Are You Tracking the Wrong Data on Your Farm?
As a farmer, you’re well aware that successful farming relies on a wealth of data. From soil conditions to weather patterns, crop health to equipment performance, there’s no shortage of information to track. However, with the increasing availability of technology and data collection tools, it’s easy to fall into the trap of tracking too much — or the wrong — data.
While data is undoubtedly a powerful tool for making informed decisions, it’s important to ensure that the data you're gathering actually serves your goals and helps you make improvements where they matter most.
In this article, we’ll explore why tracking the right data is critical and how you can focus on the most relevant information to optimize your farm’s operations.
The Data Overload Problem
Data collection on farms has become more sophisticated over the years. Tools like sensors, drones, ag software, and GPS technology allow farmers to collect information on virtually every aspect of their operations. But the volume of data being collected can quickly become overwhelming. For instance, a farmer might track weather data, soil moisture, crop yield, equipment performance, fuel consumption, labor hours, and even social media activity. While all of these pieces of information can offer value in the right context, they can easily distract from the more crucial metrics.
When you’re trying to make quick decisions on the fly, a large collection of unnecessary data or information can make it harder to extract the actionable insights that matter.
What Data Should You Be Tracking?
The key to efficient farm management is focusing on the data that directly impacts your productivity, profitability, and sustainability. Below we've added some key data categories that most farmers should prioritize on their farms.
1. Soil Health & Fertility Data
Soil health is the foundation of any successful vegetable, grain, or grass farming operation. Tracking soil pH, nutrient levels, organic matter, and microbial activity is essential to ensuring your crops receive the right inputs for optimal growth. Soil testing should be done regularly, as these conditions can change over time. Using this data, you can implement precision fertilization strategies to improve crop yields while reducing excess inputs.
Basic things for farmers to track for soil health:
Soil pH: The acidity or alkalinity of the soil which affects the availability of nutrients to plants. (Raise it with lime or lower it with sulfur).
Nutrient, salinity, or heavy metal levels: To find imbalances or toxicities in your soil track micro and macro nutrients. Macro nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and calcium and micro nutrients like iron, manganese, copper). Cue your favorite Metallica song!
Organic matter content: Organic matter like decomposed plant and animal material (humus) that improves soil structure, water retention, and nutrient access. Usually 3-5% for most soils supports beneficial soil organisms.
Soil texture: Soil texture refers to the proportion of sand, silt, and clay particles in the soil. It determines how well the soil drains and retains water.
Temperature: Soil temperature affects seed germination, root growth, and microbial activity. It fluctuates with seasons and weather patterns, and it can vary at different soil depths.
Soil moisture levels: You can prevent over watering or doubt stress by tracking soil moisture as it is essential for effective irrigation management. It ensures crops receive adequate water.
Data that is nice to have:
Soil microbial activity: Healthy soil has many microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and earthworms, all of which play crucial roles in nutrient cycling and plant health.
Cation exchange capacity (CEC): Let's get nerdy on this one, this measures the soil’s ability to hold and exchange essential nutrients, particularly positively charged ions (cations) like calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
2. Weather and Climate Data
Weather is an uncontrollable factor, but tracking patterns in temperature, precipitation, and humidity can help you anticipate challenges that may arise. You can start to see if you're experiencing abnormal weather patterns that could affect your crop’s growth cycle. Or if frost dates or heavy rain patterns are changing in your region.
Accurate weather data for your farm helps you make informed decisions about planting and harvesting times, irrigation schedules, and potential pest or disease outbreaks.
Basic things for farmers to track for weather and climate:
Temperature: This affects plant growth, seed germination, and the timing of flowering and fruiting. Both high and low temperatures can have a significant impact on crops (Frost dates or heat stress), so understanding temperature fluctuations throughout the growing season is essential. Track things like growing degree days (GDD).
Rainfall: Water is essential for crops, but too little or too much can be problematic. Tracking rainfall helps farmers manage irrigation and avoid issues related to drought or over watering.
Hours of sunlight: Sunlight, is crucial for photosynthesis, which drives plant growth. The amount of sunlight received during the day impacts crop development and maturity.
Data that is nice to have for weather and climate:
Severe Weather Events (Storms, Hail, Tornadoes, etc.)
Severe weather events like thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, and hurricanes can cause significant damage to crops, equipment, and infrastructure. As these become more frequent it's important to track them and balances on the basic things you need to track.
Relative humidity: Humidity levels influence transpiration (water loss from plants), the spread of diseases, and the rate of evaporation from the soil. Track things like dew point.
