Useful apps for Australian agriculture - iphone and iPad
Last updated: 16 July 2012
This guide contains the latest iPhone and iPad applications (apps) useful in Australian agriculture. Apps are grouped into categories including government and industry; weather; farm management packages; agricultural tools (including calculators); general tools;i-device essentials; information; livestock management; markets, news and social media; books and banking. The guide will be reviewed periodically to capture the latest apps.
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| App name and owner/designer | Cost ($) | Optimised for iPad | Optimised for iPhone | Internet required for use? | What it does | Comments | |||
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Government/Industry |
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| CropMate™ Variety Chooser NSW Department of Primary Industries |
Free | Yes | Yes | No | Assists farmers to choose NSW varieties of barley, canola, chickpeas, faba beans, field peas, lupins, oats, triticale and wheat. Filters by parameters such as region, varietal characteristics such as quality and disease resistance. Provides current yield trial data. |
Based on the NSW DPI Winter crop variety sowing guide and NVT data. NSW data only. | |||
| Weeds: the Ute Guide Grains Research & Development Corporation |
Free | Works on Ipad | Yes | No | Identify the most common weeds in southern Australia. | Based on the GRDC Weeds: Ute guide publication. | |||
| Crop Diseases Horticultural Industry Network (DPI Vic) | Free | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes | Compare current crop disease resistance ratings, compare disease symptoms, map diseases and share pictures of diseases with others. | Based on Victorian varietal information. | |||
| Water Storage Bureau of Meteorology |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes | Reports dam storage information for 250 publically owned storages across Australia. | ||||
| My Environment Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population & Communities | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Uses GPS to show heritage places, wetlands, protected species, protected areas, weeds and invasive species around your location. | ||||
Weather |
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| Weatherzone Plus The Weather Company | 1.99 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Weather forecasts and maps. | Detailed, reliable, forecasts and past 24hrs, no Delta T, good range of country weather stations | |||
| Elders Weather Elders Rural Services |
1.99 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Weather forecasts and maps. | Good app with Delta T. | |||
| Yr.No. NRK |
Free | Works on ipad | Yes | Yes | Weather forecasts and maps. | ||||
| Other weather apps: Rain (We make apps, Free), Pocket Weather AU (Shifty Jelly Pty Ltd), Oz Weather HD (ozPDA), Aus Weather (Mende |
Weather forecasts and maps. | Each app has different advantages, user's preference. | |||||||
Farm Management Packages |
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| Spray Spray Lite (Free) EziAPP |
549.99 or Free | Yes | Yes | Yes for some sections | Spray data recording system that allows you to include: farms, sprays used, products used, crop type and generates a report. | Dropbox upload. Free version has limited features. | |||
| Agro Agro Lite (Free) EziAPP |
1049.99 or Free | Yes | Yes | Yes for some sections | Create, email and store inspection reports from the paddock, record client details and requirements, supports multiple paddocks and properties per client. | Syncs when connection is available. Saves when out of range. Free version has limited features. | |||
| Agworld Agworld Pty Ltd |
109.99 | Yes | Yes | Yes for some sections | Farm planning, management and reporting app that shares information between farmers, consultants and contractors. | Cloud synchronised. Also available as a WebApp. | |||
| Back Paddock Advisor Mobile Back Paddock Company |
Free | Yes | Yes | No | Agricultural spray recommendation generator for BackPaddock Advisor | Synchronisation and data transfer requires an active account. A suite of other products are available from BackPaddock. | |||
| F-Track live Farm Apps Pty Ltd | Free for 30 days, $250/pa | Works on i Pad | Yes | Yes for some sections | On-the-go farm management app that lets multiple users record and access all their farm information live. Includes crop, livestock, paddock, silo, fuel, chemical and task managers. Has web interface. | Syncs when connection is available. Saves when out of range. | |||
