Cropwise digital platform expands

DECATUR, Ill. — An all-in-one technology platform to improve efficiency, productivity and profitability continues to expand after its initial introduction five years ago.

Syngenta’s Cropwise began with its Seed Selector feature in 2020 and has since added Financials, Sustainability, Planting, Imagery, Commodity Pro, Protector, Grower, Spray Assist and Operations platforms. A Cropwise AI tool is next in the pipeline.

“The Cropwise brand name represents a suite of all-in-one digital tools,” said Kirt Durand, Syngenta digital research and development lead.

“We have a number of apps and tools under that Cropwise umbrella that serve different purposes or are targeted at different audiences, for example, a grower or a retailer.

“It’s basically an all-in-one technology solution designed to help you maximize profit on your farm, manage your financials for your farm, look at things like imagery so you can basically respond to agronomic challenges that’s going on in real time.”

Platform Selection

To determine which of the platforms to utilize, Durand said it depends on the farmer’s objective.

“I would encourage people to sit down with their Syngenta rep and create a crop plan for the upcoming season. The purpose of the crop plan is it lets you know where you are. You’re trying to establish a baseline when it comes to management of your entire farming operation,” he said.

“Establish a baseline where you are and then we can establish metrics to measure improvements for the upcoming season.

“As far as what information we would typically need from you, we may need some things like field boundaries. Some of these things we can automatically pull in, maybe what crops you’re planning on planting, planting date and things like that, but very bare minimum stuff. It depends on what you’re looking for.

“Sitting down and doing a crop plan will cover all of the things you need to get started.”

Data Privacy

Durand added the company takes data privacy very seriously.

“We always let our customers know their data is their data and they decide who we can share their data with from a third party, from a retailer perspective,” he said.

“We are trying to maximize and get the most out of that data. We are looking for actionable insights. Data is a big field. There’s a lot of data. You can collect a lot of things — yield, disease, rainfall, weather, all kinds of things.

“But really what we’re looking to do is how do we maximize and get actionable insights that can tell you to make a decision on your farm. That’s what we’re looking to do with data.

“We’re working on a new app called Cropwise AI. It’s a little bit of ways out from being commercial, but essentially it’s going to revolutionize how we take a large set of data and give you an actionable insight to get you to make a decision quickly in your farm.”

Platform Needs

Durand gave an example of what a recommendation could be to a farmer based on their needs.

“It could be as simple as if you’re doing this scouting app that we have — Cropwise Protector. You scout some crops and maybe you see some indication that there’s a disease present. Maybe something like tar spot,” he said.

“You can use that information and recommend one of our fungi products like Miravis that can cover something like a tar spot.”

Profitability

Input prices are high, commodity prices are down and farmers are looking for ways to improve efficiency.

“This tool fits perfectly for that and, even bigger than that, the population is growing and we’re having less farmable land. So, essentially we need to produce more food on less farmable land,” Durand noted.

“So, it’s more critical than ever to get the maximum yield and making sure you’re not being robbed by things like nematodes, disease or anything else that can rob potential bushels.

“Our tools and services can bring light to some of these things that you may not even be aware that you have going on on the farm to maximize your potential.

“If you’re thinking about this from a grower standpoint, this is an integrated farm management technology platform that offers tools and services that enable you and your advisers to optimize your operation.”