I’m just getting started with FarmOS and looking to use it on our broadacre grain farm in Australia.
Is anyone else using it on a grain farm and how do you manage spray and planting records?
When we seed we will usually have one seed type and a couple of fertilisers, similarly when we spray we will have multiple chemicals in a tank mix and also need to record weather conditions at the time of application.
How do you go about logging that data, are the chemicals and fertilisers assets, inputs or materials? Would we need to record the weather separately as an observation?
Hello, are you looking to set up and track inventories in FarmOS? Or are you more wanting to log the date of a field operation for example ( Pre-emerge Spray - tank mix - rate applied) and not necessarily worried about inventory tracking?
are the chemicals and fertilisers assets, inputs or materials?
Currently, farmOS has “Input logs” and “Materials”. Input logs are a type of log specifically intended for recording any kind of input that is applied to your areas or plantings. One of the fields on the Input log is “Materials”, which allows you to enter the names of materials that were used. This is primarily a “tagging” mechanism that makes it easier for you to find those logs again in the future by material name. But it is not a full-blown material inventory tracking feature.
In the future, the plan is to make Material into a new “Asset type” (on the same level as Plantings, Equipment, Animals, etc) - primarily so you can track your material inventory levels. So when you create an Input log, you’ll be able to optionally reference a Material asset and say “I used this much of that Material” (inventory adjustments).
In the meantime, you can use a combination of the “Materials” and “Quantity Measurements” fields on Input logs. Quantity measurements are a place where you can store arbitrary weights/volumes/etc on the log. See Quantities | farmOS
Some are using this to store the actual quantities of materials that were applied in the input, and using the “Quantity Label” field to denote the material name (which is a bit redundant with the Materials field, and which the new Material asset inventory tracking will resolve).
Would we need to record the weather separately as an observation?
Some are putting this into the Notes field of the Input log. You can also create a separate Observation log to record the weather if you prefer. The Weather quick form creates observations of precipitation events, but could probably be made more general for field conditions more generally.
Hi Angela
Not so worried about inventory tracking, have found with other programs in the past that its a bit of a hassle, what goes in the sprayer and they area sprayed usually don’t match exactly, then end up with discrepancies.
More looking to log all the details of an application and the rates and types of products used. Sounds like the changes Mike mentioned that are coming could answer my problems.
To be able to set up a chemical as an asset with various properties, like herbicide or fungicide, chemical group, price maybe. And then add it to a log with a rate would be great.
@mstenta in the update to to make materials an asset, will the quantity measurements use defined units to allow measurement and comparisons between logs?
It seems at the moment if I enter 0.5L in one log and the 500mL in another there is no way to compare the 2, as L and mL arent defined, correct?
For now, you can manage the unit list manually and standardize on a consistent procedure when you create/edit logs. Or export to CSV and do conversions/analysis outside of farmOS.
Sounds like the changes Mike mentioned that are coming could answer my problems. To be able to set up a chemical as an asset with various properties, like herbicide or fungicide, chemical group, price maybe. And then add it to a log with a rate would be great.
You may be able to do what you need with the simple Material term right now. Each material has a simple “Description” field that you can put arbitrary info into. Then you reference that Material term when you create an input, and add rate info as quantity measurements.
Also worth mentioning: there has been talk of creating a simple “Quick Form” for managing mixes in this way. @jgaehring and @Angela have been designing a spraying form for Field Kit that displays the mix values (for tasks assigned to workers), but will still require entering them manually in the logs ahead of time in farmOS. The next step would be to make the creation of those logs, and management of mixes easier in a simple quick form. That could be done before we have full-blown Material assets, if it would help in the meantime.
what goes in the sprayer and they area sprayed usually don’t match exactly, then end up with discrepancies.
Yes “Planned” rate and “Actual” rate very often are not the same. As Mike mentioned, Jamie is addressing this issue in the Spraying module in Field Kit by showing the mix with the “Planned” application rate and an “Actual” rate where the operator, after completing an application, can go in and enter “Actual” rate applied and the mix quantities are adjusted to the “Actual” rate applied.
More looking to log all the details of an application and the rates and types of products used.
In 2019, I used FarmOS to log all field activities by - Field, Equipment, People, Inputs. I created “Plantings” for each field and preplanned all the activities( planting, pre & post spray, fungicide spray, foliar, irrigation events, harvest) to be completed; essentially creating electronic Work Orders. These Logs/Work Orders identified - equipment used, including tender truck and personnel, operator, product(s) being applied, quantities or “rates” of application along with the date, start and stop times and ability to add notes.
Hi Angela, been a bit busy so haven’t commented but I agree with what you have written. If what you have specified gets developed, FarmOS would go a long way to satisfying broadacre spraying minimum requirements