How the *International Seed Manufacturing Company are digitising agriculture with forms2’s no-code data capture apps and digital forms for Agricultural Field Trials
In our latest no-code app and digital forms case study, we’re looking at how the *”International Seed Manufacturing Company” – one of the world’s leaders in seed trial analysis and front runners in digitising agriculture used forms2’s no-code data capture apps and smart agriculture digital forms to create the most accurate agricultural field trials and management and seed trials for their clients.
At a fraction of the cost of traditional development, they used no-code apps for their smart agriculture seed testing, could accurately test soil health and helped their clients with precision farming. By digitising agriculture they saved days on faster field size calculations, reduced manual labour, helped farmers with higher crop yields, and made significant cost savings.
*Caveat – the client wished to remain anonymous. We can say the company is one of the biggest seed trials and smart agriculture and smart farming consulting companies in the world.
The Challenge Summary:
The International Seed Manufacturing Company produces seeds for food production heavyweights and agriculture customers all over the world, and trials new breeds of seed for increased yield and resistance to disease and insects. With seed trials and seed analysis taking place in their plot in California, they not only had to manage their extensive plots but also conduct trials on customers’ lands.
Usually, trial beds were marked with physical flags sticking out of the ground and hammered in, but they were often run over by tractors, causing cross-contamination and stopping agriculture managers from understanding where certain trial beds lay as all they had was a piece of paper and a map.
They needed a reliable way to establish and safeguard trial beds and a quicker method to calculate field sizes, determine seed quantities, and plan planting distances and bed widths accurately.
They needed a no-code app solution that was scalable to outline their trial beds, accurately measure field sizes, and manage seed stock effectively.
They also wanted to get rid of paper!
The Solution Summary:
The team at forms2 helped them build a no-code agriculture and seed management app where agriculture managers and field teams captured GPS locations of points in a field on a mobile device, allowing for precise geo mapping and geolocation integrating what3words into digital forms. The app calculated field areas automatically and integrated with the company’s SQL server for real-time data processing. This no-code agriculture and seed management app had digital forms which included hidden fields for complex maths, dropdown fields for seed details, and automated calculations for seed quantity and bed sizes. No more paper!
The Results Summary:
After using the forms2 platform they now had faster and more accurate field size calculations, heavily reduced manual labour, and improved seed trial accuracy. The company also eliminated the use of physical flags, preventing cross-contamination and ensuring reliable data. They also achieved higher crop yields, reduced water wastage, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and saved on fuel costs, as less time was spent in the field on paper and data capture was way more accurate. Best of all, they became leaders in the agricultural sector.
“Farmers all over the world who were using this company knew that they could rely on accurate data. It helped their business grow and also helped farmers plant the correct seeds and have confidence in their own seed and planting and agricultural production.”
The Challenge
The “International Seed Manufacturing Company”, which manufactures seeds and trials new breeds for increased yield and resistance, faced significant challenges in managing their extensive plots of land in California. They also conducted trials on their customers’ lands, which meant they needed absolutely precise identification and management of trial beds and soil health before planting crops – seed contamination was not an option.
“Traditionally, managers would stake out trial beds with physical flags, which was okay until a tractor ran over the flag, mixing the trial bed with other plots and causing cross-contamination.”
James from ISMC.
Agriculture managers were getting lost, not knowing where one plot started and another ended, seeds were getting contaminated, and time was spent on tractors having to replant or fix flags, and manually measure fields thus increasing global greenhouse gas emissions and wasting time.
The company needed a way to establish and safeguard their seed analysis beds and quickly calculate field sizes to determine seed quantities and planting distances accurately.
“They were looking for a way to establish and safeguard their own beds. But they also needed a quicker way to calculate the size of the field or the plot. To work out how many seeds were needed for it, how far apart to plant them, how wide to make the beds.”
The Solution
So the team at forms2 worked in conjunction with the team at ISMC to develop a data capture app / agriculture field trials app that addressed the company’s needs through a scalable no-code app that captured GPS locations for field points. This geo mapping and geolocation capability allowed users to map out field shapes, regardless of irregularities like trees, roads, or streams.
