Winter Release – Version 4.8

Broadacre production systems are becoming increasingly dynamic in the way they are managed and the latest ProductionWise release will improve your paddock management going forward. We are also excited to inform you of a number of recent updates to the system you may have already had a chance to familiarise yourself with.

Paddock Mapping Upgrades

Whether you are adding or removing fences to improve on-farm efficiencies or sowing multiple crops within the same paddock boundary, ProductionWise now provides more precise mapping capabilities along with managing sub-zones within paddocks on a seasonal basis.  

With these added features, ProductionWise allows older paddock configurations to be archived to ensure the paddock management activity history is available for reference when required. On a seasonal basis, farmers are constantly changing the way they manage their paddocks. The process of modifying existing paddocks allows the new configuration to be active in the current season whilst older paddock configurations are archived. Archived paddocks still remain in the system and can be set to Active at any time.  The benefit of this change allows different paddock configurations to be stored whilst allowing the spatial and temporal paddock history to be retained.

How to access these features:

To change the configuration of the paddock boundaries, simply navigate to the Farms page and select ‘Edit Farm’ and click on an existing paddock you would like to modify. By modifying any of the paddock configurations, the old paddock configuration (including paddock history) is archived and the newly created paddock configurations become active in the paddock diary.

Split Paddock: This allows an existing paddock to be split in two using the existing bounds of the mapped paddock. The scenario where this could be used is if a new fence has been added, if multiple crops are planted within the bounds of the paddock or if specific sub-zones are being generated based on visible soil attributes for example.

Zone Paddock: This allows new zones within a paddock to be created. For example, this allows specific areas such as an N rich strip or trial plot clusters to be created within an existing paddock to allow more specific paddock management activities to be recorded.

Merge Paddocks: This allows two or more paddocks to be merged together to generate a new paddock based on the extent of the paddocks being merged. The scenario for this use would be commonly where fences are being removed to make paddocks larger. The original paddocks would be archived allowing the paddock history to be maintained.

Delete Section: This allows the ability to delete a section of a paddock or cookie-cut an area out of an existing paddock is common to remove vegetation stands or dams. This editing feature improves paddock boundary precision for further applications such as NDVI imagery assessment and variable rate prescription generation.

Listing Archived Paddocks: This is a handy option to view paddocks or paddock configurations that share or have shared the same plot of land in previous seasons. This is useful in determining the different configurations the paddock has been in the past to help with the management of planting options going forward especially for seed production. Alternative uses of this feature also allow paddocks no longer under production to be kept within the system without clogging up the paddock diary.

These archived paddocks can be toggled on or off in both the web or the app to only view the paddock history when browsing the paddock diary. To edit details of archived paddocks, they must be made ‘Active’ in the website.

Chemical Inventory Management

Previous releases have integrated the Chem Shed inventory management system to allow chemicals stored on-farm to be managed and tracked as they are used throughout the season. The chem shed allows single or multi-product data entry into the system capturing a range of details such as batch, quantity, container size, value and expiry to allow greater transparency of product availability, where it is stored and to assist with asset management and safe chemical handling and recording.

We have recently added the ability for Chem Shed products to be deleted if necessary. Products that have been incorrectly entered to the chem shed can now be deleted.  Finalising products remains unchanged and still allows inputs to be finished to maintain application history in ProductionWise. To finalise or delete products, click the ‘View Log’ link.

How to access this feature:

The Chem Shed feature can be accessed from the Tools menu. The Chem Shed is also available in the app allowing on-site management of chemicals to be referenced. Keeping track of products and assigning inputs from the chem shed to paddock applications has been easily integrated to allow precise input management to be maintained.

Tutorial Videos

The ProductionWise Team has not only made vast improvements to the system over the last 6 months, we have also generated a number of useful videos to help navigate around certain areas of the system. These tutorial videos will help guide you through different parts of the system and provide you further insight into the functionalities ProductionWise has to offer. These are a work in progress so keep your eye out for new videos as they are generated.

How to access this feature:

Click the link or go to the Help page and select the feature you are wanting to learn more about.

Spraying Operation Upgrades

• Spraying activities that occur over multiple days can now be recorded with an increase in the duration of the activity. Often spraying applications get interrupted by unfavorable weather conditions or machinery failure. This change will allow a single application to be recorded even if it takes a longer time to complete.  
• Spraying operations that have a start time but no end date or time, are displayed as ‘In Progress’ to allow you to see which activities are underway or have been delayed. This logic has also been applied to Grazing operations.

Expanded Operation Details – App

• Improved viewing of inputs on saved templates allows additional information of the input details and options to modify the dates prior to applying the templates
• Improved viewing capability to expand information associated with operations in the paddock diary such as inputs, biotic stresses for observations, NDVI imagery, images taken whilst scouting and comments

Bug Fixes

• Share activity – fixed issue with incorrect calculation of total area required of jobs to be done
• Observation saving biotic stresses – fixed issue stopping biotic stresses to be saved
• Adding inputs to operations – fixed issue not allowing multiple inputs to be entered in the same workflow
• Fixed bug that stopped the farm map from rendering in the app
• App Farm map – Go to paddock now takes you to the paddock diary for the selected paddock
• Fixed issue in the app for Chem Shed that stopped alpha-numeric batch numbers to be recorded
• Custom products can now be entered to the Chem Shed using the app
• Fixed issue that stopped the search function of inputs in the product lists
• Other bug fixes and site optimisations