AGvisorPRO is a new service for western Canadian farmers, launched in July. On one side of the service is an ever-growing bank of specialists and experts from different fields of expertise, from across the country, available to speak with farmers. On the other side of the service are farmers and ranchers with the free AGvisorPRO app on their smartphones, tablets or desktop computers who are dealing with some production or management question. They may or may not need an immediate answer. But they can use the app to connect with one of those specialists or experts — talk, text or video with them directly — and potentially have their question resolved within a few minutes.

Fee-for-service advice

It’s a fee-per-call service, ranging anywhere from $35 to $60 for initially 10 minutes worth of consulting services, with more time available as needed.

“AGvisorPRO is the uberization of knowledge and wisdom,” says Patrick Walther, general manager of AGvisorPRO, who advises people to take a moment to digest that concept. Similar to the Uber car-for-hire service that pools the resources of privately owned vehicles to be rented by individuals as a taxi service, AGvisorPRO pools the resources of some of the top agronomic, farm management, livestock production and ag mechanical expertise — making them available to be a phone call away from producers.

“A question or problem arises the farmer needs help with, and often timing is important, and they may not know who to call,” says Walther, explaining the process. “They can go to the AGvisorPRO app on their smartphone, enter a few key words, along with photos or short video, describing the problem. The system will then produce a list of AGvisorPRO professionals who have knowledge and expertise in that problem area and the farmer can select one to call for information. It is expected the professional will be in touch with the producer within 10 to 15 minutes or sooner.”

With the initial call, producers need to register their credit cards. The cost of the consulting service will be billed directly to the card for time used, based on 10-minute increments. The AGvisorPRO service, developed by founder Rob Saik, a well-known figure in the agriculture industry, will offer expertise in seven key areas: crops, livestock, machinery, technology integration, business management, human resources and mental health.

While there is a fee-for-service, Walther points out many of these advisors are some of the leading experts in their field and their time and knowledge is valuable. “At the same time if there is some problem in front of a farmer that can be resolved in a few minutes and get equipment back working in the field that is worth quite a bit too,” he says. After they finish the call, farmers are urged to rate the value of the information they received.

As of early August, AGvisorPRO had about 80 professionals and specialist in its pool of “agvisors” with the list growing steadily. In the first couple of weeks after the service was launched, between 400 and 500 farmers downloaded the app. The field of experts includes independent consultants, equipment specialists, technologists, government experts and industry professionals as well as farmers. “We’re always interested in signing up more specialists and experts,” says Walther. “And that can include farmers advising farmers.”

While most farmers have solid experience to share, the AGvisorPRO service is particularly interested in farmers with expertise in a particular area of crop or livestock production or farm management that may be helpful to another producer.

Complementing, not competing

Farmers will be able to connect with AGvisorPRO consultants through a couple of different avenues. There is the direct farmer connection to a professional through the cell phone app, but AGvisorPRO is also enlisting industry partners including grain companies, ag retailers, and chemical companies. Producers will be able to contact their ag retailer, for example, and connect through them with a consultant, with the cost of the consulting services covered by the industry partner.

“If a farmer or ag retailer already has a crop agronomist, for example, we don’t see AGvisorPRO taking anything away from that service,” says Dan Brewin, company co-CEO. Brewin has extensive ag industry experience in food production, crop input sales as well as grain and livestock marketing. “We see AGvisorPRO as an extension or complementary to that service. The local agronomist has excellent knowledge but for certain questions or when needed AGvisorPRO can connect farmers with a specialist.”

Brewin says the high-tech AGvisorPRO app virtually shrinks time and space. “We are starting the service largely with experts in Western Canada but we hope to expand that across North America and even other parts of the world,” he says. “You can be standing in your field someplace in Saskatchewan and speak to a specialist in another part of the province for a few hundred miles away. Sometimes you may need someone with local or regional knowledge. But when it comes to a machinery question for example that combine technician could be anywhere in North America.”

Brewin says the usage fee applied to each call reflects the value of service and information. “It’s surprising how much ground can be covered in a 10-minute phone call,” he says. “A producer may be looking for information to solve a specific and immediate problem, or they may be looking for an expert to bounce an idea off of before making a management decision.”

For more information on the service, visit its website.

