Is augmented reality the future of farming?
Imagine a farmer being able to tell a paddock’s pasture cover and dry matter content just by looking at it, or accessing information about a cow’s body condition score in the same way.
The new Health and Safety at Work Act has put the spotlight on employers and organisations.
They must identify risks they or their employees are likely to encounter daily, so the launch of an online app called Onside will be of interest to many.
The app allows farmers to develop their own Health and Safety Plan by working through pre-populated lists of potential risks, overlaid on a satellite map of the property.
The system saves time and allows farm staff or visitors to be aware of risks and how to manage them, to reduce incidents and improve farm safety overall.
Contractors or visitors will need to be encouraged to sign-in on a smartphone as they cross a virtual 'geo-fence' -- typically farm boundaries -- and will then be advised of risks and asked to acknowledge them.
New risks can be updated by the farmer in real-time and visitors can report any new risks via their smartphones. All information is cloud-stored -- no paperwork -- and offline capability applies in areas of poor cellphone coverage.
The technology allows users to map boundaries of the enterprise, uses photos rather than written descriptions to show known risks, and allows users to access instructions for emergencies in real-time.
Farmers and industry experts in health and safety contributed to the development and technology partner Jade Software wrote the app. It has huge potential in a complex, but necessary part of a modern farm.
A free trial is offered for the month of April.
The Commerce Commission says connectivity options for rural New Zealanders are front-of-mind as it begins a formal investigation into the future of the copper network.
Grand Finalists have been selected, all regional finals have concluded, and the journey towards the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final is underway.
Hopes of NZ sheepmeat prices picking up anytime soon in the country's key export market of China looks highly unlikely.
Regional councils are welcoming the certainty for councils in today’s Resource Management Act (RMA) announcement by the Government.
ASB says the decision to sign on to the AgriZeroNZ joint venture came out of a wish to be a part of the solution.
Federated Farmers says changes announced to the Resource Management Act today mark the end of the war on farming.
OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird…
OPINION: Synlait's financial woes won’t be going away anytime soon.