minding your business Smart apps for agriculture
Consider carefully what hardware and services will work best in your operation.
M
any farmers have enjoyed some good years recently, but the onlyway to ensure
long-termprofitability is bymanaging gross profitmargins. Mobile technology, such as
smartphones, offer farmers expanded capabilities beyond just email and voicemail and increased opportunities tomulti-task on the
go.Depending on location,most farmers havemobile technology access. “The newsmartphones have almost
asmuch computing capacity as your desktop in your office, so you can essentially take everythingwith you,” saysGregKitching, Precision Agriculture Agronomist and Certified Crop Advisor (CCA)ON,with AgraTurf Equipment Services in Ayr,Ontario. Before rushing out to buy a
smartphone, do some homework first. “One of themost important questions to ask is about service,” explainsKitching. “Make sure your service provider is strong in the area youwill beworking in, as signals can be an issue for some people. Shopping for the right data plan thatmeets your needs is also very
important.Reliability and ruggedness in the field are
critical.Make sure to check warranty and replacement options from service providers. Kitching notes that the 3Gtechnology
is a definite improvement in terms of transfer rates,which keep improving with newreleases. “Hardware is also a big thing, andwith different options for Blackberries, iPhones and droids,make sure to look at the applications available and find the hardware thatmatches what youwant fromthe app end.” An app is a small piece of softwaremade for
smartphones.Many apps are free or available for a small charge. “The newsmartphones essentially let
you take your businesswith you, and with the advent of guidance systems in machines, it gives you time to do your marketing or bankingwhile you are in the field,” saysKitching. “It gives you the ability tomulti-task and keep on top
of details and communication,without having towait until evening to catch up.” Weather is probably themost
important information. “Theweather network has a really good app,which gives you almost real time radar on your phone,” explainsKitching. “Features likeGPS and a good resolution camera in the phone are invaluable for sharing informationwith crop consultants for example. If you see an issue in the field, you can take a photo, the softwarewill automatically geo-tag it and then send it off to your crop consultant. The consultant can come right back to the exact spot in the field.” Socialmedia such as Twitter are also
becoming a useful tool, saysKitching. “There are all kinds of great people to followon Twitter and some crop consultants are starting to use it. I followamarketing expert fromtheUS, who tweets 20 or 30 times a day on factors influencingmarkets around the world. It is only two lines of text, is quick and efficient, and you can ignore it if youwant.” —EduTransferDesign Associates andHaywire Creative
Choices, choices... There are hundreds of thousands
of smartphone apps to choose from. Some are free, but many cost a token amount. Not all will work on every operating system. Some will only work on an iPhone, and others only on BlackBerry, Android, Symbian orWindows Mobile 7 phones. The number of apps available is
growing on an almost hourly basis. You can find the newest by going to your smartphone’s app store and typing “agriculture” into the search engine. It’s also possible to find many with a standard Internet search. Need help getting started? Google
these organizations and check out the apps they offer: Agrian Mobile Information Center Dekalb Plant Population Calculator
DTN – The Progressive Farmer DuPont tank-mix app Farm Futures News Farmers Partner Growing degree day calculator Ipest Livestock Manager Loadout Project Noah Syngenta Farm Mobile TheWestern Producer What’s Invasive
Pollination Services 7,000 Colonies Available
Blueberry, Cranberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Strawberry, Currants, Kiwi, Pumpkin, Zucchini, Squash
14 British Columbia Berry Grower • Winter 2013-14
Contact: John Gibeau President, Honeybee Centre Cellular (604) 317-2088
Email:
Gibeau@HoneybeeCentre.com
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