Australia’s wheat industry contributes more than A$5 billion to the economy each year. Image provided by CSIRO.

The CSIRO’s new ‘addock analytics’ app combines satellite data, sensors, climate forecasts and historical yield data, giving farmers access to accurate crop yield estimates from their smartphone. 

Launched in late June, the new agriculture analytics app offers growers personalised yield forecasts for their entire farm, down to a single paddock.

According to CSIRO scientist and Graincast lead Dr. Roger Lawes, Graincast is the only app currently on the market that delivers instantaneous soil, water and yield information at any time without the need for substantial user input.

“The app is easy to use, and growers need to input just three pieces of information – the paddock they want analysed, the crop grown last season and the crop they plan to grow or are growing in the current season. That’s it,” he said.

“Having a yield forecast can help farmers with crop input management, setting yield targets, diagnosing yield constraints, risk management, marketing decisions, forward selling and more,” he said.

“The Graincast app helps growers with their crop decision-making instincts.”

Utilising data derived from the Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia, APSIM (the agricultural production systems simulator) crop model, MODIS and LANDSAT satellites among other sources, the app combines crop models with soil maps.

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