With dozens of fields scattered in seven counties, Bryant Agricultural Enterprise relies on good field records to coordinate fieldwork, manage harvests and report back to landowners. The family farm partnership, based near Washington Court House, has shifted from using paper-based recordkeeping to using smartphones to record data, which then becomes instantly available through the farm’s computerized recordkeeping program.

“It’s not that we’re tracking anything more or less than before. It’s just easier,” explains Kasey Bamberger, a third-generation partner in the family farm business.

Bryant Ag began using the farm management software Granular in 2014, when the software company approached them about beta-testing it. Kasey and her cousin, Heath Bryant, also a third-generation farm partner, saw the potential for improving their efficiency with the software. “We’re trying to be on the leading edge if we can,” Heath says.

Computer technology is helping the Bryant family continue the farm enterprise that started with 258 acres in 1958. Founder John Bryant expanded the farm and formed a partnership with his sons, Mike and Mark. Over the years the operation has continued to grow, and Mike’s son, Heath, joined the business in 2005 after graduating from Wilmington College. Mark’s daughter, Kasey, began in the business four years ago after graduating from Wright State. Heath is focusing on farm operations like his dad, and Kasey is concentrating on business management like her dad. “We have the same goals, and different interests,” Kasey says.

Today, Bryant Ag Enterprise produces corn, soybeans and wheat on about 14,500 acres of owned and rented ground. They also do custom farm work. In all, they have 170 to 180 separate fields to keep track of. Most of the rented land is set up with flex leases, which include a base price and bonuses dependent on yields and market conditions. They also use crop-share agreements with some landowners.

Before they began using the Granular software, Bryant Ag employees used paper on clipboards to keep track of fieldwork. Then the paper records were returned to the office, so staff could enter the data into their computer. “It was taking our office staff way too much time,” recalls Kasey. Besides the labor involved, the delay in entering data made information hard to access until the season was over and all the records were processed. It might take weeks after harvest before they could give a landowner a final report on the inputs and yield from a particular field.

No paperwork
The new system eliminates the need to transfer records from paper to computer. Instead, farm employees all work from work orders accessible through their smartphones. Whenever they finish a job in a field, they go back to the smartphone to record the details, such as acreage and application rates. Everything done on every field is tracked, including planting, spraying, fertilizer application, harvest, and even mowing of waterways and borders. The data feeds back to the main computer system and is instantly available to landowners or farm managers. “We can be very transparent with our land partners this way,” Heath says.

Assembling field records for the Farm Service Agency is easier with the system, as well as crop insurance reporting, says Kasey.

Inventory tracking has become easier too, adds Kasey. For instance, if a couple of units of leftover seed are stored somewhere away from the main farm, she will see it in the records. In the past, it might be overlooked until the end of the year when it can no longer be used or returned.

Keeping track of field maintenance needs is also easier with the new system, Heath says. In the past, an employee might call to tell him about a large rock in a field or a drainage problem, and he’d try to keep a list of jobs to take care of in the off-season. But too often, he’d end up missing something. Now he can pull up the list of field maintenance notes entered by employees throughout the year.

To make the shift from paper to touch screens for employees, they did have to upgrade a few phones, Heath says. “A few of the guys were still using flip-phones.” However, learning to use the system wasn’t complicated. The farm staff members understand the value of the data, and they do a good job of recording it, Heath adds. “That’s what makes it happen.”

Employees can use the system to organize their work more efficiently as well. For instance, an employee who will be spending the day spraying can easily organize fields in his work orders to avoid back tracking and can coordinate tanker fill-ups to avoid downtime.

Another advantage of the data management system is that it integrates weather data, so they can estimate field conditions at each field, reducing travel needed to check fields. For instance, the program can anticipate when a field will be ready for harvest based on precipitation, heat units, planting dates and seed maturity ratings. “It’s a good gauge for us,” Heath says.

Field conditions are usually close to the program’s estimates, and Heath expects the estimates to become more accurate as they use the system and enter actual data. The program has the ability to adjust over time to correct for additional factors that influence conditions for a particular field such as soil types or drainage. “We do our best to put in as much information as we can to improve it over time,” he says.

At this point, Granular does not include financial accounting software, although the software company is working on integrating the farm management software with accounting software programs. The company is continuing to improve the software based on suggestions made by the farmers using it, notes Kasey. “You know that they’re listening to you.”