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Brent Nicol of Xarvio Digital Farming Solutions describes how its scouting app uses photo-recognition to identify early-stage weeds, diseases and measure leaf damage using images taken with your smartphone. Xarvio is currently working with technology-maker Bosch to develop ‘Smart Sprayer’ technology that will allow operators to spray individual weeds on-the-go with a targeted herbicide application.

Xarvio won the innovations award in the Plant and Soil Science category at Ag in Motion 2019 earlier in July.

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Operators should notice a big difference in the ride with these machines. The new MT700 Series is the first to use three stages of suspension and oscillating mid-wheels that allow the tracks to better contour over the ground.

“The MaxxRide integrated comfort system consists of the oscillating mid-wheels, hardbar suspension and cab suspension, so operators experience great ride quality without sacrificing the in-field benefits of power, control and traction,” according to Josh Keeney, tactical marketing manager at AGCO, who led a walk-around of the tractor at the show. “Handling at higher road speeds also has been improved, and ride comfort when traveling on the road is noticeably better than previous models.”

The primary suspension has been redesigned with coil springs and high-capacity, off-road style shock absorbers to create the more comfortable ride, which the brand claims is superior to hydro-pneumatic suspension systems. A new two-point cab suspension system with increased suspension at the rear of the cab absorbs and dissipates the vibration from the ground through the rear axle.

There are also improvements inside the cab, starting with a new 10.4-inch touch-screen AccuTerminal that has a smartphone feel. Using the AccuTerminal, operators can manage all tractor settings and adjustments as well as monitor and control ISOBUS 11783-compatible implements. It also handles camera functions, field documentation, variable rate applications, guidance, wireless data transfer, and the AccuField Command headland management system.

All systems, including the hydraulics and PTO are designed to run at lower engine rpm, to further lower fuel costs and reduce engine wear, according to Keeney. An upgraded hydraulic system offers full output at just 1,700 r.p.m.

A new LED light package adds more lights at the rear of the tractor, positioned to provide a clear view out to each end of a 24-row planter for those late nights in the field. Porch lighting on the cab provides a safe view of the area, then the smart-battery disconnect powers everything down for the night. An integrated walk-around platform provides exterior cab access to help with jobs like cleaning windows.

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The BeanIoT system deploys thumb-sized “smart” sensors to monitor whatever the user requires. In a grain storage shed or bin that might be temperature, humidity, or insect movements. The sensors provide detailed, layered data that give a complete picture of what’s going on at multiple locations and at any point in time.

“These units, which could be either thrust or deposited into the grain, are at a level that you can have a high density of information,” says Andrew Holland, founder and CEO of RF Module and Optical Design Limited (RFMOD), developer of the BeanIoT technology. “It’s often reported that two probe points in a grain stack say there’s no problem but there is actually a problem in between those probe points that wasn’t picked up. Density of deployment is key. Our system provides lots of physical positions across the grain stack, so the farmer is not going to miss any untoward activity like hot spots, mould growth, insect infestation, and so forth.”

The system comes with “beans” that are deployed into the product or system the user wants to monitor, as well as an integrated “Internet of things” platform, app and data visualisation service.

BeanIoT is an out-of-the-box system that the user can begin to use immediately with minimal set up and without a significant up-front investment. RFMOD is currently testing BeanIoT on U.K. farms using flat grain storage facilities, although it is also suitable for use in grain bins.

“There is genuine interest from small to mid-size farmers to have a working system,” says Holland. “They still need to periodically walk the grain stack, but our system means that they don’t need to laboriously insert probes and manually record the data. It is easy to set up, and once they turn the system on the beans being to pump data to the BeanIoT hub and then across the ether to any laptop, computer or smartphone. That data set is giving data points to a known time base, which is also flexible. As grain goes into the bin or flat store, they are able to increase the number of samples of temperature or humidity because the farmer wants to see that temperature come down to a good level. Once it’s at a certain level, they can reduce the sample frequency from multiple times an hour, or once an hour, to once or twice a day.”

The rechargeable beans have a battery life of around 14 months and can be re-used over and over again.

The tiny beans produce “big data” which the user owns and controls. Users can decide where to measure data, what data to record, and how to use and share the data. The idea is to help users make better-informed management decisions. “We’re putting all the information anybody would ever need to know up in front of them,” says Holland. “It’s those high level decisions that we’re trying to assist with.”

