magriculture: The Application of Mobile Computing to the Business of Farming

Transcription

1 magriculture: The Application of Mobile Computing to the Business of Farming Gary Woodill, Ed.D. Senior Analyst, Float Mobile Learning Chad Udell Managing Director, Float Mobile Learning

2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 3 Introduction 4 Information Needs in Agriculture 5 Mobile Distribution of Agricultural Information 8 Mobile Monitoring and Management 10 magriculture Apps 13 Agriculture Information Apps 15 Business Apps 21 Conference Apps 24 Diseases and Pests Apps 25 Farm Management Apps 32 Field Mapping Apps 52 Learning and Reference Apps 54 Market Data Apps 63 Weather Apps 68 Conclusion 71 References 72 2

3 Acknowledgements A major report such as this one only comes together because of the efforts of many people. The authors would like to thank Adam Bockler, Sheilagh Marchand-Pegg, and Heather Ford for their able work in the research and editing of this document. 3

4 Introduction The idea of using mobile computing in agriculture (also known as magriculture) is very new in North America, while magriculture in the developing world has been known and written about for almost a decade. A 2009 report by the firm Nicholson Kovac, Agriculture New-Media Study, talks about the use of and websites without using the word mobile (Johnson, 2009). A 2010 survey of the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in agriculture in the United States doesn t even mention mobile technologies. Instead, this study by Kelly Burke at the University of Hawaii lists the Internet, websites, and social technologies as examples of ICT in agriculture (Burke, 2010). Although we found a 2009 article in AgriMarketing magazine on mobile phones for sending text messages to farmers (Slump, 2009), in preparing this report, we were struck by the fact that most scholarly articles we found on the subject of magriculture were published in 2011 and 2012, indicating the relative newness of this field. There are several reasons why use of mobile technologies among American farmers has only taken off in the last year and a half. First, farmers in the United States are only recently adopting smartphones and tablets for their businesses at a rapid pace. A 2011 study by Successful Farming magazine shows that farmers are adopting mobile phone technologies at a higher rate than the general public. This study showed that 94% of farmers own a mobile phone or a smartphone. It cited data that showed that smartphone adoption rates among American farmers has jumped from about 10% in 2010 to close to 40% by mid-2011 (Jacobson, 2011). A second turning point in the use of mobile technologies has been the introduction of tablet computers, such as the ipad in The publicity surrounding the ipad and its competitors has generated awareness and interest in mobile computing in all sectors of the economy. The use of tablets in agriculture, as opposed to smartphones, is just now starting to take off. A third factor that led to the more rapid growth of magriculture in developing countries is the fact that in these countries, mobile phones may be the only computing and communications technology that is available. In contrast to American agricultural publications, African and Asian newsletters and magazines have lots of stories about the use of mobile phones in agriculture all through the 2000s. This indicates that farmers in developed countries in North America, Australia, and Europe have lots to learn from the mobile computing experiences of farmers in developing countries. Ironically, some of the educational materials available in developing countries are funded by American organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foun- 4

5 dation, and the University of Illinois s Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) project. SAWBO produces educational videos for farmers in 80 languages that can be played back on ordinary cell phones (VOA, 2011). Some of the documented benefits of mobile agriculture in developing countries include: A potential $138 billion uplift in emerging market farmers incomes due to mobile computing and communications services; Mobile money transfer systems that provide farmers with the ability to exchange, save and borrow small amounts of capital as well as take out short-term insurance policies; Mobile information services providing detailed and localized weather forecasts, crop prices and resource management information; and Helpline services giving real-time guidance on issues such as pest control and the challenges linked to climate change, including water scarcity. (Adapted from Vodafone and Accenture (2011) report, Connected Agriculture) The benefits of mobile phones are not confined developing countries. Farmers in all countries appreciate the affordances of mobile communications. Mobile telephony: Delivers timely information that helps understand and analyze market prices, facilitates trade and informs business decisions; Reduces transaction time, travel, and costs by bridging distances and allowing for a more effective use of time; Strengthens communications which promote social networks and communities progress in health, safety, employment, recreation, and other areas; Increases levels of community participation, facilitating an informed decision-making process, particularly greater participation from rural women. (e-agriculture.org, 2010) Like many other businesses, agriculture is becoming an informationintensive enterprise. In order to understand how mobile agriculture should work, it is necessary to analyze the information needs of farmers and distributors of agricultural products. 5

