How do you turn data into real daily cultivation insight?
Farmplus shows how iCrop supports and accelerates advisory processes.
Working digitally has long since ceased to be a pipe dream in agriculture. But how do you ensure that data does not become fragmented, but actually contributes to better decisions? At Farmplus, data-driven work is now the standard. By choosing to work centrally with iCrop, the company saves time, prevents noise in communication and improves cooperation with growers. In this article, an insight into how standardization and digital support contribute to a more efficient way of advising.
From loose notes to structured data
Three years ago, Farmplus – then CZAV – began implementing iCrop. The reason was recognizable: growers and advisors were working with loose Excel files, notebooks and messages on WhatsApp. “If one grower had a top yield and another did not, we had to puzzle everything together afterwards,” explains Wydo van der Lee, ICT and supply chain manager. “We wanted that to be different. Everything in one place; overview and insight.”
Standardization as a lever for efficiency
Farmplus developed together with AppsforAgri standardized cultivation recipes per crop and soil type. This gives each advice a fixed basis, while leaving room for customization. “This provides clarity for growers and prevents repeat questions for advisors,” says Van der Lee. “This allows us to really focus our people’s valuable time on the content.”
For growers, it also means peace of mind. They know what to expect, have up-to-date data insight and can move faster. “It strengthens cooperation. Not everything is thrown digitally over the fence, we make choices together, with shared information.”
Practical application at Lower wheat
A concrete example is the application within Lower wheat. Growers within this concept must be able to demonstrate which agents have been used and when. Thanks to iCrop, Farmplus can now report this easily and centrally. “The transparency requirement is high, but with a well-designed system it is perfectly feasible. We no longer have to look for data together.”
Developing together = learning together
Farmplus sees the partnership with AppsforAgri as more than software vendor-customer. Through weekly sessions with advisors and developers, the system is continually adjusted based on practical experience. “A bottleneck on Monday can sometimes be solved by Friday. That makes it valuable.”
Next step: integration and AI
In the near future, Farmplus plans to establish links to external sources, such as article information and RFO data. AI is also being considered, provided the underlying agronomic knowledge is first better established. “That is currently still too much in heads. If we digitize that, we can take the next step in decision support.”
What began as a pioneering project with thirty growers has grown into a workable standard. By streamlining processes and using data intelligently, Farmplus is building step by step a future-proof way of advising.
Next edition
Next time we will look at how that collaboration works in practice between grower, advisor and cooperative – using the joint story of De Hoeksche Boerin, Farmplus and Nedertarwe for Koopmans. How do you ensure that sustainable ambitions, practical knowledge and digital resources reinforce each other?
And we conclude the series with a look to the future. Then we’ll take a closer look at how artificial intelligence (AI) is already making its way into agriculture and what this means for the role of data, advice and decision making in the coming years.
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