWebb works completely offline so you can drop tasks and have that transparency across the operation."
Mr Webb said agtech companies had a responsibility to build products that were sympathetic to the infrastructure as it existed.
That's why AgriWebb operates online and offline. Data can be added while out of service and it will be updated in the cloud once the user is back in range.
Homegrown agtech success story
Mr Webb said AgriWebb always had an aspiration to deliver its product internationally and to help red meat producers on a global scale.
Investment from groups based in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada accelerated this journey.
More than 200 farms are signing up every month and at present there's 18 million head of livestock being tracked across 54 million hectares.
Mr Webb said surveys had found users had been getting a 7.5 to 8 per cent year-on-year uplift in productivity.
"That's really exciting because we see users getting so much value out of it, fundamentally meaning they don't have to sell the farm and increasing profitability to the point it reengages the next generation," Mr Webb said.
"The core value is to 'live for the farmer' and I think if we can continue to do that there's a pretty exciting future ahead."
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In some cases AgriWebb's data is being used overseas to provide farmers with cheaper loans and deliver a premium per kilogram to producers.
Capturing data was creating opportunities throughout the supply chain and could be used to arm consumers with proactive information about red meat.
"Fundamentally, what AgriWebb is and what AgriWebb does, is it provides a tool to primary producers to increase the productivity, profitability and the sustainability of their on-farm operations," he said.
"It empowers those primary producers to start to engage, with evidence, into that conversation through to the consumer.
"And I think the supply chain becomes empowered to actually have a conversation with their consumer about sustainability, animal welfare and environmental welfare."
The core value is to 'live for the farmer' and I think if we can continue to do that there's a pretty exciting future ahead.
- Justin Webb
So what's been the end result of using the software for Mr Webb at home on Eddington Station in western Victoria?
The family has nearly tripled the dry sheep equivalent it can run.
Lambing and marking rates in the Coopworth/Poll Dorset-cross flock have consistently gone from 90pc up to 140pc.
Meanwhile, calving rates in the Angus herd are up to 95pc and the cattle are hitting their target weights for sale.
Investment in pasture improvements and using smaller pastures to do higher rates of rotational grazing has also paid dividends.
The proof is in the pudding, sure, but ultimately Mr Webb said productivity gains don't just happen by storing data on a tablet, it requires a lot of concurrent hard work.