By Erald Smit
Head of MYFARMWEB™ and Services Agri Technovation
The term big-data is a buzzword that is often misplaced. This is especially true when it comes to agriculture. Big-data is characterised around volume, variety, velocity, variability and veracity. Agriculture has more than enough of these (Paul Turner, 2017).
Technological advances and the increase in integration of computer software utilised for farming operations assist farmers in finding solutions in managing big agricultural data, as they are now able to implement and use advanced integrated systems that support optimal decision-making at farming level.
One such integrated system is the highly innovative developed MYFARMWEB™ platform.
MYFARMWEB™ aggregates various data streams from different sources, including precision agriculture sensors, end user generated data, soil physical-, soil chemical- and leaf analyses as well as other data pools, and presents it to a farmer efficiently in a simple format through a single point of entry. Allowing farmers easy access all information relevant to their operations, hosted on one consolidated cloud-hosted platform. With immediate access supports quick and informed decision-making, which in turn assists farmers in improving their overall production efficiency.
Multi Select on Smart Layer
Hortec Weather Stations
Latest additions
Initial features on the platform included profitability configuration expansion, the Drill Down Tool and multi-layering of information datasets.
Since then various innovative updates have been implemented, mostly fuelled by user requests. Most recent updates include the following:
Multi-Select on the Smart Layer: Users can now select multiple fields while entering crop information in the Smart Layer. The same crop and cultivar information can be applied over many different fields, which will ultimately save the user time, as individual input for each crop is no longer required. This is especially useful for annual crop farming that requires frequent data entry.
Smart Layer Download: This feature allows users to download smart layer data in CSV or Excel format. The current and historic seasons’ crop data can be downloaded, stored and viewed at the user’s convenience.
New Smart Layer Form: The Smart Layer input form has been upgraded to be more user-friendly while various actions (inputting crop data, viewing past crops, editing and deleting incorrect records) are now easier than ever before.
Coordinates Tool: This feature enables users to select points of interest on the farm and pin-point coordinates to share with stakeholders.
Hortec Integration: Hortec’s integration with the platform has been completed successfully which now allows Hortec subscribers to view their weather station data.
Print Maps: MYFARMWEB™ has introduced a print function which allows users to print the current view. This allows for the ability to save PDFs, which can then be shared with stake-holders via frequently used communication channels such as email and WhatsApp.
Davis Weather Stations: The successful integration of Davis weather stations is now complete on MYFARMWEB™, allowing users to view current weather and rainfall readings from their Davis weather stations. Further enhancement is underway which will allow for the inclusion of historical weather trends.
iFly on the Drill Down tool: Users subscribed to the Airbus VERDE™ Bio-Physical parameters can now also view the VERDE™ data in the Drill Down tool analysis, providing users with more information to support improved farming- related decisions.
Smart Layer Download
Davis Weather Stations
Fruit Growth and Quality Indicators: Users subscribed to the My Fruit Growth™ service will be able to visualise growth and trends and receive recommendations from their agronomist on MYFARMWEB™. Fruit measurements are captured via the innovative MYFARMWEB™ Capture APP.
MYFARMWEB™ Notifications: Notifications will be introduced to MYFARMWEB™, which will notify users of new data being uploaded to the platform, based on their preferences. Further enhancements to this functionality will also include the capability to send notifications to users of threshold breeches in pest incidence detected by the MYFARMWEB™ Capture PPM APP and advise users of threatening inclement weather conditions.
Aquacheck Probes: Inroads have been made with the integration and displaying of data from Aquacheck probes, which means users that utilise Aquacheck probes through the Aquacheck platform will soon be able to see their soil moisture data on MYFARMWEB™.
MYFARMWEB™ Activity Planner: Users will in future have the ability to record, plan, edit, and execute all operations relating to farming activities on MYFARMWEB™. Workbooks and other management systems will no longer be required for pre-season planning as it will be centralised on MYFARMWEB™.
Functionality will include the planning of the entire season’s workflow, receiving notifications when tasks are due, rescheduling tasks where required due to unforeseen circumstances, assigning tasks to employees and receiving notification when the task has been completed.
Furthermore, your agronomist’s recommendations into your planning can be included and updated as crops respond to the relevant applications or as your budget allows. View your inventory levels and easily identify whether you need to order stock. This feature will also include advanced reporting functionality to complement documentation requirements for local and international regulatory conditions.
Precision made easy
The primary goal of precision agriculture is to achieve profitability, efficiency, and sustainability at farm level.
In this instance, MYFARMWEB™ and MYFARMWEB™ Mobile are highly efficient supporting tools – providing their users with easy access to relevant farming-related information, the ability to monitor their crops, pests, soil and weather conditions and to compare layers of data in one consolidated platform, converting recommendations and conclusions into plans of action.
For more information contact Agri Technovation on +27 21 300 0543 or visit www.agritechnovation.co.za