Collation of on-farm data ~ Online collection of farming data ~ AgTech
Brief: The client, Teagasc, required collation of on-farm data, specifically looking at sustainability, from a range of commercial dairy farms located throughout Ireland. This data would be used as part of a Pan-European research project.
Solution: After agreement with the client on data requirements, we developed a secure, encrypted online platform where farmers could enter data. The data could be entered on either a mobile device or in their farm office. We interacted directly with the farmers, providing training and support. The data could be viewed live by researchers which enabled rapid reactions to erroneous data. The farmers were prompted when to enter data by automated SMS messages. Failure by the farmer to enter data resulted in repeat SMS reminders. Furthermore, we constantly monitored the data ensuring that it was complete. The system was further able to take data from external sources such as Herdmaster, ICBF, etc. All of the combined data was uploaded on a regular basis to the client’s Oracle database.
Result: The project was such a success that it has been rolled out across multiple studies and hundreds of farms over the past 7 years. The software is constantly being updated to improve the user experience for both researchers and farmers.
