Deliverable

Although most people can see the benefits of using a more precise approach to manage crops with additional information, the tools provided by precision farming and other information technologies have not yet moved into mainstream agricultural management. The increased complexity of the systems inhibits easy adoption and makes calculations as to the financial benefits uncertain. These issues can be resolved by improving the decision making process though better Management Information Systems, improved data interchange standards and clear management methods.

Within FutureFarm the projects work and objectives as well as several results were presented to stakeholders from different related groups of the agricultural sector. These groups are stakeholders from farms, from official authorities and administration and from software and geo-information companies producing for the agricultural sector. Furthermore the key results were analysed and discussed with scientists from related fields of research.

Full title: Protocols and links for procedures deducing the necessary links with PF-techniques from farming processes into the value added chain in the production of foods, feed, fibres and fuels with crops 

Full title: A web-portal to exchange knowledge for extension services and to illustrate the FMIS-technologies for EU-farmers, to distribute prototypes of FMIS services

Direct and indirect energy use in arable farming was analyzed. Denmark and Greece were used as example cases. Based on this analysis, suggestions for mitigation of energy use are suggested. Final report is finished and submitted early 2011.

This paper analyzes the economic profitability of selected Precision Farming (PF) technologies — site-specific management of weed, lime and nitrogen — Auto Guidance and Controlled Traffic Farming at farm scale.

FutureFarm WP 4 deals with the task “Knowledge Management in the FMIS of tomorrow”. The set of deliverables splits this task in different subtasks. FutureFarm deliverables of the D4.1 section are mainly about specifying an encoding for agricultural production standards, which serves as a data exchange format for structured, machine readable documents published by some authority or similar consisting sets of rules which farmers may adhere to.

FutureFarm WP 4 deals with the task “Knowledge Management in the FMIS of tomorrow”. The set of deliverables splits this task in different subtasks. FutureFarm deliverable D4.1.1 specifies an encoding for agricultural production standards, which serves as a data exchange format for structured, machine readable documents published by some authority or similar consisting sets of rules which farmers may adhere to.

WP 4 of FutureFarm is mainly focussed on the Integration of knowledge for compliance to Management Standards into Farm Information Systems. These external Management Standards are published by third parties and explicit decisions by the farm manager are more or less restricted to choose which of the voluntary standards and private labels the farm should comply to. Based on a “Model of decision-making and information flows for information-intensive agriculture” by S. Fountas et al.

FutureFarm WP 4 deals with the task “Knowledge Management in the FMIS of tomorrow”. The set of deliverables splits this task in different subtasks. FutureFarm deliverable D4.1.1 specifies an encoding for agricultural production standards, which serves as a data exchange format for structured, machine readable documents published by some authority or similar consisting sets of rules which farmers may adhere to. Deliverable D4.2 specifies interfaces for a catalogue and rule service in order to discover and distribute these standards.