| Farm Manager Stringybark Software | 17.99 | Works on i Pad | Yes | No | Allows farmers to record and access cropping, livestock and machinery operations. | Features include crop chemical and fertilizer use, full details of stock including ear tag numbers, bloodlines, breed, year born and machinery maintenance. | |||
| Farm Contractor Stringybark Software | 10.49 | Works on i Pad | Yes | Yes for some sections | Allows farmers to record client and job details and email them back to office for invoicing. 25 job types are included. | 25 job types including baling, equipment hire, shearing, spraying and windrowing. | |||
| Back Paddock Advisor Mobile Back Paddock Company |
Free | Yes | Yes | No | Agricultural spray recommendation generator for BackPaddock Advisor | Synchronisation and data transfer requires an active account. A suite of other products are available from BackPaddock. | |||
Tools Agriculture |
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| Calculating chemical mixes CalcSpray (FTI (1997) Pty Ltd, $1.99), Tankmix (DuPont, Free), Tank mix Calculator (TapLogic, Free, USA), Spray Calc (minskaysoft) |
Calculate chemical mixes including total chemical required per tank, per area and water per area but features vary slightly. | Each app has different advantages, user's preference. | |||||||
| Nozzle Selection HARDI Nozzles (HARDI International A/S, Free), SpraySelect (TeeJet Technologies, Free) |
Assists in selecting the right nozzle. | Each app has different advantages, user's preference according to brand. | |||||||
| Pest Genie Pest Genie Pty Ltd |
(subscription required $210–895pa) |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Provides access to your Pest Genie account. Pest Genie provides information about pesticides and animal health products including labels, MSDS and product support material. |
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| Learning Plant Language Agronomic Acumen |
32.99 | Yes | Yes | Photos of deficiencies and toxicities. | |||||
| AGRIplot. SharpeTech |
0.99 | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes | Calculates area/distance from Google Earth and records measurements with photos. | Email results in pdf format | |||
| Harvest Time and Expense Tracker Harvest |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes | Tracks billable hours as you work and logs expenses including photos of receipts. | ||||
| Fertiliser Cost Calculator (NPK) Smith Farm Apps |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | No | Estimates value of nitrogen per unit of Phosphorus source and cost of P2O5. | Take care with unit conversion into metric. | |||
| RAGT Calc RAGT Seeds Ltd |
Free | Yes | Yes | No | Seeding rate calculator. | UK but the terms are equivalent. | |||
| JDLink. John Deere |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Monitor and manage your fleet of John Deere machines from your iPhone | ||||
Tools General |
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| MultiMeasure HD SkyPaw Co.Ltd |
1.99 | Yes | Yes ($0.99) | No | Stopwatch, Timers, Metronome, Protractor, Ruler, Surface level, Spirit level, Plumb bob, Seisometer | There is a free version but it is full of ads. The spirit level can also be purchased by itself for free. | |||
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Spirit levels |
All apps turn your device into a spirit level. | Each app has different advantages, user's preference. | |||||||
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Unit converters |
All apps convert units for example acres to hectares. | Each app has different advantages, user's preference. | |||||||
| Calculator++ FoxSoft Inc |
Free | Yes | No | No | Scientific calculator. | Easy to use. Traditional scientific calculator, very similar to the native calculator on the iPhone. | |||
| Area Calc Summit Applications |
2.99 | Works on iPad | Yes | No | Determine the area and perimeter of 22 two dimensional shapes. | ||||
| Volume Calc Summit Applications |
2.99 | Works on iPad | Yes | No | Determine the volume and surface area of 26 three dimensional shapes. | ||||
| XE Currency XE.com Inc |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Coverts international currency. | ||||
| Dictionary and Thesaurus Dictionary.com | Free | Yes | Yes | No | Words, definitions, synonyms and antonyms. | Has ads. Large app at 56.4MB. | |||
| iPrompt Greenality |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | No | Teleprompting software. | ||||
