Trimble Adds Analytic Tool for Determining Field Profitability in its Connected Farm Solution; Introduces New Field Record-Keeping App

New Feature Enables Increased Financial Awareness by Enabling Growers to Easily Determine Profitability of their Fields and Crops

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Trimble

Jan 20, 2015, 06:30 ET

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) announced today that it will be adding a profit and loss reporting feature to its Connected Farm™ Field application—a Web-based field data management tool where growers can manage field boundaries, task data, crop health maps and precipitation data. With the new feature—which includes a user-friendly graphical interface—it is now possible for growers to analyze field profitability and make better financial decisions for their operations. The new functionality in Trimble's Connected Farm provides growers with a more robust Web-based management solution that emphasizes precision farming data, field profitability, fleet management and agronomic services.

Connected Farm Field provides a scalable and reliable set of management tools for handling large amounts of precision farming task data from a number of different industry sources. This includes both data sent wirelessly from Trimble's Office Sync solution as well as data from a USB drive using Trimble's File Sync utility. Connected Farm leverages the latest in cloud technology to ensure that the data is safely stored, backed-up, and only accessible to users whom the grower has selected.

With the easy-to-use profit and loss reporting tool in Connected Farm Field, costs can be assigned to the inputs used within the precision farming data which includes materials, vehicles, implements and operators. In addition, Trimble's brand-agnostic strategy allows growers to gather information from a variety of industry precision farming systems for use in profit and loss calculations. Integrating this financial information creates powerful profit and loss graphics that can enable growers to determine which fields are most profitable and why.

The field task data also synchronizes with Trimble's new Connected Farm Field app, a free field record-keeping app that is compatible with a variety of smartphones and tablets using an iOS or Android™ operating system. The app synchronizes with Connected Farm Field to utilize client/farm/field names, boundaries, materials, equipment and people to create field task records. The app collects field records for all types of field operations and uses boundaries from Connected Farm Field to automatically detect the field in which the user is located. It records key task details including the date and time worked, acres/hectares covered, equipment usage, personnel usage, material (fertilizer, chemicals, lime, and seed) usage, field conditions and weather conditions (which can automatically be populated from a web weather service). The app sends data to the cloud for use in Connected Farm Field, and can be used offline, with data being sent when Internet access is obtained. The app can especially be beneficial in instances where field tasks were performed either without a vehicle or with a vehicle that does not have a precision farming system.

"By adding the field profitability functionality to Connected Farm we have made it easier for growers to determine where they are making a profit, where they are losing money and the reasons behind the numbers," said Levi Kettle, Connected Farm business area director for Trimble's Agriculture Division. "With this information, growers are able to determine which fields or crops to focus on in order to make in-season decisions that impact farm budgets and profitability."

The field profitability feature of Connected Farm Field is expected to be available in February at: field.connectedfarm.com. To gain access, a Connected Farm account is needed, which can be set up for free by clicking "create an account" at the login screen.

The Connected Farm Field app is expected to be available in February and also requires a Connected Farm account, which can be created directly from the app. The app will be available for download from the Apple App Store^SM or Google Play™ Store or by visiting: www.connectedfarm.com.

About Trimble's Agriculture Division

Trimble Agriculture solutions enable customers to maximize efficiency and reduce chemical and fertilizer inputs while also protecting natural resources and the environment. Trimble's precision agriculture solutions cover all seasons, crops, terrains, and farm sizes, and its brand-agnostic strategy allows farmers to use Trimble products on most vehicles in their fleet—regardless of manufacturer. To enable better decision making, Trimble offers the Connected Farm solution which allows farmers to collect, share, and manage information across their farm in real time. To optimize water use, Trimble provides water solutions for irrigation, drainage, and land leveling. Trimble's product suite includes vehicle and implement guidance and steering, as well as a portfolio of correction options that are the most versatile of their kind in the industry. Additional solutions include an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for aerial imaging and mapping; application control for seed, liquid, and granular products; a harvest solution; and farm management software.

For more information on Trimble Agriculture, visit: www.trimble.com/agriculture.

About Trimble

Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.

For more information, visit: www.trimble.com.

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SOURCE Trimble