Category Archives: Apps

Agriculture.com® wins two MobileWebAwards

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Less than one year after the re-launch of m.Agriculture.com, the site has been awarded two MobileWebAwards from the Web Marketing Association for Best Magazine Mobile Website and Best Magazine Mobile Application.

The two awards come shortly after the announcement of the industry-first Mobile Commerce Messaging suite of offerings. The new services include a unique [A] Deals feature that provides farmers with direct marketing promotions and discounted offers from advertisers.

After m.Agriculture.com was launched in 2010, its developers soon began testing new services most appropriate for mobile use. These services included dynamic, multimedia content like video, slideshows, and an “app tray.”

The mobile site helps farmers keep up with the latest markets, weather, news, technology, and now input buying opportunities.

DTN/The Progressive Farmer Market Strategies App

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Telvent GIT, S.A., parent company of DTN/The Progressive Farmer, just launched a new Market Strategies app. It is now available via the Apple iTunes Store and Android Market.

The Market Strategies app ensures producers will have the most accurate, real-time data on commodity markets with instant alerts to changes in the market. Unlike other consumer-based applications, the app shares DTN/The Progressive Farmer’s industry leading innovative market strategies and recommendations to help producers react to volatile market changes, increasing their profits and reducing input costs.

With the Market Strategies app, producers will receive in-depth information on 15 different commodities, including corn, dairy, soybeans, wheat and even inputs like fuel, feed corn and soybean meal. The app also offers customizable features to create a market advisory plan that meets the unique crop and input needs of each producer, giving them clear marketing and purchasing recommendations to maximize profitability.

TeeJet SraySelect App

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It’s ag app day I guess. TeeJet Technologies just announced their SraySelect App.

TeeJet Technologies is pleased to offer growers and custom applicators a new tool for simplifying their spraying operations. The SpraySelect mobile app allows the user to quickly and easily choose the proper spray tip for a given application. Just enter speed, tip spacing and target rate, select your droplet size category and a list of recommended tips is provided. Specific gravity input is also included to for use when applying liquid fertilizers.

SpraySelect supports US and Metric units along with six languages – English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Russian. It is available at no cost for both Apple® and Android™ devices. To download, visit the app store and search for “TeeJet,” or go to the following links:
Android: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=teejet&c=apps
Apple: http://itunes.apple.com/app/sprayselect/id520882606?mt=8

Pioneer Corn Replant Calculator

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The apps for ag just keep coming. Here’s a new one from Pioneer that gives corn growers a way to make a difficult decision on replanting. It’s the Replant Calculator.

The tool helps producers decide whether to keep their current stand or replant where their crops have been impacted by weather, pests or other issues.

The calculator is available on Mobile Pioneer.com via the tools section, which can be accessed through the main navigation menu. It takes into account the original date for planting, original stand target and resulting plant population, and the possible replanting date. Growers are asked to consider their own likely replanting seed and input costs. The calculator presents both scenarios, current stand and replant stand, and provides estimates associated with each choice.

The timing of a replant decision means growers could evaluate different aspects of crop production. Early decisions often are based on plant stand and plant distribution. As the season moves on, the calendar becomes the key factor because yields decline with delayed planting. That said, replanting might not necessarily guarantee a grower will achieve the expected yield if the date is delayed enough.

The replant calculator is based on a long-standing chart developed by Dr. Emerson Nafziger of the University of Illinois and widely used across the Corn Belt, which illustrates the effects of planting date and plant population of grain yield for the central Corn Belt. The new calculator also takes into account the current shift to higher populations, as suggested by Pioneer research and data.

Mobile Pioneer.com is optimized for iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, Blackberry and feature phones. It uses technology that provides geography-specific content, reducing the steps required to reach useful information.

AgRacer Leading The Race

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ZimmCast 349Just over 100,000 downloads! That’s a big number and that’s how many iTunes downloads there are in under three months for AgRacer by Fastline, the first ag game app for mobile devices. I got the update this morning from Tim Hess, Fastline President. That number will continue to grow now that the app is fully available for Android devices as well. Tim says the pace of daily downloads has been pretty consistent since the app was introduced during the National Farm Machinery Show. So, when it comes to creating a new communications tool in today’s world in the ag sector it looks like Fastline has set the bar.

Tim says the app has surpassed their expectations and has met their initial goals which include introducing Fastline to a younger age demographic. He says feedback has been great and includes from users in countries outside the United States. So they’re reaching a global audience! There are also some creative sponsor opportunities like product placement within the app available according to Tim, some of which are already in the works. He says AgRacer will soon have new upgrades and updates, including two additional vehicles and a new track. By the way, AgRacer is free to download!

