1Agricultural & Biological Engineering, 2Electrical & Computer EngineeringPurdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907*Corresponding Author: jwelte@purdue.edu

A FARM MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM WITH TASK-SPECIFIC, COLLABORATIVE MOBILE APPS AND CLOUD STORAGE SERVICES

J. Welte1*, A. Ault2, C. Bowman2, E. Hawkins1, M. Koester1, S. Noel1, J. Krogmeier2, D. Buckmaster1 A B S T R A C T

Modern production agriculture is beginning to advance beyond deterministic, scheduled operations between relatively few people to larger scale, information-driven efficiency in order to respond to the challenges of field variability and meet the needs of a growing population. Since no two farms are the same with respect to information and management structure, a specialized farm management information system (FMIS) which is tailored to individual farms is likely to be more effective than generalized FMIS available today. This approach resulted in the creation of the OpenAgToolkit (OpenATK) and a suite of task-specific, collaborative Android apps.

C U S T O M I Z E D F M I S

Funding for this effort was provided by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T

While the technology of precision agriculture has progressed far in recent years, many opportunities remain to improve the capabilities of farm management information systems. A new approach which enables and utilizes • specialization for individual farms, • autogenic data recording to maximize available data

and minimize human error, • widespread adoption through user-focused design

practices, • always-on availability through the cloud.

C O N C L U S I O N S

Use of existing cloud storage• Reduces startup costs• Provides always on and

updated data sharing

Non-binary formats• Data is always represented

in human-readable form in the backend

C L O U D S T O R A G E

A task-specific, mobile apps approach• Can provide a simple interface• Is more likely to correctly infer

contextual information without human input

• Makes FMIS economically feasible for smaller farms

T A S K - S P E C I F I C A P P SField Notebook

F U T U R E D I R E C T I O N S

Rock App FieldWork App Trello Sync

Keep track of your field data• Tile routing• Utility locations• Wet spots• Weed infestation• Crop conditions