FieldView Drive connects to a tractor or combine controller area network (CAN) diagnostic port and uses Bluetooth technology to wirelessly map a farmer's data onto an iPad.

"We created FieldView Drive to provide a simple solution to help farmers unlock the value of field data," said Doug Sauder, senior director of product for The Climate Corporation. "FieldView Drive works with our FieldView Plus software to enable farmers to collect, store and view field map data in a single mobile tool in real time. It represents a significant advancement in data management because it provides farmers with the data they need right in the field to help them make important operating decisions."

FieldView Drive captures key planting data including hybrid and planting population, as well as key harvest data such as yield. When FieldView Drive is partnered with FieldView Plus, data is digitally displayed as a farmer passes through a field, enabling the farmer to easily understand hybrid performance by field, soil zone and population with side-by-side views of as-planted and yield data.

Data from any piece of a farmer's equipment that has a FieldView Drive is automatically synced with the farmer's Climate FieldView account. This integration makes it easy for all of a farmer's employees and trusted advisors with access to the account to stay in the loop.

Since the FieldView Drive connection to the farmer's Climate FieldView account is real-time, farmers can stay up-to-date on critical field operations even when they're not in the cab through text alerts, email reports and RemoteView. Data can also easily be shared with trusted advisors to enable fast and easy collaboration.

During 2015 planting and harvest, FieldView Drive and FieldView Plus were beta tested with more than 300 farmers across the Corn Belt. The beta spanned 650,000 crop acres, with more than five billion unique data points mapped and more than 75,000 hours of FieldView Drive time logged.

"The way I see it, you can't have too much technology on the farm, as long as it's simple to use and helps you make important operational decisions," said farmer Scott Chesnut of Boone, Iowa. "Each season, I conduct several field trials with varying populations in beans and corn. FieldView Drive helped me better understand the response between one field trial and another through side-by-side comparison of yield maps.

Additionally, the portability of being able to view data from multiple pieces of equipment on one iPad was fantastic. This allowed me to easily share data with my son and compare maps to identify and get ahead of potential issues in the field. I'm really looking forward to using FieldView Drive and FieldView Plus again this year, especially as I build a plan for the upcoming growing season."

For the 2016 growing season, FieldView Drive is compatible with select John Deere and Case IH planters and John Deere combines. The company plans to expand the capabilities of FieldView Drive in coming seasons.

"Because we believe significant yield advances and efficiencies can be gained by harnessing the power of data, our intent is to greatly expand the capabilities of FieldView Drive into more equipment brands and machine types to support key field activities and crops," Sauder said. "We're working to ensure farmers gain valuable insight from their data in the field."

FieldView Drive and FieldView Plus are part of the integrated Climate FieldView digital agronomic platform, which offers farmers the broadest equipment connectivity in the industry. The platform also includes Climate FieldView Pro, a tool that provides customized, field-level agronomic insights powered by data science, and Climate FieldView PrimeTM, a tool that provides field-level weather, notifications and scouting.

FieldView Drive and FieldView Plus Pricing

The FieldView Plus Starter Kit is $499. It includes FieldView Drive, FieldView Plus and an iPad mounting kit. Additional FieldView Drive devices can be purchased for $249 each. Farmers who have purchased a Whole Farm Offer of FieldView Pro can purchase the FieldView Drive Starter Package that includes FieldView Drive and an iPad mounting kit for just $249.

To learn more about the Climate FieldView digital agronomic platform visit www.climate.com.