By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

MURRAY, Ky. — The premise of farming has changed very little over the years, in that farmers plant and cultivate their crops until they are ready to harvest and sell or consume; it is the way farming is done that has changed.
With the multitude of technologies that have surfaced over the last few years, a western Kentucky company has created a way for producers to easily collect the data of virtually everything related to the farm and store it for easy access.

Tap Logic, LLC is the maker of Farm Logic, an easy-to-use data collection software that enables farmers to keep and access records no matter where they are or the time of day. Through the use of in-field handheld units or laptop computers, farmers can do everything from plotting coordinates in their fields to accessing proper pesticide applications, to measuring off fencerows.
Hoyt Choate, founder and CEO of Tap Logic, said the software was developed with ease of use in mind.

“We have an extraordinarily easy-to-use program that does everything as automatically as possible, including an overnight sync that happens without the user having to initiate it,” he said. “The system is in multiple components and you can have as many mobile components as you wish.”

Choate added the business has selected the Trimble Nomad as a durable mobile component to use complete with GPS, camera, handwritten notes and chemical database – everything needed to keep good, accurate farm records. The system is designed to sync at night and download the day’s information into the farmer’s own secure Web account.

Choate, who grew up on a farm and still farms today, designed the software to emulate the processes on the farm, and said for those looking to find out more about the system, he lets it speak for itself in a demonstration.

He also said the system comes in handy in the event a farmer needs to do things such as produce a record of their spraying activity or using the camera to take photos of broken parts in the field. The file may then be sent electronically to the local parts store, someone can pick up the part – and all would be done without the farmer ever having to leave the field.

There is also a soil testing module that has decreased the cost of traditional testing and helps producers in their fertilizing endeavors.

“We are beginning to realize, as farmers, how valuable our information is,” said Choate. “Every year of information is essentially another crop that holds great value. So, information will be king in the future.

“I feel like the farmer should pay careful attention to who owns his data, who controls his data and who has access to his data.”

He said the company is promoting a series of software that does what farmers need it to do, and generates information that belongs to the farmer and is at his or her fingertips 24 hours a day.

For more information, call the Sales/Customer Service phone 270-761-8001 (toll free 866-761-8001) or log onto www.farmlogic.com or www.tap logic.com
For those wishing to visit sales representatives at one of the company’s upcoming shows, they will be at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky., Feb. 16-19, South Wing booth 99; the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show in Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 25-26, booths 2118-2118 Show Hall, featuring special guest Brian Hefty/AgPhD Feb. 25 at 1:30 p.m.; and the Commodity Classic in Tampa, Fla., March 3-5, booths 1326 and 1328.