Farm Works Software 2009 (Version 14)

Major New Features and Enhancements

Farm Works Software Version 2009 includes many useful new features. Both the office suite programs (Farm Trac, Farm Site, Farm Funds, and Site Pro) and Trac Mate / Site Mate programs incorporate many enhancements or new capabilities requested by users of all types. Farm Sync enables wireless data transfer capability from the field to the office, and Site Pro Dispatch includes the same wireless data transfer along with fleet vehicle tracking capability. This new generation of the software offers far more of what farmers are looking for, and is easier to use than ever before!

Equally important is that Farm Works is constantly working to add features and update the software based on feedback from users. When you purchase an update to Version 2009, you will not only be getting the features that are listed below, but additionally you will get all features that are added to the program through Summer 2009. These updates can be downloaded with the click of a mouse using the “Check for Updates” option in Farm Works.

Farm Works Software 2009
Major Update Features

The following is a list of changes that are included in Farm Works Software 2008 (Version 13), which was released November, 2007.

Enhancements to All Programs:

• Updated Manuals and Tutorials. Farm Works has updated detailed manuals and tutorials that are included with all updates. These manuals include step-by-step instructions on how to use each program. The Farm Works Tutorials give users the opportunity to see how to use the software while interacting with the actual programs.

Enhancements in Farm Trac and Site Pro Version 2009:

• Enhanced Weather Records –Farm Trac and Site Pro include a “Weather” tab where you can add weather records to a field, a group of fields or all fields. This allows you to enter weather information that does not relate to field records. Weather information includes Date, High Temperature, Low Temperature, Precipitation and Humidity.
• Sort fields by crop when entering Jobs –When you enter a job/farming action, after you click on the “Apply to Fields” button, you now have the option to select fields by crop or farm. Using the “Sort by Crop” makes it easy to record farming actions/jobs that relate to a group of fields with the same crop.
• Quick Notations –When manually adding a note to a field, there is a drop-down list for “Quick Notations”. By using the add/edit option on the drop-down list, you can set up a list of commonly used notations. This makes it much quicker to add these notations to a field. The program still allows you to manually type in additional notes (as in previous versions).
• All Field Reports can be sorted by crop –When printing any field level report, there is now an option to “Filter by Crop”. This allows you to select a crop and get a report that includes all the fields that had that crop.
• Planned Jobs can now be exported in the FODM/XML format – Planned Jobs can now be exported in the FODM/XML format and then imported for use in another project. This can include a prescription map. This makes it easy to exchange planned maps between applicators and consultants with Site Pro and growers with Farm Trac and Site (or vice versa).
• Support for Crop Insurance Units –You can now right-click on an enterprise in the tree-view on the left and go to “Properties” and assign a Crop Insurance Unit. This information can be printed via the “Custom Crop Summary Report”.
• New Supply Category for Manure – There is now a supply category for Manure. This category can be selected when a new supply is set up. Alternately, you can change an existing supply by right-clicking on it and selecting “Properties”.
• New Nitrate Vulnerable Zones Report – Fertilizers can now be assigned both an Organic and Elemental value for Nitrogen. These rates are used on this new report.
• FODM/XML Export includes all supply properties – Jobs can be exported in the FODM/XML file format. These files can be used to exchange job data between different software installations. These files now include all supply properties. Which means a user can get a job with a supply and have all of it’s properties including EPA chemical properties.
• Adding Equipment to an existing job results in recalculation of fuel used – When you go to Job Properties and add a piece of equipment (that is fuelable), the program will compute the fuel usage using any burn rate information.
• Ended Enterprise Before Harvest option – You can now right-click on an enterprise and select Properties and select an option for “Ended Enterprise Before Harvest”. This option is used when a field enterprise will not have a harvest.

