Trimble Launches Connected Farm Dashboard
Trimble has launched the Connected Farm dashboard, which provides one centralized location for farmers to view key information impacting their operations. With this information, farmers will be able to make better daily decisions based on the latest data. The Connected Farm dashboard is customizable and accessible via Internet-enabled devices such as desktop and notebook personal computers, smartphones and tablets, and Trimble’s new TMX-2050 display.
The TMX-2050 display is a next-generation display built on the Android operating system. It offers an intuitive interface that enables farmers to easily implement precision agriculture solutions as their business grows. Its flexible software platform improves the ability for a customer to seamlessly add applications to their operations while the modular architecture allows for future expandability.
The TMX-2050 display is an addition to Trimble’s existing line of guidance displays, which include the EZ-Guide 250 lightbar guidance system, CFX-750 display, and FmX integrated display.
The Connected Farm dashboard will allow farmers to:
- Check daily rainfall totals for each virtual rain gauge—without the use of physical rain gauges. (Made possible by Trimble’s acquisition of RainWave’s assets). This will allow a farmer to reprogram his irrigation system based on the previous evening’s rainfall, optimizing the use of water.
- View the weather forecast weekly, daily, or hourly for a given location including temperature, humidity, chance of precipitation and wind speed. For example, wind speed will allow a farmer to plan when to spray a given field.
- Set up a Doppler radar map to show upcoming weather patterns for their area. This will allow a farmer to assess in real time whether or not to continue with a current activity.
- Check the latest commodity prices. Farmers will be able to select the commodities that matter to them and list them based on personal priority.
- View farming operations data. For example, if the farmer is viewing yesterday’s planting activities, the dashboard may show population, singulation, skips and doubles.
- Monitor a fleet by tracking the location and status of vehicles and receive geo-fence and curfew alerts. Farmers also can link through to Trimble’s new Connected Farm fleet app to add landmarks or for turn-by-turn directions to locate vehicles from their current position, and view historical positions.
- View a boundaries map created with Trimble’s Connected Farm scout app.
Following the completion of the recently announced IQ Irrigation asset acquisition, irrigation pivot data is expected to be available on the Connected Farm dashboard in New Zealand in the fourth quarter of 2013 and the U.S. in the first half of 2014.
“With the Connected Farm dashboard, farmers can quickly see a snapshot view of their latest field operation as well as key information that may impact today’s activities such as rainfall, commodities, and the day’s weather forecast,” said Joe Denniston, vice president for Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “With this information available in one convenient central location through Connected Farm, farmers can access the information they need to make the best daily decisions about their farm. Since the dashboard can be accessed from Internet-enabled devices, farmers can make these decisions from potentially any location at any time.”
The Connected Farm dashboard is a free web portal and is currently available. To view rainfall totals, monitor pivot irrigators (when available), or for fleet management, customers will need to purchase these services.
On August 27, Trimble acquired the assets of privately-held RainWave, LLC and Hydro-Engineering Solutions, LLC of Auburn, Alabama. The acquisitions will help to extend the monitoring and reporting capabilities of Trimble’s Connected Farm solution and strengthen its water management expertise. Financial terms were not disclosed.
RainWave provides precipitation monitoring services for agribusiness, construction and engineering, government and consumer industries. RainWave will be part of the Connected Farm solution, which simplifies and integrates operations management by providing information exchange across the entire farm. This RainWave service will provide farmers across the U.S. with vital rainfall data they can use to better manage their crop production.
Using RainWave, farmers can set up a virtual rain gauge by entering GPS coordinates for identified locations to receive a rainfall report for those locations. Since on-site rain gauges are not needed, farmers no longer need to monitor dispersed gauges or manually track precipitation. The farmer will now be able to obtain this rainfall information through their Connected Farm dashboard. RainWave’s convenient, accurate rainfall information allows farmers to make better management decisions by optimizing irrigation plans and application timing, and comparing yield against rainfall to plan for next season’s crop. This results in savings of time and water usage.
Hydro-Engineering Solutions is a civil engineering company that specializes in hydrology and hydraulics. The company provides high-quality engineering services to federal, state and local governments as well as commercial entities, and has extensive experience with streams and rivers. Hydro-Engineering’s expertise in hydrology and hydraulics modeling is expected to strengthen Trimble’s water management solution in watershed analysis for both drainage and irrigation.
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