Science & Technology

Field and farm management app fieldmargin has added new features to help users comply with assurance schemes and regulatory requirements

Records can now be annotated with weather, the start and finish times for each task, and the operator or team member who carried it out.

“There’s more to farm records than simply keeping track of progress, or analysing performance,” says Head of Product Camilla HayseldenAshby.“Farm assurance and new regulations, be they legal obligations or environmental requirements, also rely on good record-keeping. Assessors and watchdogs expect farmers to have quick and easy access to this type of information,” Camilla points out.

The new features, now available on fieldmargin’s web, iOS and Android apps allow users to record wind speed, direction, temperature and other weather factors for each field task completed. Start and finish times for each operation can also be added, while the app will also record which user was responsible for completion of each task.

Data can be uploaded retrospectively, says Camilla. “We’ve all been there – you’re in such a rush to get something done before the weather changes that any delay – even the couple of minutes it takes to open the app and record the information there and then – feels like too much.”

Founded in the UK in 2014, fieldmargin is used by farmers in more than 170 countries, from Australia to Zimbabwe. Other recent new features include a costtracking tool, sub-field recording and nutrient management tools. Crop pesticide checking is in development.

Team marks six years of success – and looks to the future

They set out to prove that fully autonomous vehicles – and the specialist new careers roles required to build and operate them – could be the future of farming.

Six years on, they have not only met their objective, but scaled it up and this week the team behind the Hands Free Farm took the opportunity to reflect and celebrate.

On the fields of the 35-hectare robotic farm at Harper Adams University, and in the Agri EPI Midlands Innovation hub, researchers, sponsors and VIP guests united to celebrate the unique research, learning and teaching opportunities offered by the world-first autonomous agriculture project – and to look forward to the next steps in their sector transforming journey

A group of around 50 industry representatives and VIP guests were invited to mark six years since the launch of the Hands Free Hectare – the first project of its kind in the world to grow, tend and harvest a crop without operators in the driving seats or agronomists on the ground - at a special presentation at the AgriEPI Centre on the Harper Adams campus, before heading out to the now 35-hectare Hands Free Farm itself to see its autonomous tractors and combine harvester in operation while networking over a barbecue lunch.

The presentation was opened by Harper Adams ViceChancellor Professor Ken Sloan, who told attendees that the global reach of the project had helped capture his interest in Harper Adams and its work while he was in his previous role at Monash University in Australia.

He added: “We are really keen to talk about the project – and not just what is happening now, but some of the next steps as well. As Kit has reminded me, this is not something the University could have done in isolation – and I look forward to collaborating in the future.”

The project has been run in partnership between Harper Adams and Precision Decisions, along with the UK division of Australian precision agriculture specialist, Farmscan AG.