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Farm Management Software: Guide to iFarm Growtune
Farm Management Software: Guide to iFarm Growtune
Indoor vertical farms are fully controlled environments based on the controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology which regulates all the essential variables of a vertical farm’s ecosystem to provide the optimal conditions for the plant growth.
Advanced technology in production requires the same level of technological support for planning, monitoring, and automation. And growers perfectly know that.
Thus, according to the latest 2021 Global CEA Census Report, as much as 54,3% of farmers use farm management software (FMS) for their greenhouses and vertical farms.
Advanced technology in production requires the same level of technological support for planning, monitoring, and automation. And growers perfectly know that.
Thus, according to the latest 2021 Global CEA Census Report, as much as 54,3% of farmers use farm management software (FMS) for their greenhouses and vertical farms.
When asked about technologies being considered for the next 12 months, 49,5% of the respondents chose farm management systems.
At the same time, according to a recent report by MarketsandMarkets™, the worldwide FMS market is projected to grow from USD 3.0 billion in 2023 to USD 5.1 billion by 2028. This represents a CAGR of 11,1% during the period of 2023−2028.
Given the high supply and demand for farm software programs in modern agriculture, we decided to take a closer look at the types of farm management systems and iFarm Growtune IT-driven ecosystem for farm operations.
Given the high supply and demand for farm software programs in modern agriculture, we decided to take a closer look at the types of farm management systems and iFarm Growtune IT-driven ecosystem for farm operations.
What is farm management software
Farm management software streamlines, oversees, and enhances farm production activities. By using data-driven farm management platforms, growers can strategically and efficiently plan and manage their daily operations on farms and improve their profitability.
Types of farm management software
Farm software may differ by the way the data is stored and processed (web-based or cloud-based) and by distribution model: normally, software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS).
Market offers different types of farm management software such as platforms to manage the crop cycles, livestock management tools, farm business planning software, laboratory research tools and others.
Universal farm management software like iFarm Growtune embraces all of these functions in a single platform. It is an IT-driven ecosystem that addresses the needs of the CEA market and works with indoor greenhouses and vertical farms.
Market offers different types of farm management software such as platforms to manage the crop cycles, livestock management tools, farm business planning software, laboratory research tools and others.
Universal farm management software like iFarm Growtune embraces all of these functions in a single platform. It is an IT-driven ecosystem that addresses the needs of the CEA market and works with indoor greenhouses and vertical farms.
iFarm Growtune farm management SaaS platform
The iFarm Growtune management system for automated vertical farms has all the tools a farmer needs to achieve high quality yield with a precisely predictable timeframe.
By reducing the amount of work that needs to be done manually, iFarm helps to decrease labor costs by 20%, thus lowering the end cost of each kg of produce.
Technologies for precise and profitable indoor farming
iFarm Growtune uses advanced technology that employs computer vision via smart camera systems, machine learning, as well as AI in conjunction with Big Data, to identify the weight of plants, any growth deviations, and potential diseases. It then provides suggestions to the farm staff or automatically adjusts the growth algorithms to meet the expected yield.
Computer vision technologies for iFarm Growtune software.
Source: iFarm.
The "brain" of the system is a cloud server. Without any interruptions, it collects information from controllers and sensors regarding temperature, humidity, lighting, and CO2 levels.
Based on the information collected, neural networks ascertain the weight of crops, analyze their growth, and make growth predictions for every single plant.
Based on the information collected, neural networks ascertain the weight of crops, analyze their growth, and make growth predictions for every single plant.
One way for technicians to utilize the neural network is by submitting a plant picture through a chatbot to get insights into its wellbeing. Another neural network can determine the growth rate of vegetation mass using either stationary video cameras or drone cameras.
Should you learn more about automated farms, read the article Smart Farms: Getting to the Heart of the Matter.
The iFarm Growtune SaaS platform has an universal API for third-party integration with ERP, CRM and e-Grocery. Our software developers perform audits of third-party farm equipment to ensure that they are compatible with our system. If needed, components are changed or missing sensors and controllers are installed to connect the equipment to Growtune.
The iFarm engineers are constantly improving the software functionality. Right now there are several AI-based solutions in the development stage including autonomous data-gathering drones, plant weight calculation via photography and advanced lighting optimization.
The iFarm Growtune SaaS platform has an universal API for third-party integration with ERP, CRM and e-Grocery. Our software developers perform audits of third-party farm equipment to ensure that they are compatible with our system. If needed, components are changed or missing sensors and controllers are installed to connect the equipment to Growtune.
The iFarm engineers are constantly improving the software functionality. Right now there are several AI-based solutions in the development stage including autonomous data-gathering drones, plant weight calculation via photography and advanced lighting optimization.