Enhancements in Farm Site and Site Pro Version 2009:

• Labels & Text can be displayed at any angle –You can now select the “Text” tool and right-click on any label or note and select “Custom Angle”. This let’s you enter any angle and the label or text will be displayed at that angle. This is particularly useful for display labels on roads and paths that are not horizontal or vertical.
• Support for Boundary Maps with Jobs –When “Reading Job Data” for John Deere, Trimble, CNH and AutoFarm, there is an option to “Update Field Boundaries”. This will result in boundaries being imported along with other data such as coverage or yield maps. Support for other devices will be added in the future.
• Quick Identification of Newly Read Jobs – This feature makes it easy to find the job maps that have just been imported. Newly read job data (such as yield, planting and soil test maps) will now have a blue indicator in the “View” column. This indicator is designed to show that the job maps have not been displayed/viewed. You can click on the header for the “View” column (in the Job tab) to see all of these jobs at the top of the screen. Once you display a job map, the blue indicator will be turned off.
• Batch Import and Export of Background Maps – You can now right-click in the tree-view on the left and select an option to “Batch Export Background Maps”. This will allow you select any number of background maps and export them as a single file. This file can then be imported by another Farm Works user to get the same background maps. This is particularly useful for exchanging information between crop consultants with Site Pro and growers with Farm Site.
• Support for Ag Leader boundary (.iby) files –When you select “Write Job Data” and choose the Ag Leader (.msf) file format, the program will create an .iby file for the Ag Leader Insight. This file includes field boundaries from Farm Site/Site Pro so they will be displayed on the Insight.
• Support for Precision Planting Data –Farm Site/Site Pro includes reading and writing Precision Planting files.
• Support for Yara/N-Sensor data –Farm Site/Site Pro includes reading and writing Yara N-Sensor files.
• Support for Case/New Holland Voyager II files –Farm Site/Site Pro includes reading and writing Case/New Holland Voyager II files.
• Coordinates can be displayed using different coordinate systems –If you go to the “File” menu and select “Measurements” there will be an option to select the Coordinate System that will be used for displaying coordinates (in the status bar, labels, Register Location, and Info tab)
• Drawing Tools allow manual entry of coordinates – This feature is useful with a handheld GPS (such as those used for hunting and fishing). When you use a manual drawing tool (such as when creating lines, polygons or points), you can hold down the “Ctrl” and “C” keys on the keyboard. The program will then allow you to manually enter GPS coordinates. The program will create the map from these coordinates.
• Skip Confirming Farm/Field Information –This option is now available in the Read Job Data box. When the option is selected, the program will automatically set up any new fields that are in the data. The fields will be created based on the name that was recorded in the device. If there is a boundary with the job, the area for the boundary will be used for the field size (otherwise the field size will be zero). This is a big time saver when you are reading data for fields that have not been set up in Farm Works or when you are reading data for a customer.
• Import Fields without tasks –When this option is selected in the “Read Job Data” box the program will set up all fields (along with boundaries where applicable) for any field in the data being imported. If the option is not selected, the program will only import fields (and boundaries) for fields that have job data (such as yield maps).
• Expanded Buffer Tool –When you edit a field boundary or area layer there is a “Buffer Tool”. With the Buffer Tool you will select any group of lines on the map. Next you will right-click on the side of the line where you want the program to create a buffer. Then select “Buffer Polygon” and enter a distance or area. The program will draw a second line parallel to the first line. This will create a “buffer” based on the entered size. This line will be in the direction of the area/polygon where you right-clicked (new).
• Expanded support of exporting Google Earth (.kml) files –Farm Site and Site Pro can now export any boundary or background map as a .kml file that can be loaded into Google Earth.
• Fields can be setup with zero acres –If you are reading in job data (such as a yield map) for a customer where you do not know the field size, you can leave the size at zero. This speeds up the process of reading job data for new fields.
• Exporting Enterprise Boundaries –Farm Site/Site Pro allows you to have different boundaries each year that relate to where a crop was planted. If you go to the “Attributes” area of the Map tab, you can select any year (for Enterprises) and right-click and select “Export Boundaries”. This will allow you to export the boundaries for that year.
• Selection of map from legend –You can now double click on any part of the legend (in the Map tab) to select areas of the map that have the attribute (from the legend). When you are working with the boundary layer, you can click on a crop from the legend to select all fields with that crop. For a yield map, you can click on a range on the legend to select all points that fall within that range. When you switch to the “Information” tab, you can see information for the selected points or areas.
• Updated Legend for Line/Path Layers – The Edit Legend box for Line/Path Layers has an option for Range Count that will result in the total length of the lines in each category being displayed on the legend. This is very useful for Tile maps.
• Yield Reconciliation –You can now manually enter a total yield (using values from scale tickets or another source) for a yield map. You will do this by right-clicking on the Job and selecting “Properties” and entering the values (note that the Scale Ticket button can be used to enter scale tickets). When you save this information, the program will ask if you “Want to reconcile the map”. If you say yes, the yield map will be updated so that it reflects the updated yield amounts. The yield map will maintain the original yield data as well as the newly reconciled yield data as separate attributes.
• New Information Tab features for Boundary Layer – You can select a group of fields on the boundary layer and go to the Information Tab and get the Minimum, Maximum, Average and Total Acres (showing the Mapped, Legal and Tillable acres).
• Expanded Print Map Settings – When you print a map, the program will now default all settings (such as Layout, Area, Scale and Title settings) to what was previously used.
• Display Options no longer default to showing label descriptions – When adding labels to a map, the program will default to not showing the label description. Label Descriptions can be added via the Display Options box.