Wind speed: Strong winds can damage crops, disrupt pollination, dry out the soil, or cause soil erosion. Tracking wind data is particularly important in areas that experience frequent gusts or storms.
Barometric pressure: Changes in barometric pressure (the weight of the air) can indicate weather changes, such as the arrival of storms or shifts in weather patterns.
3. Crop Performance Data
This includes data on planting dates, growth rates, and yield measurements. Monitoring crop performance data data allows you to track the effectiveness of different seeds, irrigation techniques, how much hay you baled, and fertilization schedules. It also enables you to spot early signs of pest, disease problems, or poor soil.
Tracking performance over multiple growing seasons provides invaluable insights into trends and helps you adjust for future crops.
Basic things that farmers need to track for crop performance:
Plant growth stages: Tracking the key growth stages of crops, such as germination, flowering, fruiting, and ripening, is crucial for understanding how plants are developing and when they will be ready for harvest.
Yield data and quality: Tracking the yield of each crop type in terms of weight per acre or bushels per hectare is fundamental for measuring success and identifying areas for improvement.
Soil Nutrient Levels and Fertilizer Application: Monitoring soil nutrient levels and tracking when and how much fertilizer is applied to crops is essential for understanding how soil health and nutrients influence crop performance. This can also save you money by not over fertilizing.
Pests, disease, and plant stress: Tracking pest and disease pressure in crops helps farmers monitor outbreaks and manage control measures such as pesticides, fungicides, and biological controls. Indicators such as wilting, yellowing or stunted growth can also provide insight.
Water Usage: Tracking how much water is being applied to crops and how much moisture the soil retains is crucial for ensuring that plants receive adequate hydration without wasting water.
Nice to have things to track for crop performance:
Leaf area index (LAI): The Leaf Area Index measures the total leaf area per unit of ground area and is a good indicator of crop canopy development and photosynthesis efficiency.
Temperature stress: heat units helps farmers understand how temperature influences crop growth, maturity, and harvest timing.
Crop variety performance: Tracking the performance of different crop varieties (e.g., hybrid vs. non-hybrid, drought or pest-resistant varieties) under various conditions helps determine which varieties are best suited for your farm and environment.
Soil microbial activity: Soil microbes play a critical role in nutrient cycling, plant growth, and soil health. Tracking microbial activity gives insight into the biological health of the soil and its ability to support healthy crops.
Photosynthetic efficiency (Chlorophyll Content): Chlorophyll content in plants can be monitored to assess photosynthetic efficiency, which impacts crop growth and yield potential.
Weed Pressure: Tracking weed density and competition can help assess how well crops are competing with weeds for nutrients, light, and space.
4. Equipment Efficiency and Maintenance Data
Farm equipment is a significant investment for your farm. Having a tool that doesn't work, is useless. The downtime of getting that equipment up and running might cost you a harvest. It's vital to keep track of when equipment needs maintenance, what parts you have on-hand, fuel usage, and more. You might even want to keep track of who the last operator was. These tasks help to maintain your machines operational efficiency and are key to maximizing your machinery’s lifespan and minimizing costly repairs. It also helps you evaluate if it’s time to upgrade your equipment or if certain machines aren’t performing as expected.
Basic things for farmers to track for equipment:
Operating Hours (Runtime):Tracking the total number of hours each piece of equipment has been used is critical for managing maintenance schedules and understanding the wear and tear on machines.
Fuel Consumption: Monitoring fuel usage per hour or per task provides insight into the efficiency of your equipment and helps identify areas for optimization.
Maintenance and Service Schedules: Keeping track of when maintenance tasks like oil changes, tire rotations, or engine checks were performed ensures that the equipment remains in good working order and it works when you need it. Set up reminders so you don't forget.
Tire Pressure and Condition: Tractors and machinery used on uneven or rough terrain need a good working set of tires to get you there and back.
Oil and Fluid Levels: Checking and tracking oil, coolant, and hydraulic fluid levels are essential for ensuring that equipment runs smoothly and that it doesn’t overheat or sustain damage due to a lack of lubrication.
Nice to have things to track for machinery and equipment:
Telematics and Remote Diagnostics: Telematics systems can provide detailed diagnostics of equipment, such as engine temperature, tire pressure, hydraulic pressure, and overall system performance.
Operator Behavior and Efficiency: Tracking data on how equipment operators are using the machinery, including speed, idling time, and driving habits, can provide insights into operational efficiency and fuel consumption.
Weather Conditions at Time of Use: Tracking weather conditions (temperature, humidity, wind speed, etc.) during equipment usage can help determine the most efficient times to operate machinery, as well as prevent damage during adverse weather.
