Atfarm released today a new mobile app that allows farmers to perform variable-rate fertilisation without variable spreaders. The app is an extension of the precision farming tool Atfarm, which enables crop monitoring and variable-rate N-fertilisation using satellite technology.
Atfarm allows farmers to perform variable-rate N-fertilisation and monitor crops by combining ESA satellite data with the Yara N-Sensor index. Farmers can create from a web-based app variable-rate application maps to optimise their nitrogen fertilisation based on the real crop requirements. With the recently released app (Android and iOS) Atfarm transforms the smartphone into a terminal to fertilise variably independently of the existing spreader technology. The app also makes the crop monitoring functionality available on-the-go.
Users should upload or create fields to Atfarm and create an application map using the web-app www.atfarm.co.uk. They can export the application map to their terminal or use the new Atfarm mobile app on their smartphone. To turn the smartphone into a terminal, the user should go to the driving mode and choose whether to spread by speedor flow rate, depending on the available equipment.
In the case of spread by speed, the smartphone app Atfarm detects in which zone the tractor is located on the field and indicates the speed at which to drive to apply the rightamount. If the spreader has a terminal with manual flow rate control, the user can choose to spread by flow rate. The app then tells the driver how much to increase ordecrease the flow rate manually on the spreader terminal to match the application map.
In addition to the variable-rate fertilisation feature, the Atfarm App also offers crop monitoring. Farmers can create fields and check crop biomass maps with new images available every 3-5 days from their smartphone and support their decision in the field. In addition, geo referenced information is under development, which will soon enable users to add notes, images or markers to their fields to facilitate work on the farm.
