Technology in agriculture has the potential to change the way we make decisions, but only if we have the tools to understand and interpret the data.
How all your farm data is organised and accessed will have a big impact on the insights it can provide.
Many seen, and likely benefited, from the introduction of technology over the last decade and experienced the ongoing struggle with trying to get it all to work together so that the right people can make sense of the data.
Why should it be so difficult to get soil test results, crop history, seasonal plans and yield results into the same program?
Farm data is piling in from tractor monitors, satellites, drones, weather sensors and a growing number Internet of things (IoT) devices.
This trend is likely to continue and the flood of digital data will increase, but for many farmers, they don’t know where to start their digital journey to capture the benefits of this additional data.
According to a company spokesman, Agworld is actively addressing this problem through an ongoing investment in integrations.
“This year alone Agworld has developed integrations with John Deere, Figured and Xero and soil testing laboratories, in addition to creating a rainfall data community,” the Agworld spokesman said.
“Agworld’s collaborative approach means that farm data can be seamlessly shared between agronomists and farmers.”
Tammin, WA, farmer Brad Jones said start with a plan.
"The old saying that you can't manage what you can't measure rings true here," Mr Jones said.
"It is a reference point for all of us, where we all know the plan, can check what we are doing and have confidence we are capturing and acting on robust data.
”The challenge for many farmers and the people they work with is finding solutions that leverage transparency and efficiency across all the places they have data,” he said.
“How do they quickly and easily find out what has been done and what is left to do?” Agworld general manager, Simon Foley said.
“Agworld’s vision is that farmers, and the individuals that are important to their business can access the right information at the right time to make the best decision possible,” he said.
“With Agworld, our workers now access a job description and information they need for the day through the app on their smart phone, iPad or laptop and can carry out the job as quickly and efficiently as possible," Ardmona orchardist, Mitchell McNab said.
Mr McNab’s advisor, Steve Booth believes the Agworld app is the vital conduit in the process of being accurate, cutting out cumbersome paperwork and improving productivity for everyone.
Agworld believes 2018 is the year to go digital and assess opportunities to measure what is managed, adopt a platform for managing farm data and importantly bring the stakeholders around the farm business closer to the information they need.
