Success Stories
FieldWatch registries provide solutions for many challenges faced by growers, beekeepers and applicators. Below, we showcase FieldWatch partners and members who explain the benefits of their collaboration and show the positive impact of using FieldWatch registries.
Reducing Crop Damage for Red Gold Growers
Challenge
In 2008, Red Gold Tomato filed claims worth more than $750,000 due to pesticide drift. The same year, as the largest privately owned tomato processor in the nation, with over 40 partnerships with Midwestern growers, became a founding member of FieldWatch.
Solution
By 2009, drift incidents decreased by 50% and damages were reduced by 90%. Today, Red Gold growers see negligible damage caused by pesticide drift.
Enhancing Environmental Stewardship and Optimization
Challenge
GROWMARK’s farmers and applicators wanted to focus on increasing environmental stewardship.
GROWMARK’s distribution services needed further optimization to ensure continued accuracy through a trusted information source, especially during peak season.
Solution
GROWMARK’s partnership with FieldWatch allows farmers and applicators to collaborate easily, focus on environmental stewardship, and enhance planning and scheduling.
FieldWatch provides reliable, accurate information for the GROWMARK community, which enables applicators to evaluate plans and reduce risk before and during spraying.
“GROWMARK’s partnership with FieldWatch has been foundational for enhancing communication, safety, compliance and productivity in agriculture. Each of these values has been essential for effective governance and strategic leadership at GROWMARK. As FieldWatch Board Chair, I’m excited about what the future holds as we grow the scale and scope of FieldWatch.”
–Dr. Jeff Bunting, Vice President of Crop Protection, GROWMARK
Increasing Access to the Power of Information
Challenge
To best protect field workers, Beck’s Hybrids needed a method for decreasing close contact incidents for its field workers’ safety and also searched for efficient methods of reducing drift concerns for growers.
Grower customers looked for a way to obtain the necessary resources and data to be more educated, responsible and precise when applying crop protection products to minimize error and overuse of resources.
Solution
SeedFieldCheck alerts applicators when crews are working in a field and reduces the number of close contact incidents for Beck’s Hybrids employees and contracted workers.
Beck’s uses DriftWatch and FieldCheck for connections between sensitive crop areas that are near customers’ fields, which has decreased drift incidents.
Beck’s FARMserver, a digital product for growers, connects with FieldWatch registries to display sensitive sites to users, providing the power of information and resulting in more precise pesticide application.
“Applicators should consider using FieldWatch to make more informed decisions about their applications. Doing so leads to an increase of quality applications, increase of safety for farm workers and better community relationships.”
–Jason Morehouse, Production Manager, Beck’s Hybrids
Maximizing Efficiency & Improving Compliance
Challenge
Ever.Ag customers spent excess time and incurred greater risk because they had to manually review and confirm the impacts of all custom application activities before spraying. The process was inefficient and created significant compliance and financial risks for customers.
Solution
Ever.Ag licenses and integrates FieldCheck into its FieldAlytics™ software solution.
Ever.Ag’s applicator customers can:
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Maximize efficiency by eliminating manual reviews of custom applications
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Improve compliance and reduce risks by tracking sensitive sites along spraying routes
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Reduce the risk of potential off-target applications
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Simplify job creation and business operating procedures
“FieldWatch gives our customers confidence in their compliance and risk management, along with greater efficiencies in creating and executing on their business.”
–Ben Sloan, Vice President of Strategy and Product, Ever.Ag
Helping MFA Customers Mitigate Risk
Challenge
As a Missouri-based regional farm supply and marketing cooperative that provides application services, MFA needed a way to mitigate risk by preventing off-target movement.
With more than 100 company-owned retail locations spread across a wide range of geographies, MFA consistently seeks ways to promote stewardship in its operations and empower its customers to protect the environment.
Solution
MFA became a sponsoring member of FieldWatch, and its applicators began using the registries. The next step is to integrate FieldWatch registries into MFA’s Agronomy Dashboard digital platform.
Applicators have better awareness of sensitive crop locations (e.g., vineyards and gardens), and some make changes to the chemistries before spraying or avoid certain areas, resulting in better risk mitigation.
As a result, MFA receives fewer complaints from neighbors about off-target movement.
“FieldWatch plugs into two of MFA’s core values: Customer Partnering and Stewardship. We want to make sure we are being good neighbors to our customers and their neighbors, too.”
–Doug Spaunhorst, MFA, Director of Agronomy Services
Giving Automatic Access to Sensitive Sites
Challenge
Before spraying, applicators had to manually check state registries to avoid sensitive crops, beehives and field workers. The process was tedious, lengthy and untenable for the high volume of work and the short-time windows.
Solution
AgriSmart licenses the FieldWatch registries and integrates them into its Flight Plan Online® and Ground Control Online® software products.
Customers save time and gain efficiencies by completely eliminating manual cross-checks against individual state registries ahead of applications.
Customers have automatic access to sensitive sites along their spray routes and are in a better position to mitigate risk.