Enhancements in Farm Funds Version 2009:

• Expanded Budget Comparison Report – Budgets will now include comparisons to actual cash flows for Revenue, Expenses, Asset Purchases, Asset Sales, New Debt, Debt Repayment and Family Living.
• Cash Flows Statement – Farm Funds now includes a “Cash Flows Statement” that reflects all cash uses and sources (including Revenue, Expenses, Asset Purchases, Asset Sales, New Debt, Debt Repayment and Family Living).
• Updated Bill Landlord's box -This box now has an option to "Increase Supply Cost by %" using a different % for each supply.
• Updated Show Me – The Show Me option that is used in areas such as Other Expenses, Other Income and Enterprise Allocation now lists years with the most recent year first.
• Updated Vendor Listing in Account Register – The Account Register will no longer list retired vendors
• Check Memos no longer include “Purchase” – The memo that prints on a check will not include “Purchase” if the description is blank.
• Bank Reconciliation automatically defaults date – The Bank Reconciliation will now automatically default the date to a month after the previous reconciliation.

Enhancements in Site Mate Version 2009 (Coming Soon):

• Integration with Loup/RDS Yield Monitor – The Loup and RDS Yield Monitors will now work with Site Mate VRA. Simply hook a GPS receiver and a Loup/RDS Yield Monitor up to a computer with Site Mate and it will display a color yield map (on-the-go) while logging all data. This can be used in conjunction with Trac Mate to get harvest field records that are associated with a yield map.
• New Site Mate Interface – Farm Works is creating a new “fat finger” interface for Site Mate which will make it easier to navigate through the program. It will also make it possible to utilize even more screen area for a map.
• Easier Synchronization – Farm Works is streamlining the collection and synchronization of Site Mate data with Farm Site and Site Pro. If you make boundary, soil sampling or scouting maps (as well as other types of maps), Farm Site Mate will allow you to associate these maps with a Farm/Field/Crop and Job Type. When you synchronize this data with Farm Site/Site Pro, it will automatically go to the desired location.
• Support for the new EM38 MK2 – Site Mate VRA can now log data from the newer EM38 units that output the EM38 MK2 data format.

Farm Works Software 2009 is available now. Call 620.585.6761 or (toll-free) 877.585.6761 to order.

Related Information

Farm Works Software programs
Farm Works Software demos to download or view online
Update pricing for current Farm Works Software owners
Farm Works 2008 (Version 13) and X2 (Version 12) previous major upgrade features

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