Technology continues to push the boundaries and power imaginations in today’s fast paced society. What would have stunned our grandparents is now commonplace in our world – like smartphones, for instance.
If farmers from generations gone were told they could use a cellular phone device to predict changes in the weather, monitor security cameras, control a drone or send money from bank account to bank account, they probably would have laughed. But not today.
Technology, including agriculture technology, has come a long way in the short time. Nearly every farmer carries a tiny super computer in the form of a smartphone in his or her pocket. Farmer can use his or her smartphone, tablet or other device for tasks such as calculating fertilizer applications, monitoring the weather radar or marketing their agricultural products, thanks to a developing technology and apps.
An app is defined as “a self-contained program or piece of software designed to fulfill a particular purpose; an application, especially as downloaded by a user to a mobile device.” The array of apps that one can download and purchase is almost limitless. There are a multitude of downloads that can be used to make life easier.
Kent Shannon, natural resource engineer with the University of Missouri Extension, noted that “apps can be a very useful tool in ag production – from weather information, looking up parts for equipment, recordkeeping (note taking) both livestock and crops, simple calculations such as for sprayer calibration, and marketing information.”
Kent compiled a list of some of the most useful smartphone applications for those in agriculture and divided the list into nine sections: Agronomy, Commodity Pricing, Crop Scout and Precision Ag, Farm Management, Irrigation, Spray Application and Tank Mix, Ag Machinery, News, Weather and Information and Livestock.
The list of apps is extensive, but some favorites can be found on the next page.
These are just a small sampling of what the farmer can download and use on a day to day basis. Soil sampling assistance, tractor repair manuals, commodity charts and so much more can be found in the app store, and many of them are free. It pays to utilize apps where you can, especially as the world keeps moving forward.
“As I have been working in the area of technology in agriculture for over 20 years, I would say as technologies mature they do become more mainstream and become an integral part of agriculture. Apps seem to be getting there, at least in the area of crop production. Also with an influx of smartphones into the communication marketplace, since one doesn’t see to many flip phones any more, apps will continue to be utilized more,” Shannon said.
What kind of apps can the farmer use?
4-H Livestock Record
This app allows 4-H leaders to organize livestock project information from individual participants, track group participation, record animal weights and other information, create financial statements and export reports. This app is free to download to iPhone, iPad and iPad Touch.
Weather Channel
This handy app from the weather channel is free to download, and offers a customizable weather report for your location, and has an ag app within the software that allows farmers to access wind speed, anticipated precipitation, soil moisture conditions and more.
Tank Mix Calculator
Powered by TapLogic, this free app helps farmers easily calculate a tank mix by entering acreage, tank size and carrier volume, and then selecting the chemical. The calculator then figures the numbers of loads required to apply the mix to your fields.
Stink Bug Scout
If you are a university researcher in the entomology field, this might be the app for you. This app is designed for and used by university researchers to enter data and assess stink bug populations in landscapes and fields.
Ag-PhD Field Guide
This field guide that you can download straight to your smartphone and take to the pasture with you helps you identify field pests by name or photo. It also allows you to stay up to the minute with news from the agronomy front with a newsletter and updates.