Productivity data: Tracking output in terms of area covered (e.g., acres plowed, hectares harvested) relative to time spent helps assess the productivity of your equipment.
Emissions: Monitoring emissions from farm equipment, especially those using diesel, can give insights into the environmental impact of farm operations.
5. Labor Data
Labor costs are a major expense on most farms. Tracking hours worked, labor efficiency, and costs per task can help optimize the farm workforce. Are your laborers working efficiently? Are certain tasks taking more time than they should? This data can reveal potential areas where automation or different practices could improve efficiency.
Basic things for farmers to track for labor:
Work hours (Time Tracking): Tracking the number of hours each worker spends on specific tasks is fundamental to understanding labor costs and productivity.
Labor costs (Wages): Tracking labor costs per worker or per task is essential for calculating the total cost of labor on the farm.
Task assignments, completion status, productivity: Tracking what tasks each worker is assigned and whether those tasks are completed on time is essential for farm efficiency and planning. Productivity tracking ensures that workers are operating efficiently and that tasks are being completed in a timely manner. It also helps identify bottlenecks or areas where additional training might be needed.
Breaks and time off: Tracking breaks, vacation days, sick days, and any other time off helps with labor scheduling and maintaining accurate payroll records.
Safety and incident reports: Tracking accidents, injuries, and safety violations is crucial for maintaining a safe work environment not to mention labor compliance.
Nice to haves for farmers to track for labor:
Employee training and development: Tracking the training, certifications, and skills of workers can enhance their performance, happiness and increase the overall effectiveness of farm operations.
Labor turnover (employee retention): Tracking the turnover rate, reasons for leaving, and rehiring trends can give insight into workforce satisfaction and retention.
Shift Optimization: Tracking and optimizing labor schedules ensures that the right number of workers are available during peak times and seasons and that work is evenly distributed.
Overtime Tracking: You might not offer overtime but if you are add this to the must have list. Tracking overtime hours helps ensure that workers are not exceeding the legal or contractual limits on overtime and helps manage labor costs.
Employee engagement and satisfaction: Depending on your workplace environment this might be on the must have list. Tracking employee feedback, morale, and job satisfaction provides insight into how workers feel about their work environment and management.
Technology and Equipment Usage by Worker: Tracking which workers are using which equipment or technology, and how efficiently they are using it, can help improve machinery allocation and training needs.
Weather, health and wellness monitoring: Tracking health and wellness metrics, such as worker fatigue, stress levels, and overall well-being, can improve farm safety and performance. It can also improve morale and let you understand labor requirements with scheduling and preparing for busy or downtime.
6. Financial and Cost Data
Tracking your farm’s financial health is crucial to long-term success. Monitoring income and expenses across different areas (like seed, fertilizer, feed, and labor) helps you keep a clear picture of farm profitability. Focus on the high-impact areas, like your cost per bushel, Average Daily Gain ADG, or return on investment (ROI) for certain inputs. Keeping track of your farm finances helps you make adjustments in areas that could lead to significant savings or increased profits.
Basic things for farmers to track for finances
Income and Revenue: Tracking all sources of income is crucial for understanding how much money is coming into the business. This includes income from crop sales, livestock, government subsidies, and any other income-generating activities. The P&L statement shows the farm’s revenues, costs, and expenses over a specific period (e.g., monthly or annually), providing a snapshot of profitability.
Return on investment ROI: Understanding your return on investment cannot be understated as one of the most important things to track on your farm. This metrics helps you run your farm like a business and understand if you're making a profit and where to cut your losses.
Operating expenses: Recording day-to-day operating costs is essential for knowing how much it costs to run the farm. This includes expenses like labor, fuel, equipment maintenance, fertilizers, seeds, irrigation, and insurance. Add in here your break even analysis to track when and how much the farm needs to earn to cover its costs.
Cash flow: Cash flow is the difference between the cash that comes into the business and the cash that goes out. It’s vital for understanding the farm’s liquidity and its ability to cover short-term obligations.
Assets, loans, and liability tracking: Tracking the farm’s assets (e.g., land, equipment, livestock, buildings) and liabilities (e.g., loans, credit lines) provides a clear picture of the farm’s net worth. It’s also vital for understanding the farm’s liquidity and its ability to cover short-term obligations.
Taxes: This one will bite you if you don't keep up with it. Keeping track of income tax, property tax, sales tax, and other applicable taxes is necessary for staying compliant with regulations and avoiding penalties.
