When dairy farmer Nigel Taylor was struggling to manage staff and compliance on his farm, he thought there must be an easier way. After searching to find a tool that would help streamline farm management, he soon realised there were no suitable apps. In true kiwi fashion, Nigel decided to develop his own called JobDone. In 2013, the prototype app won the Fonterra Activate competition and the final app was released in 2016.
16 May 2017
Managing the payroll – it couldn’t be simpler. Keeping staff happy is one of the most important steps to running any business - which includes paying them on time. Managing farm timesheets and payrolls can often be complicated and time-consuming. Simply Payroll is a new online tool and app which aims to solve the headaches of managing payrolls and has been specifically tailored for the rural sector. As seen below, Simply Payroll supports a novel new look with an easy-to-navigate design.
16 May 2017
MyLiveStock: Advertise, Purchase, and Browse Livestock
Developed by NZ Farmers Livestock Ltd, this simple and easy to use app allows users to easily buy and sell livestock throughout the country. The app is available from either the Google Play (Android) or Apple Store (iPhone) for free download and is directly linked to the NZ Farmers Livestock National trading site (MyLiveStock.co.nz), providing further information and links to livestock agents.
Having issues with mastitis in your herd? Or looking for ways to reduce your somatic cell count? Then the Countdown Mastitis Toolkit App could be just what you need (see Figure 1 below). Developed by Dairy Australia and Countdown 2020 with the help of dairy farmers, advisors and vets, the app provides valuable information on controlling mastitis as well as various tools and calculators to help with management and potential cost savings.
25 May 2017
Feed planning for livestock can be a time-consuming and daunting task for many farmers. Until now, there have been few resources available to sheep and beef farmers for quickly determining feed requirements. This is set to change with the recent launch of the FeedSmart app, developed by Beef + Lamb NZ and the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP).
Using smart tools and mobile apps to support teaching in New Zealand Agriculture
An estimated 80% of New Zealand’s water use can be attributed to irrigation. 720,000ha of NZ land (or 6% of NZ farmland in 2012) is irrigated. Irrigated land can produce up to three times the output that dryland can achieve. However traditional spray irrigation systems are inflexible, and don’t meet variable water requirements for different soil types or land use. (Yule & Hedley, 2009)
Wanting a fast and simpler way to test your electric fences on the go? Fence Detective could be the answer. In 2015, Dan Hall designed the Mobile App to help farmers and contractors identify live electric fences.
Fence Detective intuitive user interface.
The Riparian Planner is an online tool which creates a farm specific plan for waterways protection and management. This free tool was developed by DairyNZ and Landcare Research with input from regional councils, key environmental specialists and agricultural rural professionals. It is designed to help farmers meet their commitments under the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord (more information) to maintain and improve water quality across the country.
These were lasting words from a whirlwind two days spent at the 2016 MobileTECH Primary Industries conference. It was a jam packed affair by any means, but in a good way because there was a lot of interesting content.
