Here at Farmplan we’ve been asking arable farmers what essential crop record management tools they can’t live without.
Launched at Cereals in June, a crop management survey aimed to provide insight into the requirements, expectations and needs of arable farmers across the UK.
Sarah Alexander, Arable Product Manager, said: “We’re developing the next generation of crop management tools here at Farmplan, but one of the crucial elements in any development project is the insight gained from speaking with our customers and the wider arable sector. We have over 30 years’ experience in developing solutions for arable farmers but it is vital that we make sure that we meet our customers’ needs and adapt our products to respond to changes in the industry. We want to ensure that our products meet the needs of the market now and into the future.”
Key areas that the survey focused on included nutrient management and mapping, device management and precision farming and budgeting as well as integration of invoices and recommendations.
The respondents to the survey came from a mixed farm size background with the largest proportion being a farm owner/occupier/tenant/farm manager.
When looking at the responses we found that when it came to precision farming and mapping tools, nearly 100% of respondents said this was ‘essential’ or ‘nice to have’.
The survey confirmed that integration is really important to our users and is an area that we will be focussing on. We also need to ensure that it is quick and easy to share information with a range of providers, whether they are sending agronomist recommendations, delivery notes or invoices.
Sarah added: “These insights have confirmed many of our plans and provided us with key ideas which we can now take forward and consider how we bring them to life through our software development plans. We’d like to thank everyone that took part in the survey for sharing their ideas and requirements.”
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