Seasonal Profitability: Tracking the profitability of specific crops or products over the course of the year helps farmers determine which items to prioritize based on seasonality and demand.
Nice to haves for farmers to track for finances:
Subsidies and Grants: If you can, monitoring any government subsidies, grants, or financial assistance that may be available to you.
Market Prices and Trends: Tracking market prices for crops, livestock, and inputs can help farmers make informed decisions about when to sell, buy, or hold off on certain products.
Insurance Costs and Claims: Tracking premiums paid for insurance coverage (e.g., crop, livestock, property) and any claims made can help with assessing risk management costs and benefits.
7. Water Usage and Irrigation Data
Water is becoming an increasingly limited resource, especially in areas affected by drought. Monitoring water usage and adjusting irrigation schedules can save both money and the environment. With smart irrigation systems and soil moisture sensors, you can optimize water usage, ensuring that crops receive exactly what they need while minimizing waste.
Basic things for farmers to track for water usage
Income and Revenue: Tracking all sources of income is crucial for understanding how much money is coming into the business. This includes income from crop sales, livestock, government subsidies, and any other income-generating activities. The P&L statement shows the farm’s revenues, costs, and expenses over a specific period (e.g., monthly or annually), providing a snapshot of profitability.
Nice to haves for farmers to track for water usage:
Subsidies and Grants: If you can, monitoring any government subsidies, grants, or financial assistance that may be available to you.
8. Tasks and Events
It is very easy to forget that you did something, so make sure that you write it down. Often we think we will remember but we're all human and unfortunately things can slip our minds. I can't tell you how many farmers I speak with that say keeping track of tasks on the farm is one of the things they need the most help with. Using farm management software like Farmbrite can help with this.
Basic things for farmers to track for water usage
Total water usage (Volume or Flow): Tracking the total volume of water used for irrigation is fundamental for understanding overall water consumption on the farm.
Irrigation system efficiency and cost: Monitoring the efficiency of your irrigation system (e.g., drip, sprinkler, or surface irrigation) by measuring the water delivered versus the water needed by crops helps ensure the system is functioning optimally. As well as monitoring the cost associated with this infrastructure can help you cut costs where you can.
Soil moisture levels: Measuring soil moisture at various depths (e.g., surface, mid-root zone, deep root zone) helps ensure that crops are receiving enough water without over-irrigating.
Water source monitoring: Tracking the quantity and quality of the water from your source(s) (e.g., wells, rivers, reservoirs, or municipal systems) is important for managing supply, toxicity, and ensuring long-term sustainability of your water supply.
Irrigation Schedules: Keeping track of when irrigation occurs, how often, and for how long, ensures that water is being applied at the correct times and in the right amounts.
Nice to haves for farmers to track for water usage:
Evapotranspiration (ET): Evapotranspiration is the combined process of evaporation from the soil and transpiration from plants. Tracking ET rates helps determine the water needs of crops based on climate conditions and plant growth stages.
Weather and rainfall data (Temperature, Humidity, Wind Speed, Moisture): Tracking local weather data can help farmers predict water needs based on ET, precipitation and weather patterns.
Water usage per crop type: Tracking water usage by crop type can help identify which crops are using more water and adjust irrigation accordingly to prevent overuse or underuse.
System maintenance and repair logs: Tracking the maintenance and repairs of irrigation equipment ensures that the system is always functioning properly, preventing water wastage due to leaks or broken equipment.
Water storage capacity: Tracking the amount of water available in storage (e.g., reservoirs, tanks, ponds) can help manage resources during periods of low rainfall or drought.
Water loss through evaporation or runoff: Monitoring the amount of water lost through evaporation or runoff can help farmers reduce waste and optimize irrigation practices.
9. Inventory
Understanding what farm inventory items you have on hand is a large component to keeping an organized and efficient farm. It's a crucial component for farms to ensure that essential supplies are always available, minimize waste where you can, and optimize spending. Efficient tracking of inventory helps farmers avoid running out of critical resources like seeds, fertilizers, and feed, while also reducing overstock and spoilage.
Basic things for farmers to track for inventory:
Livestock feed and supplies (for Animal Farms): Tracking inventory of animal feed, bedding, medications, and other supplies for livestock ensures animals are well-cared for.
Fertilizers and soil amendments: Tracking the quantity and type of fertilizers, compost, and soil amendments helps ensure the farm has the necessary nutrients for soil health and optimal crop growth.
Seed inventory: Tracking the quantity and types of seeds on hand is essential for crop planning, planting schedules, and ensuring that the right varieties are available when needed.
