Muddy Boots Ag-Mag 2016

Ag-Mag 2016

Addressing the misconception

Is farming one of the last industries to embrace technology?

Greenlight Grower Management on your iPhone!

You called, and we’ve answered, GLGM is coming to your mobile phone.

Welcome to the 2016 Ag-Mag. We’re celebrating 20 years in the field.

We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce our new Business Development Manager, Paul Thomas. Here he talks about what excites him about his new role, and what you can look forward to in 2016.

I join Muddy Boots at a very significant milestone. 2016 marks our 20th year of operation. During which time, the company has grown into a market leading organisation, supplying pioneering transparency and compliance solutions to food businesses around the world.

I’m very pleased to see that in spite of this, one foot has always remained firmly placed in agricultural software, and as such, we have been able to develop a completely unique selling point. Unlike rival companies, our software products span the entire food supply chain, from grower to retailer. This provides customers with a unique viewpoint of their supply chains and facilitates valuable interaction and collaboration between retailers, suppliers and farmers.

I’m really impressed by Greenlight Grower Managment’s (GLGM) development plans and the way the product is spreading out in terms of functionality, it’s going to be exceptionally powerful. I’m excited about being able to integrate the experience I’ve had in my previous years working with growers, understanding their frustrations and showing them how to overcome those hurdles in their business by using our software.

For me business is all about relationships, and I think that’s especially the case in this industry. The title Business Development Manager conjures up images of someone constantly chasing new sales, but at Muddy Boots that’s not the case. I think getting close to the agronomists and growers and becoming an integral part of their business is key.

Greenlight Grower Manage-ment is a really exciting product, and it’s developing at a rapid pace. This year will see some very significant advances come to fruition.

In line with this we’ve already released our new field work activity feature, which you can read about on page 4. This new function enables complete visibility of a wide range of field work activities, ensuring everyone knows what has taken place on a given field. This provides all stakeholders with a more detailed picture which can assist with better and more timely decision-making.

On pages 7 and 8, we’re very proud to announce that in 2016 GLGM will be coming to your iPhone! This along with the latest version of our app has been very hotly anticipated because it takes the software to a new level of portability.

While the handset may have shrunk, the level of accessability and functionality has been significantly beefed up, and I can’t wait to see our customers begin to benefit from this.

I look forward to talking to you in person one day, I hope you enjoy this issue of the Ag-Mag and I welcome you to join the conversation @MuddyBootsLtd on Twitter.

Best wishes Paul

Paul Thomas Business Development Manager Muddy Boots Software

In this Issue: 3 Let’s get social.

4 Introducing total visibility of field work activity.

5 Farming: the last industry to embrace technology?

7 Greenlight Grower Management, coming to an iPhone near you.

9 The forecast is cloudy, with huge cost savings.

11 Harnessing in-app intelligence to steer our future

product.

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Greenlight Grower Management in practice Agrovista.

Greenlight Grower Management in practice -

14 Frontier.

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Word on the Tweet @FarmersWeekly Globally, 14% of harvest is lost to weeds & resistance has increased by 60% in 15yrs #arable

@TheGrocer REVIEW OF THE YEAR: This year’s biggest tease?

Got to be Amazon Fresh

@fpcfreshtalk Supply chain sustainability is key to navigating food consumption minefield

@guardian Come on supermarkets – wonky is the shape of fruit and veg to come

Connect with us @MuddyBootsLtd

Meet a Muddy team member!

Adam Woods, Technical Support Advisor Can you explain your job?

I work within the support team. My main objective is to make sure that our customers are happy and that any queries they may have are quickly resolved. As I’m part of the technical side of the support team, I help bridge the gap between our customers and the development team by bringing them closer together.

What are you most excited about in GLGM? It’s got to be mapping. It’s great to be able to see your fields from above and give real time information back to all those you’re connected to. The opportunities are endless in this area and it’s going to be an exciting journey. Not only this, but the additional use of iPad’s and iPhone’s when you’re out and about makes life simple for everyone.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Firstly, it’s great to meet new people. As part of my customer facing role, I often get the chance to demonstrate our product to customers and get deep into conversations with them. It’s great to learn about how people work, and it’s rewarding to see them using our software. I particularly like problem solving, and my role is ideal in achieving this.

If you could be anything in the world, what would you be?

