John Deere has released new software updates to the John Deere Operations Center and its MyOperations App, which it says will help make the benefits of precision agriculture more accessible.
Since its launch almost a decade ago, the Operations Center has evolved to become a central tool for Australian farmers and operators to unlock the power of precision agriculture, and to optimise machinery performance.
The MyOperations App enables growers to conveniently take information from their Operations Center account into the field, to help manage equipment information, production data and farm operations from a mobile device.
John Deere Precision Agriculture Manager Ben Kelly says the latest updates further expand the capabilities of both the Operations Center and MyOperations App to support farmers in achieving in-paddock gains.
In particular, this update will allow growers to more easily collect and edit a variety of field information from the convenience of their phone or tablet, to result in more timely collection of field records, and a comprehensive picture of what has occurred throughout the season.
“There remains no question digital technology is one of the keys to greater efficiency, profitability and sustainability in Australian farming. In fact, modelling from the Australian Farm Institute has shown $20.3 billion can be added to the gross value of agricultural production by embracing digital technology,” he says.
“However, one of the greatest barriers to uptake, outside of connectivity challenges, has been a perception that the technology can be time consuming or complicated to implement.
“Our technology is simple and effective, and we have support networks in place to help farmers get the most out of the machines and the technology they have. The MyOperations App is an easy-to-use and portable tool to help bring information together.”
Key updates include the expansion of data editing capabilities from MyOperations; improvements to data accuracy and quality by enabling growers to edit field information from their mobile device and sync it across the John Deere digital ecosystem.
New data editing capabilities include crop type (for example, wheat, barley, canola, cotton); crop season (year); post-calibrate yield and area harvested; adding field records from MyOperations; manually add tillage, planting, application and yield information from a mobile device. This allows capture of complete field records, regardless of a machine’s data collection capability.
The workflow has been further streamlined by removing the sign in requirement to view a machine display from MyOperations.
“By simplifying the way farmers can input and edit key data from their mobile or tablet, we’re helping them to compile high-quality information and insights about each field,” Kelly says.
“This is particularly important given the results which can be gained through the implementation of precision agriculture are directly linked to the quality of the data which is fed into the system.
“This update also demonstrates how John Deere is prioritising making technology simple to use so that the powerful benefits it brings to agriculture are available to as many growers as possible.
“We encourage farmers and operators to check out and install the new updates for access to the most up-to-date and easy-to-use technology available.”
The John Deere Operations Center is free online software from John Deere designed to help farmers manage their equipment and farm data. Farmers can login or create an Operations Center account at https://myjohndeere.deere.com
The MyOperations App connects to the Operations Center, allowing farmers to take their data to the field. It’s free and can be downloaded from the Google Play or Apple App stores.