From data-capable to data-enabled

There’s no denying that farming is rapidly changing and looks significantly different than it did in the not-so-distant past. The dusty logbooks full of field information compiled through decades of sweat equity and a bit of farmer’s intuition are rapidly being replaced by electronic sensors and spreadsheets. For years, farmers have had the ability to monitor everything from weather and moisture levels to inputs like seed and fertilizer.

These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find a piece of equipment that doesn’t offer some degree of data collection. Many machines are data-capable — collecting data from a range of tasks and applications — but what happens after that data is collected? If it’s sitting on a cloud portal, can it truly be easily retrieved and used? What if accessing your farming operation’s data set was as easy as answering your cell phone?

If you’re just dipping your toe into the world of agronomic and fleet data, the experience can be overwhelming. When you have all of that digital information and nowhere to put it, it’s reasonable to feel the urge to go running back to that old logbook. The good news is, with the right information management program — like the AFS Connect Farm app from Case IH — finding new ways to maximize your efficiency through technology is easier than you think. You can start by creating an AFS Connect account and importing your existing farm data. After that, you’ll be ready to go mobile.

When you have the right farm and data management software on a mobile device, it’s like you have a complete farm management office in your back pocket. Once you have it downloaded to your mobile device or tablet, you can easily organize your fields and applications and start putting the data you’ve collected to work. You’ll get agronomic insights that connect you to your farm down to the field level, allowing you to share selected farm, field or field operation two-way data with trusted partners. Best of all, this program is totally free and works with your data regardless of the colour of the equipment in your shed.

Focus where there’s potential

The agronomic data you collect and upload allows you to determine solutions to the longstanding problems on your operation so you can replace guesswork with smart work. For instance, yield data across a field can be cross-referenced with its history, such as planting date, seed singulation, chemical applications, growing degree days (GDD) and rainfall. This can then be used to identify areas for improvement and make better-informed agronomic decisions. For example, you can maximize your next crop’s yield potential by leveraging data to monitor application rates, reduce plant crowding, and keep track of what you’ve planted. The more data you collect each year, the more information you have to make smart tweaks during planning to get the most out of your fields.

Smart data usage doesn’t just apply to off-season planning. If you’re planning an in-season application, you can adjust your prescription using weather data on a field-to-field basis. For example, if you can see from your data that there are areas of your fields that are drought-stricken, flooded, or compromised in a way where their potential yield will be limited, you could skip an application. Then, you could reroute your resources away from those acres and focus instead on areas that have better yield potential.

You can use your farm data to work in tandem with the equipment in your fields, too. In addition to creating field boundaries, you can make passable and impassable sections of your fields that generate important cutoff points for your in-field machinery. With interior boundaries, you can control variable rates of equipment with incredible precision and maximize the financial potential of fields with total accuracy. Proper data-driven planning and accurately mapped field boundaries will reduce input, fuel and labor costs while potentially adding hours to a short preparation window.

Colour-blind data
When thinking about what data you have, it’s not just what is being collected now. Management systems such as AFS Connect allow you to upload historical data — no matter the colour of machine that was collecting it. The system can then layer on important historical weather information, giving you more insight into the history of your operation.
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to incorporating technology into your operation, utilizing your farm data properly is a great place to start. You can download a data and operation management tool like the AFS Connect Farm app on your Android or Apple IOS device for free and start making better decisions about your farm from anywhere, anytime. You can also talk to your local equipment dealer to learn about what additional technology could benefit your operation this year. Just remember, “data capable” is just a buzz phrase until that data is working to improve your farm’s bottom line.
To learn more about AFS Connect technology, visit caseih.com