By Steve Cubbage, VP Farmobile Services & CEO Record Harvest

---

Since the mid-90s with the emergence of yield monitors and variable rate technology, the ag industry has focused, almost exclusively, on agronomic data. The truth is, now there’s another powerful data set waiting to be leveraged — machine collected-data. This is data visible in real-time, accessible 24/7 and available for immediate, deep dive future fleet analysis.

With these new technologies and data points, ag retailers have a huge opportunity to optimize their fleet for greater efficiency and true, immediate impact to the bottom line.

You know that old saying. You can’t manage what you can’t measure. And, for ag retail fleet managers, measuring begins and ends with collecting a better, faster, uniform data set across a mixed fleet of applicators and tender trucks and then turning that data into action-based insights.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

At Farmobile, we’ve built our data-collection technology to make sure that growers and ag retailers, alike, can harness the power of their agronomic and machine data for the full benefit of their operations.

For retailers, the first step is getting the data from a multi-colored fleet of applicators and tender trucks – sometimes scattered among multiple locations. That’s a big deal, because you can’t use the data if you don’t have it or it’s not complete and uniform. Through Farmobile, retailers can monitor field activities as they happen; view a rolling tally of working, transport and idle time and in-field turning for every machine; and get daily machine utilization reports.

Once they have this robust data set, they inherently want to know more – most specifically, is the fleet making or losing money? That’s when data really goes to work.

FROM DATA TO DOLLARS

Customers across the country are using data to measure performance for full-fleet and individual machines and discovering new ways to increase efficiencies and even scale services for growers.

Farmobile offers a premium Orange Glove™ service that combines data collection with a customized Services+ for Ag Retail Fleet program to convert individual machine and full-fleet data into insights. The service allows retailers to compare machine performance, improve ROI potential and even guide purchase and lease decisions. They gain access to in-depth analyses based on their specific fleet and operational data.

Data direct from the cab can really be a superpower. But, the true power is how data-fueled insights can add to the organization’s bottom line. In these times of tight economic margins, retailers can truly benefit.