Pesticides and herbicides: Monitoring the amount of pesticides, herbicides, and other crop protection chemicals ensures that the farm is stocked with the right supplies for pest and weed management.
Equipment and tools inventory: Tracking farm equipment and tools—including tractors, plows, sprayers, and hand tools—is necessary for maintenance scheduling and ensuring everything needed for farm operations is available.
Water and irrigation supplies: Tracking the availability of irrigation supplies, such as hoses, sprinklers, pumps, and drip lines, is essential to ensure proper watering and irrigation efficiency.
Spare parts and maintenance supplies: Having a record of spare parts, lubricants, and other maintenance supplies for equipment helps avoid operational delays.
Packaging Materials: Packaging materials (e.g., boxes, bags, labels, crates) helps ensure that the farm is prepared for post-harvest processing and shipping.
Storage and yields: Tracking crops stored in silos, warehouses, or coolers, including the quantity and condition, is helpful for managing sales and preventing spoilage or loss. Tracking what products you have on-hand to sell is vital to your operation. Rotation and shelf life is very important to track for safety reasons.
Nice to haves for farmers to track for inventory:
Crop covers (row covers, mulch, etc.): Tracking inputs like mulch, tents, and row covers can help manage costs and ensure that all crop protection methods are there when you need them.
Fuel: Tracking fuel (such as diesel for machinery or electricity for cold storage), and other energy-related consumables like batteries for flashlights helps keep your farm running smoothly.
Consumables (Gloves, Safety Gear, etc.): Tracking consumables like gloves, safety gear, chemicals, and cleaning supplies can help manage stock levels and ensure worker safety.
Tools and supplies for specialized activities:Tracking tools or supplies for specialized activities, such as grafting tools, pruning shears, or seedling trays, ensures that the farm has the right equipment for all its farming operations.
What Data Might You Be Tracking That Isn’t Helping?
While the above categories are crucial, many farmers fall into the trap of tracking data that doesn’t contribute to their bottom line or operational success.
Here are a few examples of data that might not be worth your time:
1. Overly Detailed Weather Data
Unless you're working in a niche environment where every microclimate matters (e.g., a greenhouse or a high-value crop operation), spending too much time tracking every minor weather fluctuation may lead to unnecessary distractions. Focus on the bigger picture — like average rainfall, temperature ranges, and extreme weather events.
2. Unnecessary Crop Data
Tracking every detail of each crop variety may be overkill if you're already measuring yield performance, growth stages, and health. Instead, focus on the varieties that provide the best return on investment and track data related to these crops.
3. Excessive Social Media Metrics
While social media can be a great tool for marketing and connecting with customers, tracking likes, shares, and other engagement metrics may not directly improve your farm’s productivity. Focus more on customer feedback or conversion rates, and only track social media performance as part of a broader marketing strategy.
4. Too Much Data on Farm Size and Structure
Tracking dimensions of fields and various structural components (barns, roads, etc.) may not always yield useful insights unless you’re specifically planning for expansion or reorganization. Keep this data to a minimum and focus on operational factors that actually affect productivity.
How to Ensure You're Tracking the Right Data
Identify Your Key Goals: Are you aiming to increase yield, reduce input costs, or improve sustainability? Your data needs to align with these priorities. Define clear farm goals before you begin tracking information.
Use Smart Technology: Invest in farm software and hardware that can help you collect and analyze data efficiently. Use farm management platforms or apps that integrate multiple data sources to give you a holistic view of your operation.
Regularly Review and Adjust: Data needs evolve. Regularly review the data you're tracking and adjust it as necessary. If certain metrics aren’t helping, stop tracking them, and divert that effort to more critical areas on your farm that need to be tracked.
Focus on Actionable Insights: It’s not enough to just collect data. Ensure that you can translate that data into actionable insights that drive decisions. If you can’t act on the data you’re tracking, it might not be worth the time.
Using Data On Your Farm
The future of farming lies in data-driven decisions. But to make the most out of your data, it’s essential to track the right metrics and focus on what truly impacts your farm’s performance. By filtering out the noise and focusing on what matters most — whatever that might be for your farm - soil health, weather, crop performance, equipment, labor, and financial health — you’ll be able to make smarter, more efficient decisions that drive long-term success on your farm.
In the end, the best data is not necessarily the most data — it’s the data that helps you grow your farm with confidence. So, take a step back, review what you’re tracking, and make sure that every piece of data serves a clear and actionable purpose. Your farm will thank you for it.
As always, we help farms and ranches be more productive and profitable with our farm and ranch management software, Farmbrite. Give us a try for your farm today. And happy farming!