As the agricultural industry evolves quickly towards precision farming and Agriculture 4.0, managing farm operations with greater efficiency and accuracy has become imperative for farmers—the main producer of plant-based food—when facing global climate changes and market uncertainty. If we look at the rate of this evolution, we can see that today’s agricultural transformation hasn’t stopped, and it may even be happening faster than before.
Among the endless waves of agricultural technologies, one such innovation is the Farm Management System (FMS), an advanced software that allows farmers to manage all their farming data in one platform and provides them with real-time data-driven insights from the field to make precise agronomic and economic decisions. In this blog, we will explore how the FJD FMS changes the way farmers manage their farms in Bulgaria.
A Quick Overview of Agriculture in Bulgaria
According to the World Bank, Bulgaria is classified as an upper-middle-income nation in Europe, with its economy powered by construction, mining, services, and agriculture sectors. Located in Southeast Europe, Bulgaria has excellent natural conditions for the development of agriculture, with cultivated agricultural land covering about 41% of the total territory of the country. Much of the Bulgarian population is occupied in agriculture.
Bulgaria is currently the biggest producer of lavender and rose oil in the world. Nowadays, the country’s main agricultural products include cereals, technical crops (oilseed, soybean, and cotton), vegetables, fruits, and viticulture. Farmers in this country are encouraged or even subsidized to promote the sustainable development of the agricultural sector and enhance competitiveness through digitalization and automation.
Field Planning: Once a Hot Potato, Now a Piece of Cake!
Traditionally, creating baselines and field boundaries could be time-consuming and labor-intensive, even when there is a navigation system in place. Farmers often had to drive their tractors around the field to complete these tasks. This approach not only consumed a considerable amount of fuel but also required a substantial investment of time.
"Through the use of FMS, it is possible to manage farm data, terminal device information, and tasks in batches," said Richard, a farm owner in Bulgaria. "FMS is smarter than expected. Before conducting agricultural operations, I can now pre-plan prepare field plots and baseline information at home."
FMS allows farmers like Richard to flexibly choose the methods of creating land parcels based on their needs. For instance, farmers can download the plot data from government websites or third-party platforms and then import it into FMS with one click. Alternatively, farmers can also manually create boundaries through some drawing tools.
"FMS is convenient to use in many ways. Once I get the data I need, I can import it into the FMS for immediate use. That really saves me lots of time and effort," added Richard. Through these methods, farmers find it more convenient to carry out field planning, reducing the workload of their preparation for the upcoming cycle.
Data Management: More Control Right at Your Fingertips
Once FMS is connected or linked to a terminal device, data transfer and sharing becomes effortless. With a few button clicks, all the data created on the platform is sent to the terminal device, eliminating the need for manual data maintenance like error-prone paper recording. This gives farmers more control in managing their farming data.
"When we didn't use FMS, we managed data manually on paper records or some software, and the data was scattered here and there," another Bulgarian farmer said in our interview. "As the data accumulated over time, we felt overwhelmed because we couldn't effectively use the data to improve the operational efficiency of the farm."
Furthermore, if there are any inaccurate or incomplete baselines generated by the terminal, farmers can easily correct and optimize them on the FMS platform and save them for future reuse. This makes data improvement more synchronous, allowing farmers to focus on other critical tasks during the busy farming seasons.
Real-Time Monitoring: A Super Eye for Everything in the Field
FMS offers real-time monitoring capability that serves as a "super eye" for agricultural activities through precise tracking of tractor positions and their working trajectories during farming processes. Farmers no longer need to be physically present in the tractor's cab to verify whether tasks are being executed as planned, and they can oversee all activities happening in the field from a distance.
Once the farm work has been completed, FMS continues to provide valuable insights and documentation. Farmers can quickly access job records that detail various aspects of their operations, such as the date and time of each task, the number of acres that were cultivated, and the working hours of each worker during each cycle.
Embracing a Smarter Farming Future with FMS
The FJD FMS is more than just a farm management tool; it’s a tailored solution designed to empower farmers with smarter data management, real-time monitoring, and the flexibility needed to stay ahead in the rapidly changing landscape of modern agriculture. Whether you're aiming to improve operational efficiency or crop yields, FMS offers the capabilities you need to make it happen.
If you have purchased FJD's navigation kit, you are entitled to one year of complimentary access to FMS, which holds a value of up to 99 USD. Upon the conclusion of this one-year period, if you want to continue using FMS, you can proceed with a purchase either through the FJD official website or by reaching out to your local dealer. This ensures uninterrupted service and full utilization of the FMS features beyond the initial free year.
References:
https://data.worldbank.org/country/bulgaria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Bulgaria
https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/cap-my-country/cap-strategic-plans/bulgaria_en