Category: Events

Our commitment to our UK and Ireland agronomic and farm management solutions

Posted on by houston

In March 2024, we shared the exciting news that TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods had acquired Proagrica. We want to reinforce our long-term commitment to supporting our UK and Irish agronomy and farm management solutions as well as share exciting updates on our strategy and roadmap.

  • We are in the agriculture software business for the long-haul. Our acquisition of Muddy Boots (2020) and recent purchase of Proagrica (March 2024) demonstrate our significant investment and continued commitment to supporting UK and Irish farmers and their agronomic advisors. We provide one of the largest independent offerings of agronomy solutions in the world supporting over 200 million acres globally, and we remain dedicated to bringing customers in the UK and Ireland the best we have to offer now and in the future.
  • We understand the local market. With 250 team members across the UK and Ireland, our regional product development and support teams offer the extensive localised knowledge and industry experience needed for effective product regionalisation and ongoing support.
  • We have a clear strategic direction and roadmap for both our UK and Irish farm management systems. We are committed in our support of Gatekeeper and TELUS Farm Management customers and solutions. We are simultaneously working on a single, unified platform, designed for the broad needs of the UK and Irish market.

What this means for our valued customers
First and foremost, our customers will continue to benefit from regional-based product development and support of Gatekeeper and TELUS Farm Management. As we build the unified product platform we look forward to engaging with customers and showing progress through roadmaps, test releases, and functionality previews in the coming months. The new platform development over the next 1-2 years will also focus on minimising impacts to customers. Any future migration will be as low-touch as possible and we will be in close communication with significant lead time on any changes.

Your input is invaluable to us
We want to work with you to ensure our innovations help you optimise and grow your business. Connect with us:

  • In person at the Midlands Machinery Show and the CropTec Show in November, where we’ll showcase our latest developments
  • At our upcoming webinar with information about the next-generation platform and how it can benefit operations – stay tuned for your invite
  • By reaching out to your account or support team who would be happy to discuss your needs

Reflections from LAMMA 2024

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Piers Costley VP Operations, Proagrica Ag Solutions at Proagrica

The year may have only just started, but the Farmplan team wasted no time in getting straight to work with our first major event of the year, LAMMA. Every year that I return to this show it seems to grow in scale, and this year was the largest to date, with over 40,000 attendees and 600 exhibitors all working together to share the latest cutting-edge innovations from across the farming sector.

After attending this pivotal event, the Farmplan team and I wanted to share our reflections.

I have to start by acknowledging the Farmplan presence at LAMMA. Our stand at the event allowed us to showcase the full range of our solutions and most importantly, gave our team a chance to have valuable conversations directly with our customers. The footfall over the course of the two days was impressive, and I was particularly pleased to see the number of live demonstrations we were able to conduct. Showing exactly what we can offer first-hand is always my favoured way to engage with our customers. I know the amount of hard work that goes into preparing for these events, so I want to thank the entire Farmplan team for setting up this valuable opportunity to engage with our customers.

I was also fortunate to be able to explore the wider event and everything it had to offer. With the sheer scale of attendees from across the sector, I find LAMMA always acts as a great litmus test for the mood in the UK farming industry. It was no surprise that many conversations revolved around the extent of challenges and uncertainties in the sector. This industry is familiar with overcoming hurdles, however, UK farming today needs to demonstrate its adaptability and agility more than ever. Whether it is price volatility or increased regulations, we understand what farmers are facing.

Whilst these difficulties are clear, I could not help but feel incredible pride in the multiple stories and examples of how UK farming is stepping up to meet them. I believe the UK has some of the best agriculture practices in the world, and this is why the Farmplan team and I are so proud to be true partners for our farmers. As we set ourselves for 2024, LAMMA showed us all that while there are many obstacles to solve, through collaboration, UK farming can prosper.

If you want to hear more about how Farmplan can support you, please get in touch, and explore our website: https://farmplan.co.uk/

Lessons in Collaboration from AGRITECHNICA

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Piers Costley Vice President of Operations, Ag Solutions at Proagrica

Towards the end of last year, the Proagrica team had the privilege of attending AGRITECHNICA, the world’s leading fair for agricultural machinery. This event was particularly meaningful to us, as we were honoured with an invitation from John Deere to proudly represent Proagrica on their stand.

