Global agribusiness has formed the concept of precision farming, which is being implemented by big and small farms all over the world. However, for some reason, it is believed that for its implementation it is necessary to purchase expensive equipment with GPS and other sensors. But no, modern precision farming is becoming more and more available, aiming at maximizing profits through sustainable land use across all farms. To implement it, it is enough to start planning technological operations, the need for fertilizers and seeds, taking into account the characteristics of each land plot.
To do this, farmers will need to have a complete history of the field for several previous years. Information about the use of the field, crop rotation, the amount of fertilizer, equipment and personnel, as well as crop yields are usually stored on paper, in different ledgers. And such data is very difficult to analyze. Imagine an agronomist who needs to develop a sowing plan for the next year: several accounting books, various schemes and reference books of standards should be processed.
Luckily, modern farm software enables automation of farm business processes, from sowing to harvesting and beyond. Companies like EOS Data Analytics offer innovative farm management software to help optimize agricultural production, increase yields, and ensure sustainability while doing so. In this piece, we will discuss how such innovative digital tools revolutionize the way modern farming works and what challenges the developers of such software may face today.
Innovations in Agro Software
Today, the ability of agricultural companies to work with modern technologies is an important card in the dynamics of their development. Moreover, speaking of technologies, one must understand that we are talking not only about production technologies, but also about technologies for managing the operation of an enterprise. In management: planning, execution control, analysis of results, digital tools play a key role, allowing for maintaining the relevance of information about the status of processes and making effective management decisions. In this line of solutions, digital management systems are a special class of industry-specific software products focused on working in agribusiness. Most digital systems are browser-based or cross-platform applications that run on computers or mobile devices. To use them, all you need is a mobile device and basic skills in working with programs.
EOS Data Analytics And Its Software Solutions
EOSDA is a company that leverages satellite imagery analytics to offer invaluable insights for 22 industries, including agriculture, through its software products and services. More so, the company aims to launch 7 agri-focused optical satellites by 2024 within its EOS SAT program to enhance their products accuracy and precision capabilities even more. The company’s product developed to cater to agricultural needs is called Crop Monitoring and offers a variety of features for fields remote monitoring and management, including data-based field activities planning, crop health tracking throughout the season, weather monitoring, field productivity assessment, and much more. Apart from that, the company caters to agri software providers by offering the following services: API integration, white label, and custom solutions.
For example, EOS Crop Monitoring API is basically a detailed documentation that enables software developers to integrate raw, processed, and analyzed satellite data into their app. The data available via API integration includes vegetation indices values, soil moisture stats since 2015, historical weather and weather forecasts, field productivity information through years, and more.
White label solution is for the companies aiming at saving time and money on developing an agri tech platform from scratch. EOSDA White label offers a ready-to-use software with a set of features and a specific design that matches the customers’ logo, branding, and color theme. White-label solution comes in two options: Basic and Advanced. Basic is in fact a customized EOS Crop Monitoring platform, where the Advanced option comes with a mobile scouting app and an admin panel for partners management.
Sometimes, neither of the two above services are able to satisfy the company’s needs. And that is where custom solutions are of great help. Among the custom solutions EOSDA team offers are:
- Yield prediction
- Soil classification
- Crop type classification maps
- Land coverage and field boundary classification
- Soil moisture data (from 2002)
- Harvest dynamics monitoring
The goal of these solutions is to expand Crop Monitoring possibilities by involving the company’s R&D and data science team and building up the best solution to a given customer’s issue.
Agro Software Development Challenges
Developers encounter different issues when creating a farm software. One of them is to ensure accurate, unbiased, and easily collected data. Another big issue is to create an agri software that will be helpful throughout the entire span of crop production. And last but not least is the issue of developing an app that is easy to use for all farmers so that they could leverage its possibilities for financial and competitive advantage. That is why modern ag software providers need to put extra effort to create a product that meets the customer’s needs and is worth using. Luckily, there are solutions that help agro software developers with this task.