That’s easy. I’d like to be a traveller! Travelling the world and seeing what’s out there is a top priority for me. The thought of walking through villages, under waterfalls and through rainforests is something I’ve always wanted to do. I think it’s important to see what’s out there and think outside of the bubble that we often live in.

60% The majority of food (60%) consumed in the UK is grown on British farms.

20m There are 20 million hectares of farmland in the UK. This is the same as 30 million football pitches.

70% Livestock eat 70% of all the grain we produce. It takes 16 pounds of grain to make one pound of beef.

£500m Through action to reduce waste, the UK fresh produce industry could save up to an estimated £500 million a year.

Introducing total visibility of field work activity Karen Chinn, Project Manager for Greenlight Grower Management, explains how you can obtain a universal understanding of what’s going on in your fields with the new field work activity feature.

Our latest development in Greenlight Grower Management enables complete visibility of a wide range of field work activities, ensuring everyone knows what has taken place on a given field. This provides all stakeholders with a more detailed picture which can assist with better and more timely decision-making.

Greenlight Grower Management is an online crop recording and crop management system that connects the agri-food community together, making field recording and data sharing quick, simple and efficient.

Early adopters of the Greenlight Grower Management system have been enjoying the revolutionary approach to creating and sharing cropping information such as inspections and agchem plans. Grower Management provides a window to this data to all stakeholders of the farm, reducing duplication of work and improving transparency.

This insight is really valuable in relation to the crop, but a universal understanding of what’s going on in that field also forms an important part of the picture. Subsequently, we have now strengthened our offer by allowing all field work to be captured on the system as well; providing deep insight into the overall status of the environment in which the produce was grown.

A large range of field activities can now be recorded and shared with all stakeholders, such as cultivating, seeding and harvesting. Important information such as start date/ time, temperature and extra notes can be captured to ensure accuracy, consistency and reliability in the data.

This new functionality is currently only available in the GLGM website (register or login to our webpage at: glgm.muddyboots.biz), but it will also be available in our iPad app in 2016. Users of our GLGM website will recognise the intuitive, easy to navigate interface, and the data can be filtered by type of activity to simplify the review process and present customers with the information that’s most relevant to them at that point.

The most significant development is the new report generator, which presents all crop and field work history in one simple report; giving customers an overall view of activities.

These are easily accessible to all stakeholders, and can be printed as a PDF. Armed with comprehensive and accurate insight, growers and agronomists have the power to maximise their efforts and drive efficiency through their operations.

As we continue to develop Greenlight Grower Management, better supply chain insight will form the crux of its offer. This latest functionality is just the latest layer of functionality, designed to give the ag-community everything they need at the click of a button.

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Farming: the last industry to embrace technology?

Business Development Director, Jeff Goulding, addresses the big misconception.

There’s a misconception I’d like to address. I’ve heard it before, but on this occasion, it came in the form of the following question; “Is it fair to say that agriculture is one of the last industries to embrace technology?” I was initially a little stumped, primarily because the connotation has never once crossed my mind. In fact, I would always insist on the contrary.

Perhaps historically farming has been misrepresented in the media; presented in a manner that coveys ideas of a slower pace of life, a throwback to traditional ways and a simpler time. I think that picture is being redrafted by the media; programmes like the BBC’s Harvest 2015 are showcasing the impressive array of technology being used in agriculture today, all of which are contributing to the UK being one of the most successful food producing nations on the planet. Indeed in 2015, one Lincolnshire farmer broke the world record wheat yield, not once but twice in the space of two weeks!

I’m pleased to say that across the board, I think the perception of farmers being a bit behind the times is changing and many will now agree that this is a dated stereotype.

I do have to question just how dated this idea is. I’ve seen evidence to suggest that farming was once previously seen as a cutting edge industry in terms of technology and innovation. 70 years ago, during the height of WWII, the British Government produced a film showcasing

the strength of British farming and our ability to be completely self-sufficient. Advancements in selective cattle breeding allowed us to produce highly adequate meat and dairy yields and technology was embraced as the demand for more produce called for more efficient ways of farming.

Traditional horse drawn methods were replaced by a more modern approach so that farmers could produce the most crops possible. This was especially evident as the tractor became essential for nearly every farm. In 1938 there were 1,932 tractors used on Welsh farms, by 1946 they numbered 13,652.

The local War Agricultural Executive Committees encouraged the use of modern technology in all industries associated with agriculture. Technical Demonstration Committees were organised to give classes to farmers and contractors. Even blacksmiths had to be trained to play their part in the maintenance of the new machinery.