6 Information Needs in Agriculture The information needs of farmers have a commonality no matter where in the world they are located. The diagram below (Figure 1) was produced in the context of India, but can apply to farmers in North America, as well. Figure 1 Information needs of farmers. (adapted from Mittal, 2010) As early as 2004, Watermeier produced this list of wireless applications in agriculture. Most of these are based on common uses of mobile devices in agriculture in developing countries. Many of these applications are only now being introduced in the United States and Canada. Monitor pesticide and herbicide applications Animal tracking and identification Monitor water or flood levels Indicate warning for frost events Monitor crop health, rainfall, temperature and other meteorological data Track shipments of perishable crops and crop inputs Monitor equipment movement and performance Web cameras to view hazardous or remote areas Odor, gas and other environmental indicators for livestock housing facilities Integrating GPS data into geographic information systems 6

7 Precision agriculture applications in data collection and reporting Food safety and security through continuous tracking capabilities from production (knowing what pesticides or other treatments have been used) to packing to shipping of products Agro-security by reducing theft of farm products, vandalism of property, and detection of bio-chemicals. Considering that this list is now eight years old along with the fact that it was created before modern implementations of augmented reality and computer vision on mobile devices, and that features like embedded accelerometers, thermometers and barometers were unheard of, it s easy to see that there are far more potential applications for magriculture than was previously considered. As device capabilities have increased, so have opportunities for just-in-time delivery of information. 7

8 Mobile Distribution of Agricultural Information Because of network effects, mobile communications are most beneficial when they are organized in the form of an ecosystem, with many connections. In early 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a package of technology enhancements from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) that includes Web access for handheld and smartphone users, as well as a more efficient and timely option for receiving news and critical program information. This is the beginning of an information network for farmers in the United States. A 2011 study conducted by the Pew Research Center indicated that mobile Internet access for farmers is growing rapidly. The USDA s Economic Research Service found 57% of all rural households use broadband Internet at home, and 6% of all rural households (or over 1 million rural households) access the Internet at home solely through wireless broadband services. The new FSA site makes the information available to these households through a news service called GovDelivery. By signing up for free online communications through GovDelivery, farmers and ranchers can receive news, via , directly to their home or farm office or to their mobile devices allowing them to receive immediate notification of farm program news that is pertinent to their agricultural operation. Through GovDelivery, producers can establish subscriber preferences by choosing to receive federal farm program and farm loan information by topic, by state and/or by county. Producers can also select as many subscriber options as they want, which allows producers in multiple counties or across state lines to receive updates from each county in which they operate or have an interest. (Western Farm Press, Feb. 10, 2012) The FSA also offers AskFSA and AskFSAmobile, an easy-to-use knowledge database with automated answers to website visitor questions. In 2011, AskFSA received 351,119 visitors, 99.7% of whom found their answer online without the need for additional assistance. (Ibid) 8

9 In addition to government-sponsored information portals for agriculture, private enterprise is also getting into the act. The website agriculture.com, operated by Successful Farming magazine, has a new mobile version. This website and other information portals for farmers in the United States include: We can expect many more mobile information portals for agriculture to be set up for American and Canadian farmers in the next few years. 9

10 Mobile Monitoring and Management One of the most dramatic changes in the use of mobile devices in agriculture is the development of monitoring protocols and systems for monitoring and managing farms and farm workers. These are reflected in some of the agricultural apps described in the next section. The automatic monitoring of agriculture has dramatically risen with the recent deployment of wireless sensors and sensor networks. While still in its early stages, monitoring applications can be classified into five categories, each with several subcategories (Wang et al., 2006). 1. Environmental monitoring 1.1. Weather monitoring 1.2. Geo-referenced environmental monitoring 2. Precision agriculture 2.1. Spatial data collection 2.2. Precision irrigation 2.3. Variable-rate technology 2.4. Supplying data to farmers 3. Machine and process control M2M 3.1. Vehicle guidance 3.2. Machinery management 3.3. Robotic control 3.4. Process control 4. Facility automation 4.1. Greenhouse control 4.2. Animal-feeding facilities 5. Traceability systems (radio-frequency identification, or RFID) 5.1. Animal identification and health monitoring 5.2. Food packaging 5.3. Transportation 5.4. Food inspection Many monitoring systems are end-to-end, tracking food production processes from initial seeding to delivery to the market. For example, Sallabia et al. (2011) describe the design and implementation of an electronic mobile poultry production documentation system that uses a mobile device to capture information on poultry operations collected at a remote chicken farm and transmits it to a back-end server in the main office. The back-end server then analyses all information received from the front-end and based on a built-in business process and business rules, intelligently updates various stakeholders of any breach of bio-security measures that requires immediate attention, the report states. 10

