Farm management software (FMS) systems track and analyze an array of data to help with year-round agronomic and financial decisions. These recordkeeping solutions take the paper out of paperwork, but with so many products on the market, choosing the right fit can be overwhelming. 

Plus, the value you get out of an FMS system or subscription depends on the needs of your operation. Finding the best fit takes research, and in this ag software series installment, we are highlighting product features of three major FMS players on the market today. 

Conservis 

The Conservis FMS calculates the true cost of production based on field records, inventory and yield data. The company was founded in 2008, based on requests from a group of farmers who wanted to manage harvest data more efficiently. Since then, the company has grown to offer additional solutions to track profitability from production through harvest. 

The Conservis website boasts its software interconnectivity. Data can be synced from a wide range of software systems including John Deere Operations Center, Climate FieldView, Crop Data Management Systems (CDMS), DTN weather service, and Rabo AgriFinance – to name a few. 

Conservis customers can use this data to track production costs like chemical inputs, labor, and equipment usage. Additional compatibility populates harvest data from a variety of grain scale software systems directly into the Conservis system to track real-time grain inventory and deliveries. 

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All of this data helps farmers to calculate profits, maintain payment records, determine a return on investment (ROI), and manage FSA and crop insurance reporting. Finally, a sustainability metric offers Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solutions to track tillage, nitrogen, and water use efficiency for carbon credit reporting.  

Data is protected and belongs to the farmer, and customer service is available by chat, email, or phone. Clients featured on the Conservis website say that technical support is top notch. In Market Tree, Ark., Marion Bearden is the executive assistant at Ritter Agribusiness. 

In a video, Bearden said, “No matter what I come up against in Conservis, if I have a problem and I am wanting it to do something for me, I can always pick the phone up and the support that you get from the team is amazing.”  

Traction 

Traction provides a wide range of farm operations and accounting solutions with software packages and add-on options tailored to your needs. The cloud-based software integrates financial information with field records and is compatible with data imports from Climate FieldView and John Deere Operations Center. 

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Package features are listed on the Traction website. All packages from basic to pro allow you to calculate your margin per acre by field, farm, or crop and track the profitability of individual or multiple entities. Receipt management is also available through the Traction mobile app to manage the paper trail and organize records for tax purposes and audit protection.  

Traction account access can be shared with your accountant and connected to your banking or credit card accounts – with over 12,000 financial institutions to choose from.  

The plus plan tracks grain inventories, equipment costs, and inputs like seed, fertilizer and chemical applications. Features available with the pro plan help to manage landowner splits and invoices based on inputs, track equipment costs by field, and maintain enhanced financial information for lenders and accounting. 

A payroll management add-on allows for printed or direct deposited employee paychecks. This feature also saves time with calculating payroll taxes and allows those to be filed and paid automatically with digital tax form submissions.  

Another add-on with agronomy software helps improve grid sampling efficiency and connects field-specific credentials to soil and nutrient test results from that field. An iOS compatible field app is available for mobile phones and tablets to map field boundaries, create work orders, log grid samples, and export data in shapefile format. 

Free webinars and a software trial are available on the Traction website.  

Harvest Profit 

The Harvest Profit platform was founded in 2015 by a farm-centered development team. The company offers a business software plan in addition to free resources to help farmers calculate ROI and figure the bottom line.  

This software is not a one-size-fits-all tool. The Harvest Profit website states, “We leave the agronomy to others and focus solely on helping you make more profitable farm business and grain marketing decisions.” 

Software subscriptions offer management tools for input costs, grain markets and inventory. Real-time profit and loss tracking along with field-level financial analysis and marketing plans aid in whole farm decisions to increase profitability.  

Harvest Profit can also calculate crop and entity shares and has integration capabilities with software systems like John Deere Operations Center, Libra Cart by Agrimatics, and Climate FieldView.  

Free resources on the Harvest Profit website include spreadsheets to calculate farm loans, estimate grain storage ROI, and compare scenarios for flex rent contracts. Additionally, a no-cost Farm Risk Matrix tool allows you to enter production and price information for a what/if analysis of cash price per bushel. 

Visit the Harvest Profit website to find more information, view webinars, and sign up for a free 14-day software trial. 

Share Your Experience 

Have you discovered ag software that is a great fit for your operation? If so, contact author Whitney Haigwood by email at [email protected]. Farm Press would love to share your story so others can learn from your tried and tested experience!