| Australia Post Mobile Australia Post |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Access Australia Post services such as tracking items, scan bill barcodes and pay, calculate postage, covert and buy currency, search for a postcode. |
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| Track someone via their phone Trackr!: live GPS tracker (Enodo B.V, $4.49), Track – Realtime route tracking and sharing (7sols, $2.99), LiveGPSTracking Pro (Obiuz Limited, $1.99) |
Track your current position and route on map. Allow a base computer or other device to track you in real time for safety purposes. | Each app has different advantages, user's preference. High battery use requirement. Requires mobile reception but some apps will store and send data when in range. |
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| Phonetic alphabet (Free) Echo Charlie Bravo Zulu (Mathias Navne), Phonetic Alphabet Viewer (Nate Glenn) preference. | Provides the phonetic alphabet equivalents. | Each app has different advantages, user's | |||||||
| Dragon Dictation Nuance Communications |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Turns short voice into text for a range of purposes such as text messages or notes to self. | ||||
| Flashlight John Haney Software |
Free | Yes | Yes | No | Fills the screen with bright white light, custom colour, S.O.S etc. | Ads only in settings area. | |||
| CamCard – Business card scanner and reader CamCard lite (Free) IntSig Information Co., Ltd | 7.49 | Yes | No, only for backup to iCloud | Scans, stores and sorts business cards. | 30 scans first week then 3/week. Free version has 10 scans first week then 2/week. | ||||
| Evernote Evernote |
Free | Yes | Yes | No, only when syncing data | Sync notes, lists, photos and much more between multiple devices. | One of the most useful apps you can purchase. The paid version gives you more storage. | |||
idevice essentials |
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| Goodreader for iPad and Goodreader for iPhone (Good.iWare Ltd) |
5.49 | Yes | Yes | No | Read and perform a number of functions to any type of file including PDF. | One of the most useful apps you can purchase. | |||
| Instapaper Marco Arment |
5.49 | Yes | Yes | No | Save web pages for later offline reading. | Strips out ads and other excess data. | |||
| Skype and Skype for iPad Skype Software S..a.r.l |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Allows video or voice calling via the internet. | ||||
| Flipboard Flipboard Inc |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Compiles the news sources you visit regularly, including Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, photos etc – a single place to read, comment and share. | Saves time finding pages you regularly visit. | |||
| Dropbox Dropbox |
Free (for 2GB of storage) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cloud storage with automatic syncing from all sorts of programs, useable with any device, allows sharing of files. | Very easy and convenient to use. Dropbox is the most common non-Apple cloud storage option supported by other apps. There are other free cloud storage equivalents including Google Drive, iCloud, Microsoft Skydrive, and Box. | |||
| iWork – Pages, Keynote and Numbers Apple |
10.49 each | Yes | Yes | Will sync to iCloud but not necessary | iOS equivalent to Word, Powerpoint and Excel respectively. | Will read, perform limited editing and save Microsoft items. | |||
| Documents to Go – Office Suite DataViz, Inc | 10.49 | Yes | Yes | No | Basic Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint creation and editing. | ||||
| QuickOffice Pro QuickOffice Pro HD Quick Office |
15.99 20.99 |
Yes (HD) | Yes | No | Editing Suite for Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint. | You will have to buy the HD version for iPad in addition to the iPhone version. | |||
| i-nigma 3GVision |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | Only if QR code QR code reader. | One of the more reliable readers. | Has websiterequires internet where you can create your own QR code. | |||
| Find my iPhone Apple |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Uses another device or computer to locate your iPhone on a map and protect the data. Display a message or play a sound, remotely lock the device or erase data. | ||||
| eWallet | 10.49 | Yes | Yes | Securely contains all your passwords, account information, card numbers or IDs. | |||||
| Penultimate CoCoa Box Design |
09.. | Yes | No, only to import/export to cloud/email | Handwriting and drawing app for iPad. | |||||
Information |