11 Here is an impressive list of other examples of monitoring agricultural processes using mobile devices: Monitoring water levels using sensor networks (Singh and Bansal, 2011) Monitoring and control of automated production processes in farming (Diaz et al., 2011; Huting, 2012) Remotely monitoring and addicting changes of temperature levels in agricultural greenhouses (Abdul Aziz et al., 2009) Tire pressure monitoring for farm equipment (Farm Industry News, 2012) Monitoring and operating remote pumps (Accord Fintech, 2011) Monitoring livestock or robotic milkers in remote areas (Farmer s Guardian, 2011; Kwong, 2012) Tracking a cow s estrus cycle, nutrition and breeding (icow, 2010; Dairy Farmer, 2011) Monitoring disease and pest incidents in viticulture (Cunha et al., 2010) Monitoring temperature changes in shipping perishable agricultural products to market (Jedermann, Ruiz-Garcia and Lang, 2009) Livestock animal identification (Ruiz-Garcia, 2011) Measuring core body temperature of livestock with RFID sensing devices injected into the animal (Ruiz-Garcia, 2011) Wireless measurement of soil temperature (Ruiz-Garcia, 2011) Precision irrigation with a smart sensor array for scheduling irrigation in cotton greenhouses (Ruiz-Garcia, 2011) Surveillance and security for farms and farm equipment, including man down alarms, panic buttons on mobile phones and tracking systems on vehicles and agricultural machinery (Lee, 2010; Farmers Guardian, 2011) Mobile monitoring of all aspects of farming can only grow, and is becoming an essential ingredient of professional farm management. Beyond just monitoring, there are also mobile farm management applications that give a sense of how agriculture is changing into a more information-rich and integrated operation. Here are some examples: A decision support system for choosing alternative crops and providing information and support for the entire cultivation period (Antonopoulou et al., 2010) A PDA-based record-keeping and decision support system (PRDS) for traceability in cucumber production using a geographic information system (GIS) (Li, 2010) 11

12 A platform for livestock management based on RFID-enabled mobile devices (Voulodimos, 2010) Irrigation management using mobile pump controllers that can be set with interactive voice control (Accord Fintech, 2011) On-farm information management systems for pig farming that uses ruggedized handheld devices (Farms.com, 2005) Crop management and precision agriculture using wireless devices that includes the following data (Watermeier, 2004): Topographical and elevation mapping Soil sampling Yield monitoring Soil electromagnetic conductivity mapping Satellite and aerial imagery Soil moisture for irrigation needs Crop input record-keeping and tracking Crop scouting of weeds, diseases, and insects Meteorological data collection 12

13 magriculture Apps We undertook a thorough search to identify mobile agriculture apps, looking at both the literature and the Internet. While there are likely more agricultural apps available than what we found (and more being developed every day), our search produced 60 examples of mobile agriculture apps. We then sorted the apps into categories after identifying nine distinct types of agriculture apps. The nine categories we identified are: Agriculture information apps Business apps Conference apps Diseases and pests apps Farm management apps Learning and reference apps Location-based apps Market data apps Weather apps Of course, farmers and others in agricultural businesses will use generic functions of smartphones and tablets as well as software developed for the general population, such as word processors, spreadsheets, and databases. Vazzano (2010) makes this point in quoting Andy Kleinschmidt, an Ohio State University Extension educator who says, I have used my smartphone to view insecticide labels when I received questions on a rate of an insecticide to use. Generally speaking, smartphones are great communication and data management tools. I think of my smartphone as a mini-laptop, and use it as such. Kleinschmidt adds that smartphones built-in cameras can be great for snapping photos to diagnose problems. Imagine scouting a crop and seeing an unfamiliar insect chewing on a leaf, he says. With a smartphone, it is easy to grab a high-quality digital image and share it with an Extension contact, post it to Facebook, and perhaps share it on your blog asking for someone to help ID the insect, all while standing in the field. In compiling our list of 60 apps, we only included those that were specifically identified as designed for the agriculture industry in Canada and the United States. As well, we did not include apps that were aimed at consumers in terms of food identification or nutrition. This latter group of apps is the subject of our second report on mobile agriculture. A third report is also available, on the future of mobile agriculture applications. The percentage for each category shown in Figure 2 gives a rough indicator of where developers have placed their emphasis in developing apps for agriculture in North America. 13

