A significant part of the device selection process includes identifying where the devices or sensors will be physically located on the farm or in the business. This is best assisted through the use of a farm or property map. Many farmers may already have a map of their property and use it in day-to-day operations.

A modern, digital version of a property map will better serve the processes and use with digital technology. Many modern farm management programs incorporate a map as do the dashboards and apps of an increasing number of digital solutions. 

A computerised map helps you to identify position points of infrastructure and importance. This may include water points, sheds and yards or fencing. They also help to show your topography, identify physical obstacles that may affect communication between devices, and measure distances between them. 

Many digital technology suppliers will begin looking at your farm or business by doing what is known as a “desktop study.” Providing your digital farm or property map information to your chosen digital technology supplier will help them to create an accurate desktop study. 

This process allows them to develop potential positioning of devices and communication gateways without needing to visit your site. This will speed up the initial process of selection and help with quoting costs. A physical site visit may follow at the point of purchase.

Mapping tools 

Property/location mapping tools can be used for both ascertaining where to install devices as well as an enabler for dashboards and reporting apps. Some examples of mapping tools and integrations include: 

• Google Earth (first-time use please allow 2-4 hours)
• FarmMap4D 
• Modern farm management software packages 

How To Video – Google Earth 

There are a great number of tutorials available on the web to explain how to use Google Earth. The following link explains how to use Google Earth for mapping a farm if you want to build your digital property map.