Yara fertiliser helps the farmer with a well-thought-out plan that is based on real-time, in-season information from the farm.
Since its formation in 1905 to help avert the impending famine in Europe, Yara has grown to 17,000 employees and a presence in 60 countries.
Each of these dedicated employees carries out Yara’s mission to feed the growing world population without destroying the environment. In order to achieve these goals, Yara developed the AllFarm digital system that supports precision farming.
Piet Brink, head agronomist at Yara, and Pieter Snyman, head digital agronomist at the company, elaborated about Yara and the AllFarm system during NAMPO 2023.
“The AllFarm-app is a digital platform that we use to collect and aggregate precision farming data,” explains Pieter. “If we look at the history of the landscape of precision farming, we have a terrible amount of data stored in different places from which we can gain certain insights.” But the only way to gain those insights and use them to make meaningful decisions is to combine the information in one place so real-time, in-season crop production decisions can be made.
Pieter Snyman and Pieter Brink from Yara explained the application and operation of Yara’s AllFarm-app during NAMPO 2023.
According to Pieter, problem areas are identified in the product decision-making process. “Should there be solutions that justify our products, we can recommend the right product to solve the problem.”
Piet says they present the digital information aggregated by the AllFarm-app to the farmer. “It is a type of factory to farm, or even factory to fork information that completes the production circle. It is important for the producer to know how his buyer reacted to his product and how we can improve the production. That way, among other things, food waste is eliminated.”
Yara’s approach is to help the farmer to farm more profitably, but not at the expense of the environment.
According to Piet, with this system, Yara evaluates their product’s successful application on the farm, how it affects production and what the yield is, and that information is used to help the farmer with decision-making and planning for the next season.
Pieter explains that the data they need to make decisions as the season progresses is obtained from the details of precision farming. “If we take a soil sample and we get an analysis from the laboratory, we can use that information and results to make an agronomically correct recommendation for the crop growth that simultaneously won’t negatively impact the environment.”
To obtain the necessary information, the farmer’s fields are monitored throughout the season with satellite imagery. Agronomists who visit the farms and monitor crop growth to assist with in-season decisions are part of Yara’s after-sales service.
If adjustments need to be made to optimise crop production and boost profits, these experts will suggest products that will achieve this.
According to Piet, Yara’s presence at NAMPO is an important part of their exposure and marketing. “This is absolutely a chance for us to sow back into our business, but also to give our customers an opportunity to come and chat, meet their agent and agronomist.”
Yara has a wide variety of plant nutrients that can offer a solution to the farmer’s production problems.
He invites the farmers who did not make it to NAMPO this year to find out more about Yara on their website at yara.co.za or yara.com. “Feel free to check it out and visit our stand at NAMPO next year.”
In summary: Yara AllFarm is a digital platform that consists of an ecosystem that integrates different internal and external components for the sake of supporting a wide variety of role players in agriculture. The aim is to contribute to sustainable farming and the farmer’s prosperity, as well as food security in a changing environment.