14 Figure 2 - Percentage of mobile apps available for each of the nine categories of mobile agriculture apps. One can expect the sheer number of agriculture apps to grow rapidly in the near future, as this area of the market has just started. Please note that the 60 descriptions below are summaries based on vendor descriptions of each app, and do not imply an endorsement of any particular app. Let s look at each category of agricultural app in more detail. 14

15 Agriculture Information Apps This group of apps provides general information about agriculture, including agronomy, and can be used for reference or performance support. Included here are apps on agriculture law and regulations, as well as general agricultural information portals. Agrian Mobile Information Center Agrian Knowledge Base, Free Trial Download Agrian s Mobile Information Center gives users the ability to access Agrian s comprehensive and easy-to-use label database any time, anywhere, on either an iphone or ipod Touch. This allows users to: Access product information at anytime Search by product name, registered states, pest control and specific product use rates Includes active ingredients, signal word, minimum air/ ground diluents and safety information Access information regularly, even during Internet connectivity down time View and navigate through thousands of product labels and material data safety sheets when connected to the Internet 15

16 Agriculture Law Linsay Associates, LLC, $24.99 Agriculture Law gives attorneys the ability to have complete access to United States Code for Agriculture. By providing the entire code and CFR, attorneys will now be able to access important laws without the need for Internet access or cumbersome manuals. With time-saving hyperlinks between the U.S. Code and regulations, Agriculture Law for the ipad will save an attorney s time and help provide faster response to client needs. 16

17 Agriculture Regulations (Title 7 Code of Federal Regulations) Tekk Innovations LLC, $29.99 The complete text of Title 7 CFR, Agriculture, is available on the iphone using this app. Features include: Offline access Tables & images Bookmarks Full-text search Header-only search options Search highlighting Context-sensitive search Saved search history sections 17

18 AgWired ZimmComm New Media, Free AgWired is the online community for everyone involved in agricultural marketing and communications. This includes farmers, ranchers, agribusiness, farm groups, ag media, freelancers and advertising and public relations agencies. The AgWired app allows you to easily keep up to date wherever you are and provides multiple ways to see news filtered by keyword categories. Additionally, the app has a built-in mechanism to provide you with the latest news produced by the ZimmComm News Network on alternative energy, the dairy industry, and the latest in precision agricultural farming. 18

19 From the Field Pioneer, Free Pioneer Hi-Bred s agronomy alert application features the latest and best information from Pioneer s agronomy team. Designed for BlackBerry smartphones, it can be customized for your geographical area and user profile. The app allows Pioneer s agronomy team to see what is in a farmer s field, and gives immediate feedback. 19

20 U.S. Code T.7 Agriculture smartleges, $0.99 This app could be used by lawyers, civil servants, officials, students, and dissidents wanting to understand the federal laws on agriculture in the United States. Content includes Title 11 Bankruptcy Code, automatic free updates, locally stored data, accurate searching, and the ability to share sections of the content via text messages or . 20

21 Business Apps While agriculture is big business, there are almost no dedicated business apps for this industry. This may represent an opportunity for a software developer with an interest in agriculture. We did find one company, Deluxe Corporation, that develops landscaping estimate forms and work orders as apps. As well, farm equipment manufacturer John Deere has a couple of apps on how to purchase the right equipment for your needs. Landscape Bid (Landscaping Estimate Form) Deluxe Corp, Free Landscape Bid provides on-the-spot customer landscape estimates, in addition to showing the work you will perform and its cost. The company also has an app for generating work orders. 21

22 Machine Finder John Deere, Free This app was developed by John Deere to service the resale market of used equipment. Features include equipment listings from John Deere Ag and Turf dealers, as well as construction and forestry dealers across North America, using a Web-browsing platform for mobile devices. 22