Fast forward 50 years, that same desire to be more efficient in crop management saw the inception of Muddy Boots and our inaugural product CropWalker - a technological advancement that for the first time took crop management off the clipboard and into a computer.

Since that point we have run alongside every agricultural advancement that’s occurred over the past 20 years, whether it be in fertilisers, pesticides or precision technology. As farmers look to introduce new practices to their farm enterprise, we look at how that can be incorporated into our systems.

The mobile revolution has allowed us to truly enhance our offer. The sheer fact that growers spend the majority of their time out in the field has created a need for these management systems to be as portable as possible.

Our Greenlight Grower Management program has conquered this requirement for several years by developing the GLGM iPad app. This level of portability however will take one step further this year when our iPhone version becomes available to all users (more on that on page 7).

We live in exciting times, technology has never developed at the rate it currently is. Things that ten years ago would have looked distinctly sci-fi are now a reality and will soon become common place.

Within a matter of years I predict the sight of drones hovering over fields and orchards will be the norm, the ability for a drone to spray crops is already

being practiced, before long I think they’ll be a daily sight on farms. Likewise ground robots are being developed to sow seeds and harvest crops, while the common use of these may be a bit further away, the technology already exists.

Agronomists have been known to wear Google Glasses while walking the fields; the continuous live recording of what they’re seeing has proven invaluable in reviewing crop walks and has saved significant amounts of time when generating recommendations.

It is still this determination to increase efficiency for our customers that drives everything we do at Muddy Boots. We also recognise that all of these technological advances have one common denominator – data. Whether it’s a drone, a wearable device, a tractor fitted with GPS precision; they’re all generating a continuous flow of data which, if harnessed correctly can be extremely powerful.

Our Greenlight Grower Management platform is poised to receive increasingly diverse and complex data. We will be able to absorb all of this, process it within our system and feed it back to farmers and agronomists in a manageable and informative manner. Just like the innovations we’re starting to see in agriculture, when it comes to the possibilities of what Greenlight Grower Management can achieve; we’ve only really scratched the surface…

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Greenlight Grower Management, coming to an iPhone near you...

Julian Knight, Greenlight Grower Management Product Owner, talks about our new iPhone app, allowing truly mobile data collection.

You called and we answered!

Greenlight Grower Management is coming to your iPhone! Version 2 of our hugely popular mobile platform will now no longer be constrained to iPad. Farmers and Agronomists, using iPhones will soon not only benefit from hugely boosted functionality, but also a system that fits neatly in your pocket.

A lot of growers and agronomists told us that while having Greenlight Grower Management on the iPad was great, it still didn’t tick the box in terms of being truly mobile. Being able to have the added ­functionality in a device that literally fits inside your pocket is something we’ve wanted to provide for a while now.

Greenlight Grower Management has always been an exciting innovation in mobile crop recording technology but with the latest version, we’ve taken that portability to the next level.

Julian Knight Greenlight Grower Management Product Owner

Greenlight Grower Management app functionality comparison table:

Tailored specifically for iPhone, the new Greenlight Grower Management app will also come with significantly more sophisticated ­functionality. Customers will be able to add, update and remove sites, fields, machinery, ­operators and cropping data - management that previously wasn’t available in our old app. The mapping functionality has also been greatly improved in that users will be able to set a pin location for sites, as well as being able to add, edit and remove field and crop boundaries.

Agronomists in particular will be pleased to know that the new app will allow them to record the locations of observations right there in the field.

All of these developments are designed to make crop management as fluid and instantaneous as possible. This improved ‘in field’ functionality further reduces the time between recommendation and application. Being cloud based, the information entered in the app is available for everyone involved in the farm to see instantly, allowing timecritical decisions to be made within minutes of the inspection taking place.

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‘The Cloud’ is a term that most people have just about become comfortable with, and it’s used pretty broadly now; however by many, it’s still perceived to be a bit of a buzzword. If you were to Google the term ‘cloud computing’ in 2011 about 48 million results would appear. Today, the figure is 162 million; that just goes to show the rate at which this technology has been embraced. For anyone wondering when the term was actually coined, we were surprised to see it was way back in 1996! Just about when Muddy Boots was getting started.

