Size does indeed matter! Geographically speaking that is one of the main functions of an agricultural GIS; to calculate how much! How many acres and what is the distance from point A to point B? While there are excellent draw to measure tools in Farm Works where you can draw a line or region and see the size displayed in the lower right corner as you go, if you have declared the measurement system to be imperial (so area is in acres) you will be stuck with feet for the distance measurement. So how do you calculate in metric too?

[More]

This blog begins the duscussion about Farm Works data organization using the TRAC (record keeping), SITE (mapping) and PRO (analysis) modules. This combo is the central mapping program that I will just call Farm Works in this blog, being the most common set operated by my clients.

I think the best designed software programs have 4 primary attributes in common:

[More]

The big question

If you operate a 2000 acre cash crop operation and you have a guidance system and yield monitor, what is the best mapping (GIS) software for you? If you are a crop consultant with an assortment of customers with different types of operations, what is the best mapping software for you? In both cases my answer is the same: whatever you will actually use! There is no one size fits all, magic bullet or one click button for any solution. All of the software on the market has some similar features, some pros and cons, a streamlined function and some higher end tools. No two operators are going to need the same things out of it, or experience the same success with it. So how do you know you have the right one or how to buy the right one?

[More]