OnFarm, developers of farm production management software, have included in their spring release a suite of features supporting water management decisions on the farm. This suite includes tools for describing field soils and their water holding capacity in up to three layers, a plant available water tool for viewing soil moisture data, a water balance chart, built-in irrigation scheduling tool and a water use reporting feature to help meet the challenges of tracking water use on the farm from multiple sources and for a variety of uses.

The new OnFarm features become available as Governor Jerry Brown announces unprecedented measures to manage available water in drought stricken California. California Farmers have been dealing with reduced and often zero surface water allocations for the last three years this has resulted in increased pressure on groundwater resources. According to the USGS, ground water resources are oversubscribed in many parts of the west and pressure on groundwater resources are evident in the central and even the eastern U.S.

The OnFarm platform is unique in that it allows farmers to gather and analyze data from different sources and integrate them in a simple, easy to use format that can be viewed by all members of the farm production team. Using this integrated data the farmer can the develop irrigation action plans and reports necessary to better manage farm inputs and production, including water but also related to fertilizer, pest control even production labor.

The new release also includes advanced mapping features, a crop configuration tool for describing variety, spacing, planting dates etc. and the ability to add custom management and pest models to predict production needs before they arise.

CEO Lance Donny states “Farmers are often told that data is their most valuable asset, the goal of OnFarm is to help turn that data into actionable knowledge so farmers can continue to drive higher yields more efficiently.“