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| First Aid St John Ambulance Australia |
4.49 | Works on iPad | Yes | No | Step by step emergency First Aid information including images. | ||||
| Fires near me NSW NSW Rural Fire Service |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Locates fires in NSW on a map with a link to fire information. | Similar apps exist for SA (CFS Fire App) and Vic (CFA Fire ready). | |||
| NSW Transport Info Department of Transport NSW |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes | Sydney public transport timetables and routes. | ||||
| Yellow Pages Australia and Yellow Pages Australia for ipad Sensis Pty Ltd |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | The Yellow pages. | ||||
| Google Earth |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Satellite imagery and location data for anywhere in the world.. | Same functions as Google Earth on a desktop | |||
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Native Flora and Fauna Information |
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Livestock |
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| AgVantage Agvantage |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | No | Calculates dosage rates for animal health products based on entered parameters.Provides specific product information such as withholding periods. | ||||
| Angus Australia Viva La Mobile/ Angus Australia |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes | Angus genetics, member search, website link. | ||||
| iHerd iApps Pty Ltd |
Free 30 da y trial | Yes | Yes | Yes for some sections | Keep track of cattle details and herds, movements, paddock details, property ID numbers, chemical treatments and inventories. | Syncs between managers. Australian. | |||
| Coopers Animal Health Intervet Australia Pty Ltd |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Information on Cooper's animal health range including labels, MSDS, productsupport material and a solution finder. | ||||
| iFarmer Inventor Applications Ltd |
2.99 (subscribe for premium features) | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes for some sections | Inventory control and reconciliation – record and report on sales and purchases of stock, weight gains, animal health, movements etc. | ||||
| BreederCalc Amy Curran |
1.99 | Works on iPad | Yes | No | Calculates the due date of several different types of animals by entering the serviced/joining date | ||||
| EZ Breakeven Analysis JoesApps |
10.99 | Works on iPad | Yes | When buying animals, calculate breakeven costs, determine shrink weight, determine days on feed, and calculate expected shipping date. | |||||
Markets, News and Social Media |
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| GrainCorp GrainCorp | Free | Pending | Yes | Yes and no. Syncs when in range, saves when out of range. | Price discovery, site information, harvest information, grower delivery information. | Coming soon, not released yet. | |||
| Agrowdata Agrowdata |
Free (5.49 for 1 month subscription, 49.99 for 1 year) | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes | Current and historical Agricultural Commodity pricing information including CME futures, global fertiliser prices, swaps prices for fertiliser, Australian pricing for MLA and grains and oilseeds, FFAs for Panamax and Handysize vessels. | Australian data. | |||
| CSBP Insights. CSBP Limited |
Free | Works on iPad | Yes | Yes | Reference guide for global fertiliser markets, local CSBP news and weather. | WA specific | |||
| DTN/The Progressive Farmer Televent DTN |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | International crop and agriculture news, articles, market details, interactive charts, cash grain prices, weather, videos, blogs and event details. | Predominately US content. | |||
| Agricultural news and market aggregators (Free) The Crop Site (Benchmark Holdings), AgWeb News and Markets (Farm Journal), Farm Futures Magazine (Farm Progress Companies), AgriNews (Common Man Innovative Technologies), AgWired (ZimmComm New Media) |
Apps gathering international crop and agriculture news, articles, market details, videos, blogs and event details. | Mostly overseas content. Each app has different advantages, user's preference. | |||||||
| Grain/Cereal Global Trade and Markets Ian Vink |
2.99 | Yes | Yes | Track trade and reserves for all major grains from UN FAO data. | |||||
| Twitter Twitter Inc |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Twitter for iPhone and iPad. | Third party apps also exist e.g. Tweetdeck. | |||
