The smart phone is a major part of many people’s lives, including farmers and ranchers. With today’s top apps, farmers and ranchers can monitor their crops or livestock with much more ease. Around the farm, we use lots of apps to keep operations going, but these are some of our favorites:

AgDNA

Giving you access to a powerful platform in the palm of your hand, the AgDNA app allows you to plan your farm, mark its boundaries, keep records, connect to your equipment, and so much more! Once you try this app, you may never want to manage a farm without it. The app itself is free, though there are monthly or annual subscriptions to allow you more space for record keeping, and you can even add record packs in the busy season to maximize your space. AgDNA is truly a must-have app for the farmer or rancher in today’s technological age.

Ag phd field guide

If you think you have pests or weeds in your fields, the AgPHD Field Guide app is the right app for you. By allowing you to view photos and information about weeds and pests from your smartphone, you can compare and then control the problem with the app’s recommendations. This app also gives up-to-date agronomy information through the FMC newsletter and AgPHD University.

Cow Manager

If you’re a cow rancher, you know it can be hard to keep track of every cow and bull in the herd and their nutrition, health, and fertility. Now there is Cow Manager to track that information for you. Input the information in the app or at www.cowmanager.com, and the app will help you determine the best course of action for each cow or bull in your herd! While we don’t personally use this app (since we have horses instead!), our neighbors across the way who raise angus swear by it.

Dark Sky

Get down-to-the-minute local weather conditions such as rain forecasts, wind speed, and day or night temperatures with the Dark Sky weather app. Only available on IOS, the app is nonetheless a great tool to have in your pocket as a rancher or farmer. Never get caught in a sudden storm again and know when your crops need to be protected from cold snaps or hail. You cannot go wrong with the Dark Sky app!

InGauge Minerals

We mentioned in a previous post that we were considering selling our mineral rights, as our property sits on rich oil reserves. Since oil prices have been low, we instead decided to lease these oil & gas rights. Though the company we leased to is still in the exploratory phase, when they do start extraction, we plan to track our royalties using the handy app. We’ve heard from lots of people that this is the top app on the market for managing mineral interests, making it easy to see revenues and optimize profitability. We recently created account and saved all our important lease documents to it. The application is user-friendly and intuitive, even if you aren’t a techie. If you have leased mineral rights on your farm or ranch property, you need this app!

Farms.com Markets

Do you need to know the market value of your crops or livestock? The Farms.com Markets app is the perfect companion for a farmer or rancher looking to buy or sell. More than just market prices, it also has futures contracts, charts, and news. Add commodities to your watch list for quick access.

There are many other apps available for farmers and ranchers. Hopefully, these six have given you a good start for your basic needs and will have you looking for more that fit your personal requirements.