THE handy ute notebook could be a thing of the past thanks to Katanning farmer Allan Wilson, WA, who channelled his frustrations of real-time data sharing into developing an app for livestock producers.
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![Katanning livestock producer Allan Wilson has developed MyMobTracker, an app which has real-time data sharing on mob locations, drench calendar and activity log. Katanning livestock producer Allan Wilson has developed MyMobTracker, an app which has real-time data sharing on mob locations, drench calendar and activity log.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/9kyzP9Zutm5XFVsqvLWUBX/8ab9e6d3-1c8d-4aa0-8dc0-cde5596c1c99.jpg/r0_22_586_510_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The catalyst for web-based app MyMobTracker stemmed from Mr Wilson wanting to make information on mob locations, drench calendar and activity log instantly accessible to farm staff.
“I was audited by Meat & Livestock Australia and I wanted something to help keep track of all my records,” Mr Wilson said.
“It is about convenience and that was the genesis of it, I couldn’t find anything suitable for livestock.”
Launched on the App Store in October, MyMobTracker has since had more than 200 downloads.
As well as basic tools like the whereabouts of sheep, the app records stock action, tracks water quality and quantity, automatically calculates stocking rates, activity log and has a reconciliation function for accurate end of financial year reporting.
“You build up a historical record so when you are audited, or something goes wrong with traceability and supply chain, anything you’ve bought, sold or treated has been recorded,” he said.
“The traceability and historical record is something that over time will become more and more valuable – on the app, everything is date stamped.”
He said one of the most important elements of MyMobTracker was the treatment section.
“You can record dips, drenches vaccines and even down to the batch number,” he said.
“In this era of traceability, which is only going to get more and more important, this is a really simple and accurate way to keep on top of treatment records.”
New information entered into the app in the paddock is automatically updated on the website.
The website gives the principal the option of recording the price of sales and other financial information they might not feel inclined to share with others, which Mr Wilson said created an accurate financial reconciliation and historical record of the sheep enterprise.
The burgeoning agtech sector has seen hundreds of farm apps and farm based computer programs inundate the market in recent years.
Agricultural technology consultant Tristan Shannon, Full Profile, Sydney, said the agtech would provide farms with the next growth in profitability.
“The industry is well and truly down the path of understanding that tech will give us that next growth in profitability,” Mr Shannon said.
“Digitising financials, payment history, all farm records and sharing that data through your team from a paddock is how farms are becoming more efficient.
“Having that layer of efficiencies is what producers need to keep them out of the office and in the paddock.”
However, he said the AgTech market was diluted with products saturating farmers with information.
“We have a fixed or diminishing number of farmers we are trying to sell these products to but we are getting more and more products on the market,” he said.
“A single product to become successful is becoming harder and harder.”