None-the-less ‘cloud technology’ is a term that gets banded about, so we thought we’d distil it down to what it really means to the food industry:

Security Storing your data on a reputable cloud-based solution is the safest way to work.

Many clouds are backed up at multiple locations, meaning that if a server goes down, your data will still be available somewhere else – so it’s safe, but also really convenient when you’re trying to get a job done.

We have an entire team dedicated to maintaining and testing the stringent security measures we have in place – something companies using their own internal systems simply don’t have the resource to undertake.

Collaboration Collaboration is key to a successful supply chain – and thanks to cloud technology, no longer are the various stakeholders forced to work independently of one another. With cloud solutions in place, agronomists, farmers, food packagers, wholesalers and retailers can access, record and share activity simply over the web or offline using a mobile app.

Mobile Internet-based solutions and the profusion of tablets and smartphones mean live data is accessible from anywhere, making everyone in the supply chain truly mobile.

Food businesses can securely record, share and store their data on the cloud whilst harvesting crops in the field. Or they can complete supplier assessments during farm visits, making data collection and submission a more efficient and streamlined process.

There’s no duplication of data entry, so the days of burning the midnight oil typing up notes and laboriously entering records are gone forever.

Real-time data Wireless data syncing and notifications of record changes gives users immediate access to important information, so there’s no delay in making time-critical decisions. If a specification changes or if a supplier is no longer approved, the system will automatically send a notification up to the cloud and down to all relevant stakeholders, so action can be taken. This real-time information means that businesses always know the status of their sites, suppliers and products.

The future Cloud-based software systems are becoming ­increasingly critical elements of the food industry. Through this software, significant efficiencies and cost savings can be gained which can be shared with all supply chain partners. £2.5 billion of food is wasted in the supply chain each year in the UK alone, and the knock-on effect is felt ­throughout.

The ­implementation of tools that connect all members of a supply chain and provide immediate access to the product specification, can significantly reduce waste – in fact, some of our customers have identified a 50% reduction, just by connecting and communicating with their suppliers and growers on a cloud platform.

Just imagine how efficient and sustainable the food supply chain would be if everyone was operating on the same system.

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Harnessing in-app intelligence to steer our future product Software Developer, Martin Pendlebury, explains why our customers are our most powerful tool.

It’s easy as a Developer to get your head stuck into the code, but we are big advocates of bridging the gap that exists in many organisations between a customer and a Development team.

We get to know our customers, we understand their pain points, and we strive to deliver something that transforms the way they work. Sometimes it’s the smallest of changes that can make the biggest difference.

Ad hoc customer meetings help to build solid ­relationships, and annual surveys give us insight into current behaviour, trends and requirements, but we wanted to get smarter and more consistent with our approach to connecting with our

customers. Subsequently we have introduced an in-app tool that has taken our customer interaction to a whole new level.

This tool allows us to communicate with our customers effectively through the product and analyse user behaviour We can tailor messages based on their activity, usage and customer journey stage, rather than using a generic scattergun approach. Training videos can be embedded within the relevant page of the product, new functionality can be highlighted and any important messages can be shared in real-time. We call this ‘Intelligent Communication’.

“Where this gets really exciting is in our ability to seek feedback from our customers, so they can play an active and ongoing role in our future product development.”

We are building an amazing customer journey both in and out of the product. In-app chat is critical in ­ensuring that the personal approach continues beyond the sales team. This gives a platform for the Project, Design, ­Development and Support team to interact with the ­customer. Everything is personalised, with the addition of staff photographs on the messages, so our customers really get a feel for the wider team; giving each member of staff a sense of responsibility and pride in their work.

Putting the customer at the heart of our business Martin Gray, our User Experience Designer talks about the mutual ­opportunity this delivers to both Muddy Boots and our customers;

“One example is the redesign of our homepage for ­Greenlight Quality Control. We wanted to give users easy and immediate access to all of their QC data as soon as they log-in to the system. So we designed a couple of sample pages and used the in-app communication tool to share these designs and obtain feedback.

“The first thing to highlight is the quantity of responses; a vast number of users submitted their feedback, ­validating that they do want their thoughts to be heard. The next significant finding was that we were actually pretty close with our mock-up designs. Reassuringly, rather than ­preferring option A over option B, or just disliking both options, most customers wanted a combination of both. So that’s what we’re delivering to them.

“Our customers rely on our tools every day. If a user is unable to ­complete their goal easily and e ­ ffectively, then our software has failed.