| Facebook. Facebook Inc |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Facebook for iPhone and iPad. | Third party apps also exist | |||
| Books | |||||||||
| iBooks Apple |
Free | Yes | Yes | Only to download books | Buy books from Apple's bookstore and store and read books from all stores (except Amazon). | This does not come standard, you have to download it. NSW DPI gues are being added to this site. | |||
| Kindle AMZN Mobile LLC |
Free | Yes | Yes | Only to download books | Reader for books bought from Kindle (or Amazon). | ||||
| Kobo Kobo Inc |
Free | Yes | Yes | Only to download books | Reader for books bought from Kobo. | Better store for books available in Australia. | |||
| Zinio. Zinio LCC |
Free | Yes | Yes | Only to download books | Buy and read a large range of magazines | ||||
| Play Books |
Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Buy and read books from Google's bookstore. | Need to download books from an online account if you wish to read offline. | |||
| Stanza Lexcycle |
Free | Yes | Yes | Only to download books | Offers and online catalogue with many publishers and a lot of free books including Project Gutenberg. | Small cost but you can access a range of classic literature. It supports a wide range of formats including epubs. | |||
| Classics Andrew Kazmierski |
0.99 | Yes | Yes | Only to download books | Download and read books. | ||||
| Audible Audible |
Free | Yes | Yes | Only to download books | Access audio books. | Not many are available in Australia. | |||
Banking |
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| Commonwealth Bank, NAB, St George, Suncorp, Bankwest, ANZ, Westpac, HSBC Australia, Citibank, BankSA, ING amongst others. Most available free. | Provide easy and secure access to your bank accounts. | ||||||||
Overseas apps |
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Livestock Apps |
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| Tools Yield Check (Precision Planting Inc, Free), Corn Yield Calculator (Smith Farm Apps, $1.99), Corn N rate calculator (University of Wisconsin Nutrient & Pest Management Program, Free), N Price Calculator (University of Wisconsin Nutrient & Pest Management Program, Free), Vector Sprays (United States Department of Agriculture, Free), Aerial Sprays (United States Department of Agriculture, Free), Mix Tank (Precision Laboratories, Free), Calc-Seed (FTI, $1.99) |
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| Data management Wireless Farmer (BizApp Solutions, Free), Field Notes (AGS Sales and Consulting, $25.99), AgLync (Idea Blitz Technology Solutions, $10.49), iScoutCrops (Ag View FS, Free), Scout Doc- Farm field Scouting (AgNition, $51.99) |
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| Information IPM toolkit (University of Wisconsin Nutrient & Pest Management Program, Free), Disease ID (BASF, Free), Weed ID (BASF, $5.49), CAT Canopy Assessment Tool (BASF, Free), OSR GAI Green Area Index (BASF, Free), Crop Nutrient Deficiency Photo Library, (International Plant Nutrition Institute, $5.49), Fertilizer Global Business (Ian Vink, $2.99), Commodity markets for Rice Corn (Ian Vink, $2.99), MySci Pubs Soil Crop Agron Pubs (Bravura Technologies, Free), Leafsnap, and Leafsnap for iPad (Columbia University, University of Maryland, Free) |
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Author: Karen Roberts,
District Agronomist, Parkes.
Email: karen.roberts@dpi.nsw.gov.au
This table is for information purposes only and should not be considered an endorsement, advice or a recommendation. The list of apps is not exhaustive and contains a selected range of useful apps for farm advisors and farmers. Most apps have been selected for their relevance to Australian agriculture and their accuracy, however overseas apps have been included at the end of the document. Where multiple apps exist, the highest rated apps have been included, the most useful as an example by itself with selected other apps in a group. Where multiple free apps exist, priced apps are only included if they offer significant improvements in performance or quality. The list is continually updated and the latest update is available from www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/broadacre. Further information on digital technology is available in the publication Essential technology making life easier on the farm, available from www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/broadacre.
Acknowledgements: The SmartFarm team – Graeme McIntosh and Elizabeth Warden; with thanks to Loretta Serafin, Don McCaffery, Megan Rogers and Nathan Ferguson.