Instead of displaying endless graphs and spreadsheets full of numbers, the interface shows basic data as a thermal heat map, and additional data, such as humidity, can be overlaid. “It provides a compound image of what’s going on and the farmer can tell which sensor is pinpointing the actual point where there is an issue in the grain,” says Holland.

Try this at home

Many western Canadian farmers have issues with rural cellular or internet coverage, but BeanIoT system uses a local hub to receive data. “As long as the data gets back to a local hub, the hub itself can make the decision about what key data to send to the farmer, even if it’s just the decision-worthy data, so for example if just an alarm gets sent,” says Holland.

“The flexibility in the system is such that you can start by reporting all the data all the time to see all your graphs and everything else, but there may be a limited use to that over a period of time. What the farm or the store manager really needs to know is, “Is everything OK today?’ so the operator just needs to receive a tweet, alert or email with a name and position of the problem area and an actionable role inside.”

The system can also spot trends and is fully customizable to any user’s changing needs. “Over time, we know our customers will want new to add features but the system is so flexible that it can be easily updated over the air,” says Holland. “It’s two-way communication, so the farmer can tell the system to increase the time base or decrease it, ask for trend data, or only come on if it sees a step-change between certain parameters.”

In theory, the system could eventually hook into the drying or aeration system itself to automatically turn fans and vents on and off as needed. That stage of automation is still ahead.

BeanIoT is a generic system that has many potential applications for multiple industries where tracking or monitoring is required. It also has the potential to provide full traceability for agricultural and other products through the value chain.

The system is about a year away from commercialization, and although the company is focused on the U.K. agricultural market right now, it’s open to discussions with other countries and industries about the potential of BeanIoT for other applications.

The Internet of things

The ‘Internet-of-Things’ is an interconnected, global network of physical and virtual devices. It can include all kind of electronics such as sensors, smartphones and computers, as well as software, buildings, satellite or cellular systems or even refrigerators.

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Using the Pressure Calculator involves three steps. First, type in the load supported by front and rear axles. Then enter the type of tire using the drop-down menus. Finally, take a photo of the tractor with the smartphone. The app’s built-in camera function calculates load distribution and the length of the overhang measured from the axles. The app instantly works out the most appropriate tire pressure for the desired load and speed.

This app is the only one of its kind on the market, according to the company. It’s free and available on both Android and iOS devices. It’s also available in French.

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Kathy Larson, beef economist with the Western Beef Development Centre (WBDC) near Lanigan, Sask., recently gave a webinar presentation that gave an overview of some of the apps available for livestock producers.

Larson says in her opinion apps can be a great tool to help cow-calf producers with record-keeping, but they don’t replace a good record-keeping program. When Larson researched apps for cattle producers she found a variety of options, some of which were free, and others ranging from $17 to $170 to purchase. Which means as much as producers might like to “test drive” a few apps, it can be costly.

For anyone new to the technology, an app (short for application) is software for a smartphone or tablet. Many basic apps for weather forecasts, social media sites or games often come installed with the mobile device. Other apps need to be downloaded from app stores such as the Apple Store, Google Play or Blackberry App World. Many apps are free but some must be purchased, usually for a modest fee

So WBDC is helping producers by posting some online tutorials on different apps, showing how to navigate them and listing some of the pros and cons.

For the webinar Larson compared a number of free and paid apps that might be useful to cattle producers. Below is a summary of Larson’s review of each.

iCalve

Captures calving records, deaths, cull lists, treatments and important herd data such as bulls turned in, bull pulled out, cow, bull and bred heifer inventories, pregnancy check dates, vaccinations, cows on grass and cows on feed. It also has calf records, including birth date, sex, and dam information.

On the down side there is no ability to enter RFID tag or sire information, and in its current version the way to export data is to generate it in a pdf format, but an update with additional export features is in the works. The app is available only for Apple devices, and costs US$13. View the WBDC tutorial on YouTube.

Calving Book

Captures calving records and a plus is that a producer can log in on multiple devices and have multiple calving books, which is useful if they have both commercial and purebred herds. The user can customize the data fields required, and the data entered can be exported via email in a spreadsheet (.csv) format. It also does not have an RFID tag field.

