Digital forms of farm record keeping are increasingly replacing the traditional notebook and pen in the top pocket

Two factors are converging to drive a new age in record keeping on-farm.

First, many basic advances in crop productivity have been adopted. To keep farm businesses moving forward, incremental productivity increases brought about by careful and detailed analysis of farming systems will be necessary. To achieve this, good record keeping and data analysis will be essential.

Second, the arrival of the digital age means record keeping is now easier than ever before. Computers are now in our pockets and not only in the farm office where, after a 12-hour day in the field, often only the most dedicated regularly find the time and energy to sit down and enter each day’s records.

Record keeping software has also become more intuitive and devices are increasingly being integrated and connected with operations performed on a daily basis. Increased connectivity is allowing the sharing and accumulation of data without the need to use cards, sticks or discs. Records are also becoming more visual, with the GPS capabilities of many devices allowing data to be viewed easily on farm maps.

An increasingly broad range of record-keeping applications is now available, from simple spray-recording apps through to integrated whole-of-farm management systems that link growers with their consultants and agronomists. Choosing a record-keeping system will depend on many factors, including whether you need to link with your agronomist or require the system to integrate with your precision agriculture data and whether you want one system to do everything or are happy to run a few smaller apps to achieve a similar outcome. From the simplest to most complex, all record-keeping systems have their place depending on the needs of the user

– See more at: http://www.grdc.com.au/Media-Centre/Ground-Cover-Supplements/GCS106/Good-records-good-decisions#sthash.OUaOLhBD.dpuf