"GeoMation Farm" Agriculture Information Management System.

GeoMation Farm is an agricultural information management system developed in response to customers who desired "applying Information Technology to agriculture".

The GeoMation system contributes to reduce energy usage by determining the optimum harvest time based on growth forecasting. In the case of wheat, users can reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 33% over the lifecycle of the crop.

Ongoing monitoring of the crop is essential to ensuring the steady cultivation of agricultural produce so that fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals can be applied appropriately.

In Japan, the optimum harvest time for wheat lasts only one to two weeks. In fact, if wheat is harvested too early, additional energy and costs may be incurred in the drying process due to the excess water content.

In contrast, if harvesting is done too late, the risk increases that rain may cause the grain to germinate, resulting in lost commercial value of the crop. The timing of the harvest is crucial. Therefore, in the past, farmers familiar with the local climate and the growth of the wheat would have the responsibility of monitoring the moisture level by themselves, based on their experience and intuition.

Advantages of Using IT in Agriculture:

GeoMation Farm can be used to manage and utilize information for each piece of field, including crops, staff, the record of fertilizer and other agricultural chemical usage, and yield and quality.
In addition, satellite images can be utilized to forecast wheat growth and analyze the protein content of the grain.

The system's benefits include:

(1) Energy savings:

There is the possibility of saving energy by approximately 53% due to a reduction in office work, such as data management and the preparation of documents.

(2) Optimization of chemical use:

To ensure an optimum level of agricultural chemical application, a message appears to alert the user when an excess is applied.
By optimizing agricultural chemical usage, GeoMation Farm supports measures to ensure food safety and security, along with a bountiful harvest of agricultural produce.
Enter details of the fertilizer application and other agricultural chemicals. The current state of the field can be seen at a glance.

(3) Effective use of resources:

Creating a database of land, crops, fertilizer, agricultural chemicals, and other essential agricultural resources enables these resources to be utilized to their maximum extent.
For example, if a wheat field is switched to grow cabbage, appropriate soil preparation is necessary. GeoMation Farm determines the appropriate type and quantity of fertilizer to use based on the soil conditions, crop and the stage of growth.
This ensures effective use of the land by converting the land that is unsuitable for a particular crop to grow something different rather than leaving it uncultivated.

Source: http://www.hitachi.com/environment/showcase/solution/it/geomation.html