Available for Apple or Android devices, the app costs $24. View the WBDC tutorial on YouTube.

CattleMGRPro

A record-keeping app for herd and pasture records, which also syncs to Apple iCloud, but is cumbersome to use because it handles 16 different species and it’s hard to navigate through them. It’s also only available for Apple devices for $22.

Grass Snap

A free app for Apple and Android developed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, It allows producers to keep a photo log of their pastures. Users can take digital photos of a landscape and up to five separate plots and the app records the GPS co-ordinates, date and the direction the user is facing in the field. By creating maps and using an overlay function the app shows producers how their pastures change over time.

Cow Poop Analyzer

This free app for Apple and Android developed by Texas A&M University may sound gross but it compares pictures the user takes of cow manure in the pasture to stock photos to get an indication of the crude protein content and digestibility of the animal’s feed source.

Canfax CFX Pro

CanFax CFX Pro is another free app for Apple and Blackberry, which gives access to market information, price projections, futures, and WLPIP premiums, and also includes a break-even calculator, with the ability to store the calculations to retrieve later.

Farm At Hand

Farm at Hand is an integrated, cloud-based farm management program, which is accessible through all mobile platforms and keeps track of grain marketing details, agronomic information by field, machinery, grain storage, and pricing. It is free of charge for farmers.

Larson adds that record-keeping programs such as Cattlemax and Biotrack also have mobile interfaces so data can be recorded using a smartphone or tablet.

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One of the latest field tracking apps on the market is Field Tracker Pro by Farmer-Apps.

Field Tracker Pro is based through the browser either on your desktop or smartphone. It can work with a PC, Mac or any major smartphone operating system. Field Tracker uses cloud technology to allow you to access your information from any device once you sign into your account or one of your managed user accounts.

Using Field Tracker

The Field Tracker app is what I would consider a layered application. The details are layered on top of each other and there is really only one way in and one way out to access the information.

Field Tracker is layered into three main sections. The first is the opening screen where you can select which year to work in or access settings where you can change information and manage users.

Once you select the year you can access your field menu. With the base subscription you can add up to 40 fields; with the premium subscription you can add up to 200 fields. You’ll noticed that once you select a field, it shows the current crop on that field in that crop year.

After you select a field you will also notice that the field header at the top shows the current crop and also the acreage (in acres and hectares, which is becoming a more commonly used unit for field areas.)

In the field section there are 11 activity options to choose from and one main option to input the field details. I noticed that, under the soil sampling option in the field details, there is no main nutrient option for nitrogen. The top three options are for PH, phosphorous and potassium. It would be nice to see an addition for nitrogen as I think it is a major part of Western soil tests. The rest of the activity selections include all the most common operations such as spraying and seeding but also some that are more area specific such as irrigation and straw harvest.

Each one of the activity options allows you to select information specific to that operation. An example is that in the spraying activity you can enter the chemical you are using, the rate, speed and pressure. Field Tracker also makes use of planned usages as well — you can compare what you planned to use versus what you actually used. All of these activities are then recorded with the selected date and added into the activity report for that field. You can look at this activity report at any time. This is a fairly simple point and click in and out system for entering information.

More from the Grainews website: Identify pests with a new web tool

Review

There are lots of things to like about this program but there are some things that could be added or changed. Two features I know they’re adding are automatic weather recording for spray records as well as the ability to change your records into a printable PDF format.

I think the activity reports get a bit lengthy when you’re adding in multiple activities. The information could be condensed down into a more efficient format. I could easily see print outs for my entire year getting over 100 pages. I would also like to see the ability to track commodity contracts and deliveries added to the app.

There are many nice things about this program. It is simple to use, with easy navigation. You could be using this program and entering information within five minutes. The menus navigate easily forward and backwards so you can find what you are looking for or update different parts of your field tracking operation. Also I like how fast the scroll buttons work in the activity addition fields. Speed of entry is very high on my priority list.

There are two pricing options once you use up your 30 day trial. The first is $249/year, which allows five users and 40 fields. The premium option is $479/year and includes the ability to manage 20 users and add up to 200 fields.

Like all apps and software there are still improvements to be made with Field Tracker but it is a very nice smooth program that would be perfect for people who are just getting into electronic field tracking and do not want an overly complicated program.

Jay Peterson farms near Frontier, Sask.

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