Ballance shareholders get free Ag Hub access

Ballance shareholders get free Ag Hub access

Thousands of farmers throughout the country are being offered free access to the award-winning Ag Hub farm technology system.

Ballance Agri-Nutrients moved to full ownership of Ag Hub last year and Chief Executive Larry Bilodeau says that with farmers under increasing pressure to track nutrient use and manage nutrient budgets, putting the technology in shareholders’ hands has been a priority.

All of Ballance’s shareholders are being offered free access to the Ag Hub system for their nutrient information.

“Farmers want practical, accurate systems to support on-farm decisions and Ag Hub provides the level of real-time information to help them make the right calls, both for their business and for the environment,” says Mr Bilodeau.

“Our goal is to help our shareholders farm more profitably and sustainably through the delivery of complete nutrient management products and advice, and free access to farm information technology is another step in this direction.

“Longer term we envisage even more technology with the integration of new information-based products and modelling systems into Ag Hub as we bring to market some of the outcomes of our research and development programmes.”

Ag Hub has evolved from a farm mapping system into a solution-based package available through our website. Included in the free offer to shareholders is GIS interactive farm mapping, access to farm nutrient budgets, soil tests and fertiliser plan histories, as well as online ordering for Ballance products.

Shareholders also have the option of subscribing to additional modules specific to their farming operations.

Ballance General Manager of AgInformation, Graeme Martin, explains the technology is effectively a one-stop-shop for farm-specific data.

“If a farmer wants to look at any information on the farm to help make a decision then Ag Hub will immediately show a complete view of the property over four aspects – production, environment, fertiliser and nutrition (feed). The system can measure and control water, irrigation and effluent; and monitor things like soil moisture and weather conditions.”

The system can text users if it detects something out of the ordinary with an effluent irrigator such as a drop in pressure, or if the spreader is nearing a waterway or fence or stops moving, which could otherwise result in consent breaches. It can also shut off effluent spreading. Nutrient mapping capability records the nutrient value of the effluent and where it has been placed, allowing fertiliser plans to be adapted accordingly.

Corporate farming organisations and farmers with multiple properties can use Ag Hub to view and compare information across each farm from anywhere in the world with internet access.

Ag Hub won the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ) ‘best of the best’ prize at its 2011 Innovations Awards. Ballance purchased a 51% shareholding in the business in 2011 and moved to full ownership last year.

Ag Hub – What’s on offer?
The free Ag Hub package being offered to Ballance shareholders includes:

Mapping - The foundation of any Ag Hub solution is an accurate map of your farm boundaries, paddocks and land features. Ag Hub Farm Mapping is based on the best source of aerial mapping data in New Zealand.

Nutrient management - The ability to accurately manage your nutrients in Ag Hub saves time and makes it easy. You can view soil test information, fertiliser plans, access nutrient management plans plus view and manage your nutrient budgets – all in one place.

Online ordering - Ordering fertiliser is made easy through Ag Hub with the ability to seamlessly navigate through Ag Hub and Ballance Online to view the status of current orders and order history, and create orders for properties directly from historical fertiliser plans.

ENDS

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