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: An AgRacer Update

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

Play Farming Simulator in Facebook

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I am not a gamer but that doesn’t mean I’ve never played games. I just don’t find the time for it. However, apparently a lot of people do have time. I just noticed an announcement today from a cloud gaming service that you can now play Farming Simulator 2011 on Facebook. For you Farming Simulator players, the company that makes it, Giants Software, says a 2012 Nintendo 3DS demo is now available.

Gaikai Inc., the innovative cloud gaming service, today launches the Beta of its Facebook app which will deliver high-end, console quality game experiences directly to consumers from inside the world’s leading social network.

By streaming their games through Gaikai video game publishers can now easily reach hundreds of millions of potential new players in North America and Europe. The beta will allow gamers to try out a selection of games for free.

The first games to try in the Beta v1.0 Launch are:

Saints Row – The Third (USA)
Dead Rising 2 – Off the Record (USA)
Magicka (USA & Europe)
Sniper – Ghost Warrior (USA & Europe)
The Witcher 2 – Assassins of Kings (USA & Europe)
Orcs Must Die! (USA & Europe)
Farming Simulator 2011 (USA & Europe)

Use this link to experience Gaikai’s Facebook app: https://apps.facebook.com/gaikai-games/

An Interest in Pinterest For Kodak Gallery

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ZimmCast 344Since I’ve been seeing more and more interest in Pinterest in the AgWired community lately, the release about the Kodak Gallery mobile app being able to share photos to the popular social media site caught my eye. I visited with Trent Gruenwald, Sr. Product Manager, Social & Mobile Products for Kodak Gallery to learn more about it.

Trent says the app is available for both iPhone and Android. It allows you to upload photos from your smart phone, view all your Kodak Gallery photos, share your photos either individually, by photo album or group sharing. He says they are continuing to update the app based on feedback from users. Right now the new update is sharing to Pinterest which is only available for Android. It will be available for iPhone in the future. Trent says the Kodak Gallery app tries to combine all the different features you can find individually in other apps. One of the upcoming updates for the iPhone version will be the ability to print your photos.

AgWired fans know I’m a power user of Flickr and I don’t see that changing. However, I can see this app being very appealing to the agricultural community. For example, organizations running events might want to consider using it to create a shared photo gallery that allows attendees to add their photos.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: An Interest in Pinterest

KODAK Gallery is the leading online destination for storing and transforming photo memories—at their most life-like best—into a more high-profile part of people’s everyday lives and environments. Anyone can express their creativity by making a wide variety of personalized gifts such as photo books, greeting cards, and wall décor for themselves and others to enjoy. It’s also easy to share creative projects with friends and family through direct access to social media including Facebook, Twitter and many others.

In June 2001, KODAK, the world’s greatest and most trusted photography company purchased the groundbreaking Berkeley-based company, Ofoto which was founded in 1999. KODAK’s legacy of quality goes into every item that KODAK Gallery produces. We provide the same outstanding service and quality that KODAK customers have come to know and trust.

KODAK Gallery is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eastman KODAK Company.

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

cropNAtion App Now Available

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It has been a long time coming. Well, not really. It just seems like it. But the cropNAtion App is now available in the iTunes Store and Android Market. The “virtual coffeeshop” was introduced last fall.

I spoke with Heather Thompson during the GROWMARK Media Tour about the newly available app. She says that cropNAtion is a social network for farmers to share information, photos and more. Work has been going on for the app since the launch last fall. The app does pretty much everything that can be done on the website. It starts out with a map showing where you are and lets you see what others are saying around you or you can move the map to other locations. The app is free btw.

You can listen to my interview with Heather here: cropNAtion App Interview with Heather Thompson

GROWMARK 2012 Media Tour Photo Album

Precision Laboratories Announces Mix Tank 2.0

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Today Precision Laboratories released Mix Tank 2.0, the new version of their Mix Tank App released a year ago. The new version in now available for Android in addition to the Apple iOS (iPhone/iPad). According to this morning’s announcement it should show up in both stores by later today. The company just held a webinar for media that included comments from Rick Wohlner, President, Precision Laboratories, Jim Reiss, VP of Agricultural Chemistries, Dan Ori, Marketing Specialist and it was moderated by Lynn Balinas, Hondo Group.

What’s new in Mix Tank 2.0 besides Android availability are the ability to create spray logs, add your location data, receive alerts and integrate weather. The purpose is to make more data more available and even faster. If you already have the Mix Tank App on your smartphone you will just upgrade to the new app the next time you sync your device.

If you would like to hear all about today’s announcement you can listen to the media presentation here: Mix Tank 2.0 Media Event

South Dakota Hunt/Fish App

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I know I’m not the only AgWired fan who likes to hunt pheasant in South Dakota. Now the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks has an app for that – iOS – Android.