This experience proved invaluable, as it presented a unique opportunity to engage directly with our customers and other industry leaders. AGRITECHNICA usually serves as an industry melting pot for meaningful conversations and the fostering of new relationships, and this was the case yet again. I wanted to share my thoughts following another successful event.  

Our Time with John Deere

Our relationship with John Deere continues to grow from strength to strength, with the latest integration between the Proagrica Farmplan Gatekeeper software and the John Deere Operations CenterTM signifying even more progress. This tool has proven instrumental in alleviating the challenges farmers encounter when executing workplans, particularly concerning variable rate application maps.

Through this latest development, the team had the opportunity to join the John Deere stand at AGRITECHNICA and highlight this integration. The stand generated a huge amount of interest and footfall over the course of the event. It also served as the prime setting for practical demonstrations, catering to both existing and potential customers. These demonstrations illustrated the ease of the Gatekeeper tool and how it can deliver tangible value to farmers in the field, enabling them to optimise the use of their existing resources.

Beyond the Stand

Away from our activities on the stand, AGRITECHNICA was vast, with over 2,800 exhibitors and five stages. Many of our Proagrica partners were also present, including Ag Leader, Kubota, CNH, and AGCO. Engaging in discussions with these partners presented another valuable opportunity to underscore the importance of the Gatekeeper software in farm management, highlighting its capabilities and advantages. A central focus of these conversations was the integration prowess of the Gatekeeper software, given its ability to integrate with a wide range of industry-leading manufacturers and service providers. This feature empowers farmers to utilise devices and machinery that align precisely with their business needs.

Events such as AGRITECHNICA serve as platforms for exchanging ideas, showcasing innovations, and forging partnerships. Through these events, we can spotlight our work, and the value we can provide for farmers to thrive in this evolving agriculture ecosystem.

Looking back at the event, I would like to express how proud we are of our partnership with John Deere to date. It’s a collaboration that resonates deeply with Proagrica’s commitment to delivering genuine solutions that truly benefit our customers.

As we embark on our journey into 2024, we are eager to sustain our collaborative efforts with our valued partners such as John Deere. We are also committed to having a strong presence at industry events, including LAMMA 2024, which we have just attended.

We look forward to continuing to shape the future of agriculture through shared knowledge and collaborative partnerships.

To learn more about the value our partnership with John Deere can bring to you, contact us here.

Latest developments in agronomic and business data solutions on show at LAMMA 2024

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Farmplan is set to attend LAMMA 2024 on the 17th and 18th January, showcasing farm business management solutions that enable farmers, growers and agricultural business owners to make informed decisions that drive productivity and profitability.

Among the solutions on display on stand 520 in hall 10 will be Farmplan’s Gatekeeper crop management solution. Gatekeeper enables farmers and growers to manage records, analyse performance and improve workflow efficiency in crop management activities. Farmplan announced in early 2023 that was set for significant development to accelerate the release of enhanced cloud functionality, offering an easy to use online crop recording system designed for compliance, traceability and crop input record keeping.

Farmplan also makes data transferring for Gatekeeper more seamless with the integration of different machinery manufacturers. This enables farmers and growers to connect their agricultural machinery with agricultural software solutions, offering more efficiencies when in the field. This will be demonstrated in the Connectivity Corner of the stand at LAMMA with the latest integrations from leading machinery manufacturers such as John Deere’s Operation Center and Agrirouter.  

The team will also be showcasing Farmplan Business Cloud (FBC), the online accounting software package specifically designed for farming. FBC enables users to streamline financial management processes and provides additional business and enterprise performance visibility. This cloud-based software is better suited to the needs of the market and is future-proofed for the forthcoming MTD for ITSA (Making Tax Digital, Income Tax Self-Assessment) requirements from HMRC.

Ben Hatton, Sales and Key Account Manager

Cloud options are becoming ever-present throughout all businesses, and keeping systems connected, and integrated, helps customers to stay on top of the financial and administration side of running their business as well as the day-to-day decision-making demands of farming life.

