Digital Agriculture Forms Lead to Better Farm Data
Originally published on 06/27/2018
Collect better farm data with digital agriculture forms
Whether you’re a local farmer, a member of the Farm Service Agency, or a USDA Information Technology specialist, odds are your work has been dramatically impacted by the rise of precision agriculture.
Precision agriculture, as described by Geoffrey Ling and Blake Bextine of Scientific American, “combines sensors, robots, GPS, mapping tools and data-analytics software to customize the care that plants receive without increasing labor”. This mass influx of data has rapidly transformed the agriculture industry, resulting in massive opportunities to leverage data insights to optimize farm operations. Ling and Bextine explain such advancements have proven to “improve time management, reduce water and chemical use, and produce healthier crops and higher yields—all of which benefit farmers’ bottom lines and conserve resources while reducing chemical runoff.”
The growing adoption of precision farming and big data insights has led to a greater demand for highly accurate, timely data, within every facet of the ag industry. So how can growers, ranchers, and farm management teams begin the digitization process and keep pace with advancing farm technologies? A fantastic first step is capturing real-time farm data through digital agriculture forms.
Digital agriculture forms range from mobile Soil Tests to electronic Animal Health Checklists. The real-time nature of capturing and instantly routing data from the field to the office makes digital agriculture forms so powerful. Mobile data capture solutions, like GoFormz, empower farm personnel to collect data in digital agriculture forms that look exactly like their existing paper documents (a familiar user interface that reduces onboarding demands and streamlines data entry) straight from their mobile device. Because ag teams work predominantly in the field, GoFormz provides offline data entry capabilities, so users never need to worry about having a signal to do their jobs.
Farm management software and tools, like GoFormz, also allow for added visual context within mobile agriculture forms. For example, if a GoFormz user were completing an animal health inspection, they could include Image fields to document hazards and concerns to help illustrate captured data. This image could be further annotated using Sketch fields to highlight key concerns within the photo. Users can also include GPS data detailing the location of the inspection.
Once completed, digital agriculture forms can be instantly routed to supervisors, veterinarians, and other key players, resulting in immediate responses to opportunities and obstacles. In our previous example, if an animal inspection concluded an animal was ill, an Automated Workflow could instruct the form to be immediately routed to a supervisor and veterinarian. This eliminates delays and provides the vital healthcare needed as quickly as possible.
Finally, farm teams leveraging digital agriculture forms can run and schedule real-time reports to better understand their operation’s opportunities and trends. This is a key factor in precision agriculture and breaking from the ambiguity of traditional farming. While traditional farming relied on historical data, precision agriculture and modern farm advancements harness collected farm data to identify and apply transformative insights.
Curious to explore how GoFormz can serve as the central data management solution for your business activities? Take advantage of our free trial and discover the swift impact GoFormz can make on enhancing your farm operations.