The SDGFP Hunt/Fish application lets users view the hunting and fishing regulations, apply for licenses to hunt and fish in South Dakota, reserve a campsite in one of the state parks, and view maps of public hunting and fishing opportunities.

The maps use GPS to show the user where they are on public land. The hunting and fishing regulations are divided into sections to make it easier to find the information the user is looking for.

This application is maintained by the State of South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks.

Find more SDGFP social media links here.

AgRacer From Fastline Off To A Fast Start

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ZimmCast 338This week’s program is coming to you from the agriblogging highway. I’m on my way to the 2012 National Ethanol Conference while Cindy is on her way to the GROWMARK Dieselex Gold event. It’s a beautiful morning here at the St. Louis airport.

In this week’s program you can listen in on my conversation with Bill Howard, Fastline. The company was one of our sponsors for coverage of last week’s National Farm Machinery Show. At the show they introduced AgRacer, the mobile farm racing app.

I visited with Bill during their annual customer appreciation dinner. In the photo Bill is awarding door prizes to the crowd of nearly 650 attendees. He says that’s a lot more than the first dinner they held at the show. As he puts it, “It’s a great time to be in ag.” I couldn’t agree more. However, Bill says that Fastline realizes the changing demographics of the farming community. That’s why they’ve launched Jill’s Junction and AgRacer to reach out to women and youngsters who are not only involved in the farm but are also the future of the farm.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Going To The Races With AgRacer

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by Fastline AgRacer FMC New Holland

CRYSTALYX Beef Cow BCS App

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Ag apps just keep coming. Here’s a new one from CRYSTALYX Brand Supplements. It’s called the “Beef Cow BCS”. It’s available for iOS or Android devices.

The free app helps Beef Cow-Calf producers manage the nutrition program of their cow herd by assigning storing body condition scores on individual cows.

The app offers the ability to snap profile pictures of your cows and compare them to reference photos of cows that represent Body Condition Scores from 1 to 9.

Determine the BCS that best describes each cow, along with an ear tag number, and save it within the App for future reference. If you would like to arrange your cows by pasture, that functionality is also available. You can then use these stored images as references at any point in the future to determine how best to manage your nutrition program to make sure your cows breed and calve in a timely manner.

Playing AgRacer From Fastline

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Creating your own game app is a surefire way to reach a younger audience! That’s part of the idea behind Fastline’s AgRacer game app. This young guy was sure having fun playing in the Fastline booth at the 2012 National Farm Machinery Show.

However, as I hung around the booth for a while there were show goers of all ages playing the game on iPads. They all seemed to be enjoying the experience too. I have the game on my iPhone and Droid Razr and will play just as soon as I get a chance so I can report back on my experience. Meanwhile, here’s a video clip of the young guy in action, getting a little help in the process.

AgRacer can be download in the Itunes Store and the Android Market for $.99.

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by Fastline AgRacer FMC New Holland

The SoilWeb App

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Add another app to your Ag Apps folder on your smartphone. It’s free for both iPhone and Android users. The app, SoilWeb, combines online soil survey information with the GPS capabilities of smartphones.

The SoilWeb app is a portable version of the UC Davis California Soil Resource Lab’s Web-based interface to digital soil survey data from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Because the app provides soil survey information in a mobile form, it is particularly useful for those working in the field.

Until recently, a disadvantage of Web-based soil survey formats was that user access was limited to desktop computers with an internet connection. That’s one reason that NRCS soil scientist Dr. Dylan Beaudette, while still a graduate student at UC Davis, developed the SoilWeb app in collaboration with NRCS and the UC Davis California Soil Resource Lab.

SoilWeb can retrieve a graphic summary of soil types in response to a user inquiry in the form of soil profile sketches. Each profile sketch shows soil horizons, often compared to a vertical ice cream sandwich made up of layers of soil. Soil names, locations and taxonomic categories are also shown.

Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Mobile App

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The Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA announce their first-ever mobile app. Yep, cowboys do smart phones don’t you know? Here’s what Mike Deering, NCBA Communications, has to say about it.

“Cattlemen may not be on the computer much but they have certainly embraced smart phones. The smart phone application was designed specifically for the annual convention. It will give participants useful information about meeting locations, speakers and more. The app can also be used by media and by people not able to attend the convention. We will be posting news and information constantly.”

So you need to get the app for the Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show which will be held Feb. 1-4th. It’s now available for download for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. The Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA App gives its users access to everything the oldest cattle business convention has to offer.

The CIC & NCBA mobile app is a free download and features an interactive exhibitor map and listings, seminars and speakers, schedules to help plan your trip to the largest cattle business convention! The CIC & NCBA app will also provide you with digital information from exhibitors, text alerts, product updates and instant connectivity, all right in the palm of your hand.

It’s on my iPhone! Get it now.