Autonomous data-gathering drones on a vertical farm.
Source: iFarm.
Source: iFarm.
iFarm Growtune for successful indoor farming
1. Plant growth recipes
Probably the main challenge faced by the vertical farming industry is a significant amount of energy needed for climate control systems, air conditioning and indoor lighting. The control and adjustment of vital parameters for plant growth is crucial to avoid unnecessary use of energy.
In iFarm Growtune, you can track all the vital parameters for plant growth: climate control, irrigation and fertigation schedule, nutrition, lighting and growth cycles.
Probably the main challenge faced by the vertical farming industry is a significant amount of energy needed for climate control systems, air conditioning and indoor lighting. The control and adjustment of vital parameters for plant growth is crucial to avoid unnecessary use of energy.
In iFarm Growtune, you can track all the vital parameters for plant growth: climate control, irrigation and fertigation schedule, nutrition, lighting and growth cycles.
Over 836 tons of greens are cultivated with iFarm Growtune software across the world.
In Growtune, there are more than 200 plant growth recipes including leafy greens, medical herbs, edible flowers, microgreens and veggies. The library is constantly updated with software algorithms and guides for growers.
2. Order management
Growtune’s order management module offers a comprehensive solution for growers by providing planting and harvesting dates based on current and forecasted use of farm capacities. With the ability to manage multiple farms, growers can easily distribute their orders among them.
Growtune’s order management module offers a comprehensive solution for growers by providing planting and harvesting dates based on current and forecasted use of farm capacities. With the ability to manage multiple farms, growers can easily distribute their orders among them.
iFarm Growtune farm management software.
Source: iFarm.
Source: iFarm.
In addition, this module includes a customer management feature where growers can create profiles for clients, select buyers, and confirm orders with the production site.
3. Production monitoring and checklists
This module offers automatically created plant care and farm maintenance guides with detailed instructions for every procedure. Moreover, you can find there a project management system to track, control and set up tasks related to farm management. Emergency alerts are also available.
4. Farm capacity management
With the farm capacity management tool, you can effectively plan sales to end clients. The tool is equipped with real-time data on vital farm parameters and current crop inventory levels, providing accurate insights for decision making.
This module offers automatically created plant care and farm maintenance guides with detailed instructions for every procedure. Moreover, you can find there a project management system to track, control and set up tasks related to farm management. Emergency alerts are also available.
4. Farm capacity management
With the farm capacity management tool, you can effectively plan sales to end clients. The tool is equipped with real-time data on vital farm parameters and current crop inventory levels, providing accurate insights for decision making.
iFarm Growtune represents all the crops in a Gantt Chart.
Source: iFarm.
5. AI-powered production and performance analytics
A flexible set of widgets includes informative representation of all the necessary metrics including yield and sales statistics by farm, capacity data, crop statistics and potential and custom reports. They are also highly adaptable to meet each farmer’s specific needs.
Vertical farm investors and financial partners can create personal accounts to access performance analytics and financial indicators like profitability and ROI.
A flexible set of widgets includes informative representation of all the necessary metrics including yield and sales statistics by farm, capacity data, crop statistics and potential and custom reports. They are also highly adaptable to meet each farmer’s specific needs.
Vertical farm investors and financial partners can create personal accounts to access performance analytics and financial indicators like profitability and ROI.
The built-in chat tool allows you to communicate live with your vertical farm employees. You can also connect with iFarm specialists for consultations and tech support.
iFarm Growtune can be installed and easily used on a smartphone, tablet or laptop.
iFarm Growtune farm management software employed on a leafy greens farm.
Source: iFarm.
Is iFarm Growtune suitable for small farms?
iFarm Growtune can be a solution both for large-scale commercial farms or greenhouses and small indoor farms.
For example, it forms part of the operations on a 66 square meters vertical hydroponic farm not far from Prague in Czech Republic. Urban farmers use order management, farm capacity module and production monitoring tools available in the software to grow leafy greens and herbs for retail.
At the same time, the iFarm Growtune is also installed to help in large farming operations, as in the case of the GrowMe farm with over 3.800 square meters of growing area located in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
For example, it forms part of the operations on a 66 square meters vertical hydroponic farm not far from Prague in Czech Republic. Urban farmers use order management, farm capacity module and production monitoring tools available in the software to grow leafy greens and herbs for retail.
At the same time, the iFarm Growtune is also installed to help in large farming operations, as in the case of the GrowMe farm with over 3.800 square meters of growing area located in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
To learn more about iFarm Growtune
farm management software and request a demo access,
contact iFarm
By clicking SUBMIT, you agree to the processing of personal data and to the privacy policy
21.02.2023
By clicking SUBMIT, you agree to the processing of personal data and to the privacy policy
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