“We are delighted to be returning to LAMMA for 2024, and are delighted to be able to continue to support this pivotal agricultural event,” says Ben Hatton, Sales and Key Account Manager for Farmplan. “Our mission for 2024 is to support our customers with their upgrade to cloud-based farm management software. So if you’re looking to move to our cloud solutions or are interested in finding out more about our plans for the future, visit our stand and we’ll talk you through your next steps. We want to support our customers in the switch to our cloud base solutions, making it as easy and stress-free as possible.”

FBC provides a comprehensive financial management solution for farmers and growers alike, enabling them to manage their finances, track their expenses, and generate reports. Recent customer feedback received suggests that FBC being specifically designed for farming businesses gives it great strength, and the insights it provides can support informed business decisions in a user-friendly and quick manner backed by a dedicated support team. If you would like to understand more about how our solutions can help maximise your farm’s performance and optimise growth, visit the Farmplan stand at LAMMA 2024.

LAMMA 2023

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Find out how Farmplan software can add value to your agricultural business, come and see us at LAMMA this year.

We are pleased to announce we will be at LAMMA on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th January 2023, Stand 10.520.

LAMMA is the UK’s largest agricultural machinery and technology show at the NEC Birmingham. This year there is over 600 exhibitors showcasing the latest technologies, services, machinery and tools.

Three reasons why you should visit our stand?

1. Future Farming Trail participant – by taking part in the Trail, you’ll get a first look at the technology that will redefine farming and help re-imagine what’s possible.

2. Opportunity to have a 1-2-1 appointment with our agricultural experts to discover more about our new cloud-based farm accounting tool.

3. Come and have a chat with us in our hospitality area on the stand, where you can find out why we have a 95% customer retention rate.

From one agricultural expert to another, we are here to support your business and make digital accounting simple.

Book your 1-2-1 appointment

Working in association with Farming Connect (Wales)

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We’re delighted to be working in association with Farming Connect (Wales) to bring members a live free to attend webinar on Monday 13th December.

Join Product Account Manager, Simon Eagle and Product Manager, Anne Cianchi, to find out more about our farming-friendly online accounts tool, Farmplan Business Cloud. This is a must-attend if you are:

  • Looking for a simple answer to compulsory digital VAT before the April 2022 deadline.
  • Curious about the value and benefits of cloud-based accounting for your farm business.  
  • Want a solution that comes with unrivalled customer support from teams based here in the UK.

During the session, we’ll also cover product functionality, pricing, and frequently asked questions.

If you would like to join this event please use this link to find out more and register.

If you would like to find out more about Farmplan Business Cloud, visit the product overview page here or call our friendly sales team today on 01594 545000.

Getting started with budgets and setting targets for growth with Gatekeeper

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On 18th November members of the Farmplan team hosted a free to attend webinar which focused on budgeting within Gatekeeper software.

The webinar touched on the value of budgeting well in a fluctuating industry. With market prices climbing for fertilisers, ELMs applications, incomes being challenged by the weather, Brexit and Covid and BPS end of life on the horizon, the question is why wouldn’t you want to make the use of budgeting and planning tools to support your business decisions?

The session covered some of these key points:

  • How can Gatekeeper help you manage budgets and understand your position?
  • Budgets are easy to set up in Gatekeeper using historical data
  • Create scenarios and compare them to help support decision making – what will be the impact on your margins or profitability?
  • Help explore the value of potential enterprises and diversification projects
  • Have your workplans and product requirements prepared in advance – enabling you to plan ahead and buy in the stock/materials needed
  • Monitor your cash flow, offering a level of granularity beyond just general cash flow
  • Predicting the future

If you’d like to watch the recording to find out more please click here or on the image right >>

Please note: You will need Gatekeeper software to operate the Budgets module specifically designed for arable budgeting/planning. Ask our sales team today for more details on the set up and to discuss your requirements.

Shows 2024

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Find out how Farmplan software can add value to your agricultural business, come and see us at a show this year…

Explore our show calendar below

DATESHOWFind out more…
17 – 18 January
Lamma		www.lammashow.com
31 January
National Tillage Conference		www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/events

1 – 3 March
IAgSA Conference		www.iagsa.co.uk


11 – 12 June
Cereals

Cereals Logo		www.cerealsevent.co.uk

20 – 23 June
The Royal Highland Show
www.royalhighlandshow.org