System and method for developing a farm management plan for production agriculture

• US 20020103688A1
• Filed: 08/21/2001
• Published: 08/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Schneider, Gary M.
• Granted Patent: US 6,990,459 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/8
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/00 Methods for working soil
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining

Abstract

Disclosed is a system comprised of hardware, software and business processes for developing an optimal custom farm management plan, and in particular, a single year or multi-year crop selection, acreage allocation, and resource management strategies for production agriculture. The method uses mathematical programming and sensitivity analysis to help the user determine optimal allocations of controllable resources such as land, capital, labor, water, machinery, and chemicals in the context of farm management objectives. The system allows the import of data and information relating to the farm and data and information from third party industry professionals and sources, thereby providing for a complete analysis based on these parameters.

Claims

1. A method for developing a custom farm management plan for production agriculture pertaining to a farm, comprising the steps of:

a. prompting a user to input information pertaining to said farm;

b. obtaining said input information pertaining to said farm from said user via a global electronic communications network;

c. obtaining third party industry information from at least one third party industry professional via said global electronic communications network;

d. analyzing said input information pertaining to said farm and said third party industry information obtained from said third party industry professional;

e. generating a first custom farm management plan based on said input information and said third party industry information;

f. transmitting said custom farm management plan to said user to be displayed by said user.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said custom farm management plan for production agriculture comprises crop selection and allocation of farm resources for seasonal or multi-seasonal cropping strategies.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein said farm resources comprise capital, land, labor, machinery, crop storage, irrigation system capacity and water rights, and nutrient loading.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein said prompting said user to input information comprises the step of transmitting an instruction signal to said user via said global electronic communications network.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein said input information pertaining to said farm is at least one farm management preference selected from the group of agronomic, operational and physical farm information.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein industry information is selected from the group of seed prices, fertilizer prices, production contracts, agriculture insurance rates, agriculture marketing information, agriculture consultant'"'"'s information, agriculture accounting information, and lender'"'"'s interest rates.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein said third party industry professional is selected from the group of input supply retailers, seed manufacturers, crop protection manufacturers, seed manufacturers'"'"' representatives, crop protection manufacturers'"'"' representatives, independent crop consultants, crop insurance agents, agricultural lenders, marketing advisors, agricultural certified public accountants, agricultural equipment manufacturers, and agricultural equipment manufacturers'"'"' dealers.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the analyzing said information pertaining to said farm is a mathematical optimization algorithm selected from the group of linear, integer, mixed integer programming, and parametric programming.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein said global electronic communication network is selected from the group consisting of the Internet, an Intranet, an extranet, a Local Area Network, a telephone network, a cellular network, a satellite network, a personal communication system, a television network, a wireless data network, a wireless Local Area Network, a wireless local loop/distribution system, a Voice Over Internet Protocol network, and a wide area network.

10. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of allowing access to said input information by said third party industry professional.

11. The method according to claim 1 wherein said display of said custom farm management plan is in tabular form.

12. The method according to claim 1 wherein said display of said custom farm management plan is in graphical form.

13. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of performing an iterative process to determine at least one additional farm management plan.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein said iterative process comprises modifying at least one controllable variable, said at least one controllable variable selected from the group of crop programs, crop rotation patterns, different amounts of production contracts, different types of production contracts, and crop insurance.

15. The method according to claim 13 wherein said iterative process comprises modifying at least one uncontrollable variable, said at least one uncontrollable variable selected from the group of crop prices, yields and production costs.

16. The method according to claim 13 wherein said user selects a desired farm management plan that meets desired goals from the first farm management plan and the at least one additional farm management plan.

17. The method according to claim 16 wherein said user compares between the first farm management plan and the at least one additional farm management plan based on gross income, downside risk, opportunity cost risk and resource use.

18. The method according to claim 16 wherein said desired farm management plan is determined from profit maximization, risk minimization, resource minimization, and environmental stewardship.

20. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein said custom farm management plan for production agriculture comprises crop selection and allocation of farm resources for seasonal or multi-seasonal cropping strategies.

21. The farm management system according to claim 20 wherein said farm resources comprise capital, land, labor, machinery, crop storage, irrigation system capacity and water rights, and nutrient loading.

22. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein said configured to request input information comprises transmitting an instruction signal to said first computer via said global electronic communications network.

23. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein said input information pertaining to said farm is at least one farm management preference selected from the group of agronomic, operational and physical farm information.

24. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein third party industry information is selected from the group of seed prices, fertilizer prices, production contracts, agriculture insurance rates, agriculture marketing information, agriculture accounting information, and lender'"'"'s interest rates.

25. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein said third party industry professional is selected from the group of input supply retailers, seed manufacturers, crop protection manufacturers, seed manufacturers'"'"' representatives, crop protection manufacturers'"'"' representatives, independent crop consultants, crop insurance agents, agricultural lenders, marketing advisors, agricultural certified public accountants, agricultural equipment manufacturers, and agricultural equipment manufacturers'"'"' dealers.

26. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein configured to analyze said input information pertaining to said farm is a mathematical optimization algorithm selected from the group of linear, integer, mixed integer programming, and parametric programming.

27. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein said global electronic communication network is selected from the group consisting of the Internet, an Intranet, an extranet, a Local Area Network, a telephone network, a cellular network, a satellite network, a personal communication system, a television network, a wireless data network, a wireless Local Area Network, a wireless local loop/distribution system, a Voice Over Internet Protocol network, and a wide area network.

28. The farm management system according to claim 19 further comprising a computer program configured to allow access to said input information by said third party industry professional.

29. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein said display of said custom farm management plan is in tabular form.