“We developed a no-code agriculturual field trials app where the user captures GPS locations for each of the points in a given field. Now, bear in mind, a field may not be square. It can have trees in it, a road running through it, or even watercourses. It could be any kind of shape, really. Users could capture GPS locations for up to 10-15 points to map out the actual shape of the field.”
The app used extensive hidden fields to automatically calculate field areas and integrated with the company’s SQL server for reliable data exchange to and from their tech stack and API. This integration ensured that the field data was processed and reported in real-time, which made for way more accurate seed management and seed trial setups. The data capture app also integrated into the what3words API for even more precise location tracking.
“The app would automatically calculate the area with the use of data sources, so the data sources would hold the details of the seeds. They would basically use a dropdown field, select the seed they wanted, and given the area calculations previously done, it would automatically work out how many seeds were needed, how far apart the seeds needed to be planted, the size of the beds, and how far apart they needed to be.”
The team could also tell their clients, including farmers and ranchers exactly how much seeds were going to cost and how they could manage the plots.
“This precise data gave them the precise info to pass to clients and an accurate cost of the seeds they need to produce. It could also reduce the time it would take to set up the plot and manage it.”
In addition to geomapping, the app included features such as instant reporting, daily field logs, timesheets, vehicle maintenance checks, incident reporting, stock levels, and water usage forms so the team knew exactly what their operations were doing, but also how much water seeds needed, what the climate resilience was like and how they responded to healthy soil and other agricultural practices.
“The key to it was having full visibility of each of the individual trials,” James said. “Nothing was overseeded with a different trial, and they didn’t need to use physical flags anymore.”
The Results
The use of forms2’s no-code data capture apps for agriculture changed the company’s operations. Field size calculations, which previously took days, were now completed in seconds, reducing manual labour and increasing efficiency as they had accurate data in seconds. The automated calculations ensured accurate seed quantities and bed sizes, minimising seed and water wastage and preventing cross-contamination of seed trials.
“Faster and more accurate area size capture and calculation was a huge bonus”!
The company saw higher crop yields due to reduced human error and more accurate seed trial results as contamination was non-existent and seed beds were mapped accurately and managed exactly how they should be. This reliability and accuracy spearheaded their reputation as a reliable seed supplier and seed analysis company. The integration with their SQL server facilitated real-time data capture and reporting, enhancing compliance and operational visibility.
“Because we had the right data, calculation for seed usage was always accurate. Agriculture and seed managers knew the quantity of seeds needed by numerical quantity or weight, which reduced wastage and cross-contamination.”
Overall, the results included:
- Higher Crop Yields: Accurate calculations and reduced human error led to higher crop yields.
- Reduced Water Wastage: Efficient water usage forms ensured optimal irrigation.
- Fuel Savings: Streamlined processes saved on fuel costs.
- Minimal Disruption to Client Land: Trials on customer land were easily identifiable, reducing disruption to farming systems.
- Reduction of paper usage: no more paper forms being lost
- Accurate data capture: Clients had accurate data to work with and information on their seed analysis in real time
Investment vs. ROI on Digital Forms & No-Code Data Capture Apps
The company’s investment in the forms2 no code ranged between £5,000 to £6,000 per mobile app, significantly lower than the estimated £120,000+ cost of traditional custom development for an app vs no-code development. For example, with three mobile apps (iOS, Android, Windows), they saved approximately £110,000 per app per operating system, totalling over £300,000 annually. Additionally, forms2’s hosted, managed, and maintained platform saved them around £200,000 annually in web development and maintenance costs, realising total savings of about £500,000 per year.
“Overall, they’re saving about £300,000 at least per iOS, Android, and Windows app using the forms2 platform”
Conclusion – Smart Agriculture Is the Way To Accurate Data Capture
It’s as clear as day, the forms2 no-code apps and digital forms for seed analysis and agriculture transformed the operations of this “International Seed Manufacturing Company”, leading to substantial cost savings, improved efficiency, and enhanced accuracy in field and seed management. The platform’s flexibility and comprehensive features provided the company with the tools needed to thrive in a competitive market and made them a leader in sustainable agriculture, and climate-smart agriculture as they had data at every stage of the seed’s journey.
View more digital forms and no-code app case studies here.
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