23 Mower Match John Deere, Free This dynamic interactive brochure for ipad includes video clips, 360-degree product views and useful information on key features that distinguish John Deere s leading lines of riding equipment. 23

24 Conference Apps An emerging trend is the proliferation of mobile apps at agricultural conferences. These apps usually contain the complete program, maps of the convention site, and information on specific exhibitors. Some apps also let participants interact with each other through social media such as Twitter. Conferences that have provided apps in the past year include: National Farm Machinery Show Pennsylvania Farm Show Sun Belt Expo World Ag Expo 24

25 Diseases and Pests Apps Farmers need to deal with plant and animal diseases, as well as pests, that may threaten their livelihoods. This category of apps deals with this serious issue. Field Guide Project Noah, Free Upload photos, GPS coordinates, and other information about wildlife observed. While many will not be considered agricultural pests, accurate identification is important to recognize species that may be harmful to an agricultural situation. 25

26 ipest1 University of Florida, Gainesville, $1.99 This app is a mobile field guide to educate everyone about common urban pests. It contains four sections: Cockroaches Filth-breeding flies Occasional invaders Urban pest and wildlife droppings The app features photos and identifying characteristics of urban pests, including 12 species of cockroach. Facts include pest types, common names, scientific names, habitats, biology and behavior, and distribution of pests. 26

27 OakMapper Shufei Lei, Free This app uses your phone s built-in GPS to identify where you are when you submit data (on sightings of trees showing symptoms of sudden oak death). 27

28 Plant Doctor Times to Come Mobile, $1.99 This app provides access to an intelligent expert system that instantly gives you simple, scientifically proven solutions to maintaining varieties of plants in a healthy state. Scroll through a list of the 32 most common symptoms of plant distress and select the symptoms your plant is showing. The Plant Doctor will provide useful assistance. 28

29 Soybeans Diseases SDSU Extension Dept., Free This Soybeans Diseases app, developed by South Dakota State University Extension plant pathologist Larry Osborne, provides growers and crop managers with easy-to-use and handy diagnostic information for a number of major or potentially problematic soybean diseases. It is intended to provide a starting point for management decisions. 29

30 Turfgrass Management University of Georgia, Free Developed by the university s College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, the Turfgrass comprehensive application contains pictures, information and recommendations for turf management. Included is the identification of field pests. 30

31 What s Invasive! Center for Embedded Networked Sensing, UCLA, Free This is an app to assist experts in protecting the environment from invasive species. Features include local lists of top invasive plants and/or animals. As an invasive species is spotted, you tap on the name and send the information with the GPS-generated location to the experts. You can add photo and text notes of your observations, as well. 31

32 Farm Management Apps Farm management is by far the largest category of mobile agricultural apps. Apps are available for many different aspects of running an agricultural enterprise. Here are 20 farm management apps that we found in our search. Cattle Breeding Calculator R3 Consulting, Free The Cattle Breeding Calculator is a simple way to keep track of service, return and calving dates for your cattle. Add one of the three values and the rest automatically populate, and then save each set of data for each animal. This app could help take some of the guesswork out of calving season. 32

33 CMO Food Safety & Quality App CMO International, Free This app allows quality and safety professionals to record audits, inspections, assessments, reviews, incidents and any other form data in the field based on industry best practice content. The app also includes Document Management, Action Management and Bulletin Functionality and supports GIS/ location-based services. 33

34 Corn Planning Calculator Smith Farm Apps, $1.99 This app provides the professional agriculture/farming community with real-time, useful calculations for corn planting from specific inputs resulting in the correct spacing of the corn being planted. Inputs such as population desired, cost per acre, seed counts and spacing in inches or in a metric format are achieved in real time, without Wi-Fi or 3G/4G being needed. This app will work on an ipad, iphone or ipod Touch using ios 4.2 or higher. 34

35 Dairy Inventory Form Canvas Iowa (#3), Free This app allows farmers to check the inventory of their dairy products. The app lists the status of what s presently residing in inventory and what will be added later. A screen summarizes the total value of the current inventory. 35

