ISO FARM RESEARCH - DLG-Agrifuture Concept Winner 2023

On farm research – smart and secure

The second round of voting for this year's DLG-Agrifuture Concept Winner Awards for pioneering work and future visions in agricultural technology has ended: ISO FARM RESEARCH (IFR) is one of the DLG-Agrifuture Concept Winner of the year 2023. All partners are very proud and happy about this special award.

AMAZONE, EXAgT, EXA Computing, geo-konzept, Hanse-Agro, the Kiel University of Applied Sciences and the startup AgDoIT have jointly developed a new concept to provide a decisive impetus for the future viability of crop production worldwide:  ISO Farm Research - for all-around efficient and safe on-farm experiments with automated trial design, implementation, data acquisition and analysis.

Increasing complexity in agriculture

Agricultural practice is undergoing major changes and becoming increasingly complex. Climatic changes are leading to a holistic rethinking of agricultural production. In addition, agricultural policies, such as the farm-to-fork strategy, demand a reduction in the use of fertilizers and pesticides, as well as climate- and resource-friendly management of agricultural land. "One-size-fits-all chemical solutions are being replaced by site-specific, site-adapted and variable applications of crop protection products and fertilizers. New digital technologies such as spot or row spraying already offer good solutions and enable even more precise and site-adapted applications. The use of biologicals is considered very sustainable, but they can have very different effects depending on the site and need to be better understood.

Such new innovations can already be tested in practical trials, known as on-farm research. There are clear principles for this, but they are not easy to implement. Field trials have been difficult to integrate into everyday work, and proper data management is a major challenge, making trials prone to error.

However, field trials are becoming increasingly important for agribusiness success, extension and product development. In the future, they will be seen as the key to understanding new production ideas and making informed decisions. The need for on-farm trials is growing worldwide. However, there is a lack of an easy-to-use, powerful and secure system to better integrate collected field information with existing machine characteristics.

The ISO Farm Research concept

For this reason, AMAZONE, EXAgT, EXA Computing, Geo-Konzept, Hanse-Agro, the FH Kiel and the startup AgDoIT have developed the ISO Farm Research concept: a novel and innovative digital system that automates and simplifies field trials (On Farm Research, OFR) based on agricultural data and the ISOBUS standard. ISO Farm Research combines all farm agronomic data into one data pool to create a holistic picture of the farm including FMIS data, soil information and agrotechnical measures. Machine learning is used to automatically create an ideal trial design.

Trials and measurements are consistently verified to field trial standards. ISO Farm Research is vendor neutral and allows integration of existing mix fleets and automation with ISOBUS to ensure accurate placement and trial layout. Machine characteristics are taken into account and each bonit is accurately pre-planned. Drones and sensors can also be used to perform geo-referenced assessments, as well as import crop data and yield mapping from various sources. All trial data is consolidated centrally and evaluated smartly, and can be viewed at any time via app and shared with partners.

ISO Farm Research will be a secure and user-friendly tool to drive knowledge-based transformation in the agricultural technology industry and help farmers make their operations more efficient, sustainable and competitive.