AgFirst consultant Erica van Reenen developed the programme in conjunction with FarmIQ after being asked time and again whether an online tool to help with land and environment planning existed – it didn’t, until now.
Using van Reenen’s knowledge and FarmIQ’s information technology capability was a perfect match.
Powered by FarmIQ, AgFirst Landbase was a standalone product but was available through two of the FarmIQ packages.
The programme was aimed at sheep, beef and deer farmers but also had a weed and pest management plan, which was recently added in response to the velvet leaf incursion and could be applicable to any farm type.
“Having spent the last few years working on land and environment plans for sheep, beef and deer farmers, I could see that there would be value in having an online tool that enabled farmers to develop and easily edit their plans, map out farms and assets and store everything in an easily accessible system,” she said.
“Environmental planning is a very important part of managing a farm in this day and age.”
Erica van Reenen
AgFirst
“Environmental planning is a very important part of managing a farm in this day and age.
“Having a plan enables you to be targeted in managing your budget for environmental enhancement on farm. This tool makes it simple and straight forward, and you can tailor it for your farm.”
The programme took farmers through a risk assessment and captured environmental actions already completed, work underway and planned work.
For example, poplar or willow pole planting could be recorded, how many had been planted and what was planned. It could be added as an annual recurring event and responsibility for planting could be assigned to a team member. That person could even upload before and after photos to show the job had been completed.
AgFirst Landbase also allows farmers to record key information like fertiliser and chemical applications, rainfall, soil test results, in one place. Data is entered once only.
The system was tailored to meet rules in specific regions, like the Tukituki Catchment and Canterbury, where farmers were required to have a plan, which was audited on a regular basis. AgFirst Landbase made this a simple process. This function could be extended to include other regions, if necessary.
AgFirst Landbase was officially launched at the National Fieldays.
“It’s something I have been thinking about for a long time. To know it’s ready to go and functions, and can add value for farmers is pretty exciting,” van Reenen said.
