Using data to improve crop production

Leading New Zealand agronomists are reaping the rewards of better connectivity with farmers using an app that captures, shares and stores data in real-time for better crop planning, protection, nutrition and management. H&T Agronomics, based at Feilding in the North Island, has equipped its 12 forage and cropping agronomists and advisers with the Agworld app and connected several hundred farmer clients to the system.

Company business manager Duncan Thomas said the app had fast become the company’s main method of communication with clients, who are spread right across the North Island.

“It gives our team a comprehensive, consistent and accurate method of communicating plans, observations and recommendations to our clients throughout their entire cropping process,” he said.

“We find it gives both the farmers and agronomists surety around setting goals and recording and monitoring actions and activities in the paddock.”

Mr Thomas said the H&T Agronomics team logged all cropping activities, observations and recommendations in the Agworld app while they were on the client’s farm.

He said these were then sent to the company’s business manager before providing the information to the client and/or his contractor for oversight.

“This means records of activities are easily accessible for reference if a problem occurs, or there is a need to review them against a plan,” he said.

Mr Thomas said for farmer clients, the Agworld app was an important tool for generating fully mapped-out cropping plans, costed against budgets, to share with their staff and contractors to ensure recommendations were carried out correctly and recorded.

“It helps to maintain a clear, centralised crop management plan and database that everyone working on the farm can refer to,” he said.

“This ensures they are all working to common goals with minimal risk of confusion, delay and inaccuracy.

“Because information is collected and shared in the field, jobs can also be completed while fresh in mind.”

Mr Thomas said the Agworld app improved productivity for agronomists and farmers because it facilitated timeliness of all crop activities and reduced risks of having to undertake salvage situations.

“For our business, it also means agronomists are able to achieve more each day and make better use of their time with clients,” he said.

Mr Thomas said the Agworld app was a remarkably stable program and continued to grow and develop in clever ways to meet both farmer and agronomist needs for data capture and use.