30. The farm management system according to claim 19 wherein said display of said custom farm management plan is in graphical form.

31. The farm management system according to claim 19 further comprising a computer program configured to perform an iterative process to determine at least one additional farm management plan.

32. The farm management system according to claim 31 wherein said iterative process comprises the modification of at least one controllable variable, said at least one controllable variable selected from the group of crop programs, crop rotation patterns, different amounts of production contracts, different types of production contracts, and crop insurance.

33. The farm management system according to claim 31 wherein said iterative process comprises the modification of at least one uncontrollable variable, said at least one uncontrollable variable selected from the group of crop prices, yields and production costs.

34. The farm management system according to claim 31 wherein said user selects a desired farm management plan that meets desired goals from the farm management plan and the at least one additional farm management plan.

35. The farm management system according to claim 34 wherein said user compares between the farm management plan and the at least one additional farm management plan based on gross income, downside risk, opportunity cost risk and resource use.

36. The farm management system according to claim 34 wherein said desired farm management plan is determined from profit maximization, risk minimization, resource minimization, and environmental stewardship.

38. The computer program according to claim 37 wherein said custom farm management plan for production agriculture comprises crop selection and allocation of farm resources for seasonal or multi-seasonal cropping strategies.

39. The computer program according to claim 38 wherein said farm resources comprise capital, land, labor, machinery, crop storage, irrigation system capacity and water rights, and nutrient loading.

40. The computer program according to claim 37 wherein said module for requesting input information comprises the step of transmitting an instruction signal to said user via said global electronic communications network.

41. The computer program according to claim 37 wherein said input information pertaining to said farm is at least one farm management preference selected from the group of agronomic, operational and physical farm information.

42. The computer program according to claim 37 wherein said third party industry information is selected from the group of seed prices, fertilizer prices, production contracts, agriculture insurance rates, agriculture marketing information, agriculture consultant'"'"'s information, agriculture accounting information, and lender'"'"'s interest rates.

43. The computer program according to claim 37 wherein said third party is selected from the group of input supply retailers, seed manufacturers, crop protection manufacturers, seed manufacturers'"'"' representatives, crop protection manufacturers'"'"' representatives, independent crop consultants, crop insurance agents, agricultural lenders, marketing advisors, agricultural certified public accountants, agricultural equipment manufacturers, and agricultural equipment manufacturers'"'"' dealers.

44. The computer program according to claim 37 wherein said module for analyzing said input information pertaining to said farm is a mathematical optimization algorithm selected from the group of linear, integer, mixed integer programming, and parametric programming.

45. The computer program according to claim 37 wherein said global electronic communication network is selected from the group consisting of the Internet, an Intranet, an extranet, a Local Area Network, a telephone network, a cellular network, a satellite network, a personal communication system, a television network, a wireless data network, a wireless Local Area Network, a wireless local loop/distribution system, a Voice Over Internet Protocol network, and a wide area network.

46. The computer program according to claim 37 further comprising a module for allowing access to said input information by said third party.

47. The computer program according to claim 37 further comprising a module for performing an iterative process to determine at least one additional farm management plan.

48. The computer program according to claim 47 wherein said module for performing an iterative process comprises modifying at least one controllable variable, said at least one controllable variable selected from the group of crop programs, crop rotation patterns, different amounts of production contracts, different types of production contracts, and crop insurance.

49. The computer program according to claim 47 wherein said module for performing an iterative process comprises modifying at least one uncontrollable variable, said at least one uncontrollable variable selected from the group of crop prices, yields and production costs.

50. The computer program according to claim 47 wherein said farmer selects a desired farm management plan that meets desired goals from the farm management plan and the at least one additional farm management plan.

51. The computer program according to claim 50 wherein said farmer compares between the farm management plan and the at least one additional farm management plan based on gross income, downside risk, opportunity cost risk and resource use.

52. The computer program according to claim 50 wherein said desired farm management plan is determined from profit maximization, risk minimization, resource minimization, and environmental stewardship.

19. A farm management system for developing a custom farm management plan for production agriculture for a farm, comprising:

a. a first computer, said first computer comprising a first microprocessor, a first memory storage, and a first display;

b. a second computer, said second computer comprising a second microprocessor, a second memory storage, and a second display, said second computer located remotely from said first computer;

c. a host computer, said host computer comprising a host microprocessor and a host memory storage;

d. an electronic global communications network, said network electronically coupling the host computer and said first computer and said second computer, such that said first computer and said second computer can communicate with said host computer;

e. a host computer program, said computer program being resident in said host memory storage, said computer program configured to request and receive input information pertaining to a farm from said first computer, said input information comprising agricultural information relating to said farm;

f. said computer program configured to receive third party industry information from a third party industry professional using said second computer, said third party industry information comprising agricultural information relating to said third party industry professional;

g. said computer program configured to analyze said input information pertaining to said farm, and analyze said third party industry information from said third party industry professional using said second computer;

h. said computer program configured to generate a custom farm management plan for a user based on said input information pertaining to said farm and said third party industry information;

i. said computer program configured to transmit over the electronic global communications network said custom farm management plan to said user to be displayed on said first computer.

37. A computer program for generating a custom farm management plan for production agriculture for a farmer pertaining to a farm, comprising:

a. a module for requesting and receiving input information from said farmer, said input information comprising agricultural information relating to said farm;

b. a module for receiving third party industry information from a third party, said third party industry information comprising agricultural information relating to said third party;

c. a module for analyzing said input information from said farmer, and analyzing said third party industry information from said third party;

d. a module for generating a custom farm management plan for said farmer based on said input information pertaining to said farm and said third party industry information;

e. a module for transmitting over an electronic global communications network said custom farm management plan to said farmer.