Precision Laboratories Mix Tank App Honored by AgProfessional Magazine

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Precision Laboratories Mix Tank app was honored by AgProfessional Magazine as one of 10 recipients of the Editors’ Choice New Product of the Year Award. These 10 products represent the best, newest, most innovative products introduced in 2011 for sale or use by the ag retailer market and consulting industry, according to the editors of AgProfessional.

The free Mix Tank app provides the proper mixing order for applicators using crop protection products, helping them avoid incompatibility problems and to ensure their effective use, which saves them valuable time and money.

Precision Laboratories is planning to expand the capabilities of the free Mix Tank app early in 2012 and will continue to apply technology resources that will save applicators time and money, while ensuring they receive the most out of every tank mix. Click here to download the free app or search for “Mix Tank” on the iTunes App Store.

Mobile Technology Replacing Brochures At Trade Shows

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Why pack cases of flyers or brochures to stack in your trade show booth when you can just bring along an iPad to display more information in a multi-media format?

Pioneer Hi-Bred used to bring along more than 50 different product brochures to trade shows. Now they bring an iPad with a company-branded app. Pioneer, along with GROWMARK, worked with Float Mobile on these projects. Here’s what they did with GROWMARK.

At the 2011 Farm Progress Show, GROWMARK used an interactive “Yield Maximizer” game to draw attendees to their booth and keep them there longer. It’s part of a larger trend that’s going on in agribusiness – using innovative mobile technology to showcase products and services in unique ways.

“The FS/GROWMARK System upped its technology ante at the 2011 Farm Progress Show. Our goal at the show is always to engage and share valuable information with the farmers and other interested parties who attend. Making use of iPad-powered games that attracted attention, entertained show-goers, and conveyed information about our strong and diverse product lines was very effective,” said Ann Kafer, GROWMARK’s director of communications and marketing services. “We also debuted cropNAtion.com at the show and signed up those wanting to participate in the new social media platform for information about crop production across the country — farmer to farmer.”

National Farm Machinery Show App

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Going to the National Farm Machinery Show? We are and we’ll have the new NFMS App on our iPhones!

The first-ever mobile app, called “NFMS ’12,” for the National Farm Machinery Show is now available for free on smartphones (iPhone, Android and Blackberry) and features an interactive exhibitor map and listings, seminars and speakers, Championship Tractor Pull schedules, and Louisville area information to plan your trip to the largest indoor farm show in America.

The mobile app will include frequent updates right up to the opening day of the show. “NFMS ’12″ also will provide digital information from exhibitors, text alerts, product updates and instant connectivity, all in the palm of your hand. Text alerts and mobile updates on what’s happening during the show are also features.

“In addition to the product-packed NFMS Show Guide, the mobile app will contain all the information needed to plan your visit and also help make your days at the National Farm Machinery Show very full and productive,” says Allen Barkve, general manager of Farm Industry News.

Social media will also be incorporated into the app to connect attendees (hashtag: #nfms12). To find additional information about the show, connect with National Farm Machinery Show by following it on Facebook and on Twitter @nfmslouisville.

The free application can be downloaded by searching “NFMS ’12″ in the Apple Store, Android Market and BlackBerry’s App World or by clicking here.

eCotton Launches MyModules App

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At the Beltwide Cotton Conferences I met Joe Wyrick, President, EWR, Inc. His company has a division called eCotton which “is dedicated to supplying the information processing needs of the cotton industry.” One of the new ways they’re doing that is with a brand new smartphone app called MyModules.

Cotton producers can register new cotton modules and have them transmitted to the gin automatically, with GPS coordinates if you like.

View the status of all of your modules.

View summary status of all of your bales.

This caught my attention since it is available for the iPhone and Android platforms. Joe gave me a demonstration on his iPhone.

Joe says the app electronically solves the problem of getting harvested cotton module data from the grower to the gin. It’s a two way flow so the grower also gets information back from the gin. A helpful feature is that the app captures data for later transmission if there is no local mobile carrier signal. That’s pretty handy.

Learn more about this new ag app in my interview with Joe here: Interview with Joe Wyrick

2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

AgWired coverage of 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by

Farm Podcaster Tool – TASCAM PCM Recorder

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If TASCAM ever releases their iM2 Microphone for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch you’ll be able to use it with their new PCM Recorder app. I just added it to my iPhone but haven’t used it yet.

PCM Recorder is a free app from TASCAM that turns your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad into a portable stereo recorder. Use it with the iM2 to record yourself any- where you go.

PCM Recorder has input and output level faders with an “on-screen” meter to help you check levels. It includes high and low EQ and a limiter to prevent overload. Save your recordings to your computer as WAV files or share with friends and fans by uploading them to Soundcloud.

PCM Recorder is a available free on the iTunes App Store.