Something that appears like a small amendment on the surface can have a serious impact on the way they work.

Similarly, a new feature that we think our customers will love could actually be superfluous to their requirements.

“On a more basic level, customers can submit smiley, neutral or sad faces whenever we communicate a new feature via in-app chat. This allows us to continue the feedback process post-implementation, so we can always strive to make improvements to meet our customers’ needs. We are keen to continue working in this way and we are really excited about the positive outcomes it has already delivered,” concludes Martin Gray.

“Subsequently, rather than second guess what they need, it’s critical that we ask them. So we’ve essentially added our customers to our design team by making them virtual consultants, to confirm that the product direction is fit for purpose.

There is future scope to connect people with problems to people with solutions, such as an ‘ask the expert’ live chat session, but for now we are focusing on getting closer to the customer and delivering an excellent customer experience.

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Greenlight Grower Management in practice Agrovista uses software to collaborate with farmers, producers and food processors.

Agrovista has been using our PC based CropWalker software for many years and it has become an essential tool for their business. Here, Lewis McKerrow, Agronomist and Head of Precision/Technology at Agrovista, talks about Greenlight Grower Management and why being able to record crop data when on-farm rather than in the office brings huge benefits to their business.

“With an increase in both workloads and the need to record greater levels of information, it became important for us to be able to access up-to-date information and legislation at the point required and at the touch of a button, rather than having to be back in the office in front of the PC. “We were keen to work more collaboratively with our farmers, with an ability to easily collect and share data with them and we were therefore excited to hear about Muddy Boots’ Greenlight Grower Management, a cloudbased crop recording system.

“This new software meets all of our requirements; it enables us to capture all necessary information with mobile technology and automatically publish the information onto the Greenlight cloud, providing live and complete records for us and our farmers to access.

Lewis McKerrow Agronomist and Head of Precision/Technology

“The advantage of being a cloud-based system means that at any point in time, our customers, producers and food processors can access the latest information and share this with the relevant people immediately, instead of having to rely on a phone call or email which may be missed. This improved collaboration will save significant amounts of time and therefore costs for everyone on this new platform.

“We have been working closely with Muddy Boots throughout the development process and we have now integrated Greenlight Grower Management with Axis, our own internal customer platform.”

Greenlight Grower Management in practice Frontier Agriculture harnesses software to work more collaboratively with customers.

Frontier Agriculture is a leading crop inputs and grain marketing business. They work with a team of 115 agronomists to support a large customer base, which generates masses of data. James Moldon discusses Greenlight Grower Management and how this software allows them to work more collaboratively with their customers.

“We currently use our own system called MyFarm which incorporates all the divisions of Frontier. We looked to Muddy Boots’ Greenlight Grower Management as the solution that allows us to become more interactive with our customers, and simplify the transfer of data information between our agronomists, farmers and contractors. This system enables complete visibility of this process, which is vital to the way Frontier works.

“Because we deal with masses of data, farmers wanted a solution that enables them to easily obtain and record data, whether that is for budgeting purposes, traceability or syncing purposes. There are so many solutions out there that all perform different functions, but no other system does this all in one place like Greenlight Grower Management.

“We did look at other companies but none offered such simplicity. Our agronomists are also already familiar with Muddy Boots’ CropWalker product, avoiding retraining and ultimately saving time.

“Another great benefit to this simplicity is for farmers, as the product has been designed for their use. Being web and app-based means they can use it in the field and access data with only one or two clicks. This easy access to data is particularly important during an audit, making farmers feel more prepared and helping them to meet legal requirements.

“For Frontier, the speed at which we can move data in a two-way sync is also beneficial. It has always been one-way traffic until now. Farmers can now input data for the agronomists to use as well. This software also loops the operators in, making it the first solution that is not designed only for the farmer and farm manager.

Greenlight Grower Management provides time savings through one time data entry, and cost savings through better efficiencies. If you are working more efficiently, you are less likely to miss out on opportunities to get your timings right. This gives us an edge in the market place. Because of our use of Greenlight Grower Management and MyFarm, farmers can see we have IT solutions in place that will help them with their management of data, helping them make decisions that are right for their business.

James Moldon Crop Inputs Commercial Manager

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Visibility, from grower to retailer

Get in touch +44 (0)1989 780540 sales@muddyboots.com @MuddyBootsLtd www.muddyboots.com