APPS have the potential to change the way farmers run their businesses, but the uptake of technology relies on vast improvements to the state's mobile coverage network, according to Advisory Board of Agriculture member and farmer Karen Baines, Ungarra.
Despite only having a smartphone for five months, Mrs Baines has quickly developed a list of favourite apps, with the CFS, Ezyreg and banking apps getting a thumbs up.
"Ezyreg is free and handy when you have a lot of vehicles, you can quickly check if something is registered or not, and you can set a payment reminder," she said.
"You can also check if a vehicle is categorised as a 'high powered vehicle' - which is particularly relevant to P-platers - and of course you can make payments and look back on payment records."
Free cloud-based storage app Dropbox has also been given a tick of approval.
"Dropbox is very useful for keeping documents and you can 'favourite' many documents so they are still available to you when you have no mobile service," she said.
"You can upload gazette notices for heavy machinery that must be carried when on-road, as well as chemical material safety data sheets.
"These can be saved to your Dropbox for immediate review if required. This is particularly useful for those who have several chemical fill up points that aren't near the main workshop or chemical shed.
"Instead of having to have several chemical registers, you can just have one main register and use Dropbox for those chemicals you use at other locations. You can link all workers on the farm to the same Dropbox so everyone has access to this information."
In the chemical shed, the Farm Minder Chemical Compliance System has proved useful, although the app cannot be used without a mobile data signal.
"I only have their chemical compliance system at this stage, which is $414 a year," she said. "You can access MSDS for any agricultural chemical, and can save it to the app or Dropbox.
"The app can chart your chemical storage and their storage compatibility - what chemicals can be kept next to each other and those that cannot.
Mrs Baines has also trialled using the Farmsafe Safety Induction Tool and Pocket Pam.
"I've done the Farmsafe induction - it's not too bad for a quick induction for any new staff," she said. "There are a couple of elements that I don't agree with and there are a couple of things I would have added to an induction."
"I've only just started playing with Pocket Pam, but I'm looking for a good inventory recorder for plant and equipment maintenance."
She says that while smartphone technology can deliver many benefits, SA farmers will never be able to make full use of their potential unless drastic improvements are made to the mobile coverage network in regional areas.
"My husband still does not have a smartphone as older phones get better signal in the paddock," she said. "Mobile signal on Eyre Peninsula is patchy at best, especially once you are out of the immediate surrounds of a town."
Jacinta Rose
Stock Journal's online editor.
Stock Journal's online editor.