36 DEKALB Plant Population Calculator DEKALB, Free Trial This app provides recommended planting populations for corn and soybean crops. Simple, sequential steps ensure there are no calculations to perform. Use pre-populated information to choose soil type, row width, with crop-specific variables (e.g. field tillage technique, equipment type, seeds per kilogram, corn hybrids, etc.) to generate a specific planting recommendation for corn and soybean crops. Recommendations include seeds per acre and seed per foot of row for accurate planting of agriculture crops. The app also features an acreage-to-bags conversion. 36

37 Farmer s Partner Farmer s Partner, $4.99 This app enables a farmer to input variables to create a complete overview of the farm operation. It features both up-to-date and historical information, and allows information to be entered on type of crop, field type, production costs, and sales history. Farmer s Partner also calculates profit and loss based on the information entered. 37

38 Grain Shrinkage Calculator JWS Group LLC, $1.99 This app calculates the results for the number of bushels after moisture removal from field to storage for seven common grains: corn, wheat, soy beans, oats, barley, buckwheat, and rye. 38

39 Growing Degree Days inet Solutions Group, Free This application measures the maturity of crops by looking at current and past growing degree days data. Growing degree days (GDD) measure heat accumulation to predict the date crops will reach maturity. 39

40 ifarmer Inventory Applications Limited, $49.99 This app shows real-time inventory control and reconciliation. Record and report on sales and purchases of stock, keep track of stock locations, add notes, photos and other attachments. Data can be backed up to a server for viewing from a desktop or, in case of loss or damage, to a mobile device. 40

41 Nutrient Removal The Mosaic Company, Free The Mosaic Company s Nutrient Removal app is intended to make nutrient removal data available in the office, field, or tractor. According to the company, growers can use the app in cooperation with their local agronomist to plan for next year s planting season and crop nutrient programs. 41

42 Pork Production App Alltech, Free Alltech assists pig producers to seek out information on swine health issues, environmental concerns and pork quality. It features customizable commodity listings and local weather forecasting. 42

43 Pro Cattle Breeding Smart Farm Apps Ltd., $12.85 This app tracks cattle farming data including pre-mating heat, first heat, A.I. scan, dry-off date, due date, and healthy delivery. It records all the major milestones including post- and premating cycles, breeding history for an individual cow, and bull coding. You can manage the entire reproductive cycle, export key data, and forecast future feed requirements. All data is transferable to another computer. 43

44 Pro Dairy Event Smart Farm Apps Ltd., $12.85 Track, manage and archive key individual cow events throughout the herd. Avoid bull tank antibiotic contamination with this app, and alert settings trigger specific milking alarm messages. 44

45 Pro Grass Rotation Smart Farm Apps Ltd., $12.85 Farmers get more from grazed grass each session using this yet-tobe-released app to manage grass wedge. It does an in-paddock grass wedge calculation, calculates daily demand for grass, improves grassland measurement, and helps maximize intake of highly digestible grazed grass. The app displays a clear synopsis of grass growth in graph form to quickly identify surplus grass and reduce need for concentrate. You can also work offline in the field with this app. 45

46 PureSense Irrigation Manager HD PureSense, Free This app in HD allows you to be more informed, efficient, and mobile. Access timely, accurate data for each of your climate/ moisture monitoring stations or irrigation sets. Features include the ability to view charts to support your irrigation decisions, analyze charting trends up to a year, zoom to unveil a higher level detail, see alert feature views, and analyze recent moisture or weather-related alerts. 46

47 Seed Selector Genuity, Free This app assists farmers to find seed varieties. It shows a complete list of corn, soybean and canola seeds. You can sort seed varieties by soil type and maturity zone, then display detailed information about any seed variety. As well, you can or quickly phone the seed company from the app. Seed Selector is designed for Black- Berry phones. 47

48 SoilWeb Andy Kleinschmidt, OSU Extension Van Wert County, Free This iphone app provides GPS-based, realtime access to USDA-NRCS soil survey data. The app retrieves graphical summaries of soil types associated with the user s current geographic location. It has an interface with a Webbased soil survey application. 48

49 TankMix DuPont, Free This app calculates the amount of product needed to treat a specific field area, the amount of product needed to apply to a specific tank size, the amount of water required to treat a specific field area or the amount of product required to get the desired volume-to-volume ratio. It features a wide selection of units of measure, and allows the user to enter information in both decimal and fractions. 49

