How data is driving sustainability for farmers

The data revolution is making our world more tangible. In agriculture, digital tools are offering new insights into what we can’t see with our naked eye, allowing us to glimpse inside plants, beneath the soil, and even throughout time. Driven by our imagination and ingenuity, we’re constantly creating new technologies that can quantify and demystify what’s happening throughout a farmer’s fields. 

In the same way that health and fitness apps encourage us to exercise, watch what we eat and get enough sleep, digital farming tools provide similar insights into field and crop conditions to help farmers assess harvest potential and inform critical decisions. Based on smartphones and tablets, farming apps such as FieldView™ help farmers collect, store and visualize field and input data so they can make the best decisions throughout the season—and even leading into the next.

When farmers can see and understand what’s happening (or about to happen) in every field, they’re better able to make efficient and sustainable decisions.

Data driven decisions

Farmers make many complex decisions on a near-daily basis, from what types of seeds to plant and when, to when to water and apply fertilizer and crop protection products. Even with a well-defined seasonal strategy, farmers must adapt to ever-evolving climatic conditions and environmental pressures, which can appear and change in a matter of hours. They also keep up with the needs of hundreds – sometimes thousands – of hectares of crops, not to mention real-time soil conditions and crop health, which can change dramatically with rain, hail, drought or insects.

With the help of digital tools, farmers have the historic insights to plant seeds where they are most likely to thrive. Similarly, thanks to advanced data analytics platforms, they can use the ideal amount of fertilizer to conserve resources and reduce waste without adversely affecting their harvests. With in-app satellite imaging, they can scout their fields remotely and address issues before they become problems. 

A closer look at Climate FieldView

Using historic and real-time data from the field, planting runs and hybrid performance, the Climate FieldView™ platform provides farmers with a measured understanding of their operations. By having the means to evaluate and learn from field data, seed performance and resource conservation, farmers are both empowered and encouraged to make data-driven decisions to cultivate their crops in more productive and sustainable ways.