According to a recent survey of 1,800 farmers by Farm Journal Media, 59% of them use a smartphone and 44% use a tablet computer. Based on the number of great farming apps out there, we’re guessing they’re doing more than playing Temple Run with those devices.
To help you sort through the multitude of farming and agriculture apps, we’ve listed our top five favorites that can help you run your farm as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
#5 Grower’s Edge – This app compiles data on cash prices and market quotes, local weather, news, and more into one interface.
#4 Connected Farm – This app from Trimble uses your phone’s GPS for mapping field boundaries, locating irrigation pivots, marking flags and entering scouting information for points, lines and polygon areas. The app also makes scouting and identification easier with an extensive list of weeds, insects and diseases.
#3 FarmLogs – This one’s for detail-oriented growers. With FarmLogs, farmers can document detailed information on a per-field basis. They can also track rainfall history, management inventory and budgets, and create task lists.
#2 ID Weeds – This one’s self-explanatory. Produced by the University of Missouri, ID Weeds helps farmers identify which weeds are in the fields so they can select the correct herbicide ingredients and rates.
#1 Climate Basic – Weather can be a farmer’s best friend or worst enemy. This app will give you the upper-hand. Created by the Climate Corporation, Climate Basic provides up-to-the-minute field-level weather monitoring. Agronomic models estimate agricultural production outcomes based on various static and dynamic inputs, including farming practices, field characteristics, weather simulations and other key variables.
It’s not an app per se, but another one of my favorite tools is the Equipment Lubricants Lookup feature on Cenex.com. Use this tool to find lubricant recommendations on everything from motorcycles to tractors to passenger vehicles. After entering year, make and model, the tool will pull up recommendations for lubricants, including engine oil, transmission oil, greases and more, as well as recommended oil change intervals.