50 Tree Mitigation Schedule Canvas, Free This application collects data about tree removal and replacement, and produces key account information about the tree including tree ID numbers, diameter, location, and more. 50

51 Yield Estimator DEKALB, Free This BlackBerry app generates a yield estimate for your corn and soybean crops. It is an in-field tool to help farmers assess the yield potential of their maturing crops. The app supports single- and multiple-sample location data, and generates individual and average yield estimates across multiple locations. 51

52 Field Mapping Apps Although this is an area for future development of mobile apps in agriculture, ways of measuring and identifying land and land use is an obvious area of application for farmers worldwide. The two apps below are examples of that genre, with more examples likely to follow in the next few years. The GPS function in most mobile devices means that location-based apps are also a future area of development. ArcGIS ESRI, Free Discover and use maps to measure the area of fields. This app features the ability to navigate map galleries in just a few taps, use maps authored in ArcGIS.com, and access your own GIS data. You can display and zoom to current location, as well as collect and edit data. 52

53 Scout Doc Record Keeping Agnition Inc., $49.99 Agnition s easy-to-use app Scout Doc app allows users to create or import field maps and save data collected when scouting or inspecting fields. 53

54 Learning and Reference Apps This category of mobile agriculture apps are designed to teach, or to be available as a reference when needed. Examples include dictionaries, encyclopedias, simulators, and courses available through mobile learning devices. Here is what we found in our search. Agriculture Dictionary Deep Powder Software, $2.50 Agriculture Dictionary contains a glossary of technology, terms and definitions related to agriculture and animal husbandry. 54

55 Agriculture Glossary Publish This LLC, $0.99 This app contains a comprehensive list of more than 1,300 agricultural terms. Features include: Internet connectivity not required Search using keywords Add/edit text and audio notes Add items to favorites list compatibility Better readability 55

56 Agriculture Glossary Space-O, $1.99 Similar to the previous application, this is another application with a comprehensive list of more than 1,300 agricultural terms. Features include: Internet connectivity not required Search using keywords Search alphabetically Add/edit text and audio notes Add items to favorites list compatibility Better readability 56

57 Animal Husbandry USaMau03, $0.99 This encyclopedia contains information about how animal husbandry is an important economic activity, raising animals for their specific uses such as meat, milk, eggs, hides, wool, and honey. 57

58 Agriculture Report ienglish Studio, $0.99 This Voice of America (VOA) special English learning application is for those in the agricultural industry who need to improve their English. The software contains quality audio files and enables learning at anytime you like, even in the absence of Internet access. Accurate translation with graphical and text descriptions will help you understand and learn. Full-text reading, sentence-by-sentence reading and replay with a single tap promotes improved learning efficiency. Repeated reading sentence-by-sentence and audio record reference encourages you to read out loud in authentic American English. 58

59 Audubon Insects and Spiders: A Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders Green Mountain Digital, $9.99 This is an introduction to the common species of inspects and spiders in North America. The app features in-depth information on 509 species, high-quality photos, and a personal journal. This company also produces a field guide for birds. 59

60 Entomology Dictionary Tomsoft, $0.99 This app is a large dictionary of 4,500 words and terms used in the study of insects. It features an alphabetical scrolling view, a shuffle feature to test your knowledge, and the ability to quickly search the entire database. 60

61 MySci Pubs Bravura Technologies, Free Gain knowledge in the agronomy, crop, and soil sciences by searching thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles. 61

62 Arbor Day Tree Identification Guide: What Tree red82, $4.99 This field guide app identifies more than 250 trees in the United States and Canada. Features include the ability to post tree locations on Twitter and participate in a tree census. The app has full-color, accurate botanical illustrations and pictures. Track trees you have identified using GPS and mapping. 62

63 Market Data Apps Access to market data is extremely important to people in the agricultural sectors, as prices for their products can change on a daily or even hourly basis. The following five apps allow farmers to keep track of markets on their mobile devices. Agricharts Mobile Barchart.com Inc., Free AgriCharts, the agricultural division of Barchart.com Inc., which provides market data, agribusiness website hosting and technology solutions to the agricultural industry, developed the AgriCharts mobile application to accompany its website. The revamped mobile app offers a real-time or delayed platform for viewing quotes, charts, and analysis for grains, livestock and other commodity markets. 63