10 Apps to Make Your Farm More Efficient

December 28, 2018 Ohio Soybean Council

According to a study by Statista, the average American spends over 2.5 hours on their smartphone every day. Here are 10 apps farmers can download to help put those wasted hours to work. All apps are available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

1. Mix Tank – Want to avoid money and product loss due to sprayer clogging? This app helps you calculate the proper order of tank mix for pesticides, adjuvants and foliar nutrition products. The app also includes free weather integration, so you can reduce any spray drift risks.

2. Farm at Han d – This is the app for the most efficient farmers. The free version allows multiple users (i.e., family and employees) to all look at the same information about equipment, storage and contracts. Information is all cloud-based, making it easy to access anywhere. Premium subscriptions cost $499/year and include a Crop Planner that helps make decisions on overall crop mix and field-specific fertilizer blends.

3. FarmLogs – FarmLogs is another app for efficient farmers that helps your farm become more data-driven. The free version includes marketing, soil maps, rainfall tracking, scouting and notes, field mapping and more. It even works offline when you don’t have service.

4. Ag PhD Suite – Ag PhD has several apps that could benefit soybean farmers, including Field Guide, Fertilizer Removal by Crop, Drainage Calculator, Planting Population Harvest Loss Calculator and even Soybean Diseases.

5. Bean Cam – This app ends the guesswork for soybean replanting. It calculates plant stand (plant population) by finding the average of five plant count samples randomly taken in a soybean field at the VC, V1 or V2 growth stage. It then uses your field average stand value to calculate expected percent yield at harvest, helping you decide whether to replant or stick with the current crop. It also offers the option between manually counting measured plant rows or using your phone’s camera to automatically count.

6. Growe rs Edge – The Growers Edge app is a one-stop-shop for agricultural information, with local cash bids, soybean prices, local weather, news and more. It also includes a feature exclusive to Growers Edge known as Profit Manager, which tracks profitability using total bushels produced, current prices and production costs per acre for corn, soybeans and wheat.

7. Ohio State PLOTS – PLOTS is an all-in-one tool that can be used to make farm management decisions. You can create on-farm trials that compare hybrids and varieties, fertilizer rates, stand counts and more. The app then
creates a summary report that has a final overview of all trials, notes and results for comparisons that could change next year’s decisions. The data can be stored in the cloud or as an Excel file, making it easy to share with
extension staff or crop advisors.

8. ID Weeds – There are many weed identification apps available to choose from, but ID Weeds is a good place to start. It focuses on species common to the Midwest and you can search for weeds based on their characteristics, like habitat, leaf type and flower color. If you’re more old school, you can search directly from an alphabetized list, like a traditional ID book.

9. AgriSync – Equipment issues slow you down, but AgriSync can have you up and running in no time. This app allows you to connect with advisors when you have problems with equipment. You can submit a request with a description of your issue and an advisor is notified via text message. Then, you can video chat with the advisor to show them the problem so it can be resolved.

10. Google Duo – Every farmer knows that growing season can sometimes mean more time spent in the field than with loved ones. Google Duo is a reliable video calling app that works on both Apple and Android devices to
keep you connected to those you care about most.


Article Tags: Ohio Soybean News