The annual task of compiling the previous 12 months worth of spray applications certainly doesn't evoke much excitement when on the to-do list. Even so, in order to satisfy the relevant assurance obligations such as Red Tractor, it is an essential task often requiring considerable amounts of both time and attention to detail.
The recording of spray application details still remains largely the preserve of pen and paper, either directly onto the recommendation sheet provided by an agronomist or into a notepad which sits in the sprayer precisely for this job. Either of these handwritten methods are effective, but necessitate the further task of ensuring that this information makes it back into the farm office in a legible form for safekeeping.
Subsequently, the last few years have seen an increasing number of UK farmers record these spray application details into an electronic crop records system such as Gatekeeper or Cropwalker FM. The re-recording of information into one of these systems undoubtedly improves the ease with which historic spray records can be subsequently found for an inspection, but also create more of a drain on time with all application information having to be entered twice.
With the demand on time that recording information in the cab as well as into a secondary electronic system creates, an increasing number of farmers are moving to an online system requiring the input of this information only once from within the sprayer cab.
MyFarm
The Frontier MyFarm website and associated MyRecs app have been developed to ease the burden of on-farm record keeping. The MyRecs app for iPad/iPhone allows spray recommendations to be completed from a mobile device directly from the sprayer cab. MyRecs will function either with or without an internet connection and will wait until an internet connection is achieved to transfer information both to and from the MyFarm website.
The MyFarm crop records tool (including the MyRecs app) is free to Frontier agronomy customers, with free trials also available. For any more information on MyFarm, including the other tools it contains such as iTrac andMySOYL, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call us on 03330 141141.
Application information inputted into the MyRecs app automatically saves back to the MyFarm website, removing any need to enter this data on more than one occasion. As an online system, multiple users are able to have access to MyFarm & MyRecs so the record-keeping workload can be shared. A sprayer operator is able to complete spray applications from their mobile device, with a farm manager also able to log in separately and see an overview of the spraying completed as well as that yet to be done.
The overarching benefit of a system like MyFarm and MyRecs is the very real timesaving that it offers through the automatic updating of your farm crop records. This means that as well as saving time throughout the season, it is also far easier to locate and ensure the accuracy of spray records for the farm when required for inspections such as Red Tractor. In addition to a field-by-field summary, MyFarm is able to provide a full application report depending on your requirement.
The MyFarm crop records tool (including the MyRecs app) is free to Frontier agronomy customers, with free trials also available. For any more information on MyFarm, including the other tools it contains such as iTrac andMySOYL, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call us on 03330 141141.
Oliver Barker
Project Co-ordinator (Crop Production)
For specific advice for your business related to this blog or any other aspect of crop production get in touch with Frontier.