Managing data on the modern farm

What technologies are available to assist decision making?

Richard Heath, Innovate Ag Research

A lot of the technology I will be talking about has been around for a long time. What has changed recently is the ease of use of the technology and particularly the ease of handling the data that comes with use of the technologies. It is a rapidly evolving field that is being spurred on by the explosion of mobile computing with smart phones and tablets and the emergence of the “app” model of software delivery.

Apps are not necessarily changing the basic premise of “you have to measure to be able to manage” they are however providing an opportunity for making the measuring part a bit less painful and a bit more easily integrated into what we do every day. A major advantage that GPS enabled smart devices also offer is the ability to ground truth agronomic changes much more easily and more confidently.

Yield and other precision ag data

In my opinion yield data is still the most fundamental thing that needs to be measured on farm to help make agronomic decisions. Yield data both validates decisions made on sowing and fertiliser rates, variety and chemical choice and helps identify areas or zones of management. The technology for measuring yield has not changed significantly over the last twenty years however calibrations are becoming more robust and most importantly collecting and analysing data is becoming easier.

Getting the data off the yield monitor and then doing something with it has been one of the impediments to yield data being a more widely used management tool. Most manufacturers are now addressing these issues in some way.

Trimbles connected farm www.connectedfarm.com is an example of a networked solution where yield data is collected via the internet while operating so that there is no extra time or effort required to get the data into the office. Once the data has been collected there are still many home office based solutions for mapping and analysing however there is also now an increasing number of options for using cloud based analysis. PA Source www.pasource.com.au is an example of a service that will take uploaded raw yield data, analyse it and then provide yield maps for viewing either on desktop or mobile platforms.

Event data

There are many new apps that have been developed for recording paddock information and event data. They range from very simple native apps where data is stored on devices only through to complex and sophisticated packages that synchronise data through online servers across multiple devices and clients. As smart phones and tablets become increasingly used on farm it is an obvious evolution that they become used for entering farm data on the move and should provide an opportunity to reduce time spent in the office for record keeping and compliance.

Apps that have been successful in the general marketplace have been so because of a few key factors. They are generally very well designed visually, are simple and intuitive to use. There are many apps in this category that while not specifically designed for farm use can still be used productively in farm businesses. Dropbox and Evernote are two examples of simple intuitive cloud storage and note taking apps that can be set up to share files and other pertinent farm information.

Unfortunately there are few agricultural apps that have succeeded in these areas and most app developers producing paddock diary type apps have struggled with how to produce a simple intuitive app that is still powerful enough to cater for the complexity of agricultural operations.

There are some very comprehensive lists of apps available for paddock recording at: http://agex.org.au/project/apps-for-farmers-completed/ and http://hin.com.au/Agricultural-Applications.aspx and http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/broadacre/videos/useful-apps.

The most important thing to consider when looking at a paddock diary type app is whether you want to be able to access and analyse the information you record on more than one device or whether you are looking for something that will simply record spray operations say for compliance to legislation. For an app that will store, analyse and report on data as well as share with other devices and people you are going to need an app that integrates with some sort of data hosting ability and generally this comes at a much greater cost.

GPS and mapping data

GPS enabled smart phones and tablets have led to an explosion in mapping apps of some kind or another. There are many alternatives for simple mapping apps that will measure and record distance and area. AGRIplot http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/agriplot/id433796800?mt=8, Planimeter http://coresignals.com/planimeter/ and ArcGIS http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/smartphones are three examples of simple, cheap apps that will simply and quickly measure distance and area.

One of the most useful ways I have found of using the GPS ability of smartphones and tablets however is using them to display precision ag data for ground truthing in the field. Fertiliser rate changes (even accidental ones), seed rate or variety changes and zoning information can be mapped and displayed using a number of apps and then used to locate areas of interest in the field.

GISRoam  http://gisroam.com/ and Google Earth http://www.google.com/earth/index.html are both excellent apps for displaying a variety of precision ag data. GISRoam requires a subscription to its cloud hosting to enable data (generally shape files) to be transferred to the mobile device. With a bit of manipulation of files and a few more steps than GISRoam, Google Earth provides a completely free solution for displaying data. Provided you have a Google account .kml files can be uploaded (.kml can be created from .shp using free Map Window software) to your My Places folder in Google maps and then accessed via the Google Earth app on any mobile device.

Putting it all together

A possible use of technology for data collection and analysis throughout a growing season could look something like the following.

1. Previous years yield data is used to create management zones
2. Agronomists recommendations for sowing and fertiliser are accessed from cloud based servers and turned into actual records using mobile devices while planting.
3. Changes in seed and fertiliser rates are mapped while planting.
4. Spraying recommendation from agronomist is accessed from cloud and converted into actual record using mobile device for compliance and cost analysis.
5. Sowing and other maps are viewed in crop on mobile devices to make in season management decisions.
6. Harvest data is collected and used to validate previous decision making.

An example of the potential for integration of data throughout the decision making process in cropping is Monsanto’s new Integrated Farming Systems program. http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/integrated-farming-systems.aspx

Monsanto’s package combines its own research data with farmers management zones and environmental data and puts it together through precision ag technology to provide a management package that optimises yield potential across a farm. While the Monsanto model uses massive databases of research data to make recommendations the key principles behind the model are essentially the same that can be used at farm level with farm data.

By collecting data on all the operations performed around the farm analysis can be performed which allows the determination of the key profit drivers and areas for improvement. Mobile devices and apps have not changed this principle but are increasingly making it easier to collect the data and perform the appropriate analysis.

Contact details

Richard Heath, Innovate Ag Research
Mb: 0427 447 872
Email: richard@innovateagresearch.com.au