Problem

As Advance Agriculture worked with more growers across their service area, keeping recommendations, field observations, and spray plans organized became increasingly difficult. Agronomists needed a practical way to create recommendations in the field, communicate clearly with growers, and maintain accurate records without doubling up on admin. Paper notes and disconnected systems created inefficiencies, especially when trying to track what had actually happened in a field over time.

Solution

Advance Agriculture adopted Agworld as its central agronomy platform, using it for recommendations, observations, planning, and communication with growers. Because Agworld is accessible on both desktop and mobile, agronomists can create recommendations directly from the field and immediately share them with clients.

Result

Agworld has helped Advance Agriculture improve efficiency, consistency, and communication across its business. Recommendations and observations are completed in real time, reducing the need for duplicate admin work later in the day. Because all information is stored in one system, both agronomists and growers can quickly see what has happened in a field and what still needs to be done.

Using Agworld where the work happens

Advance Agriculture is an independent agronomy business covering Otago and Southland, supporting growers across a wide range of cropping systems. For Technical Field Representative Nick Bunting and Technical Field Lead Chris Wilson, the priority is keeping recommendations practical, efficient, and easy for growers to action in the field.

As farming systems become more data-driven, the challenge is no longer just giving good advice, it’s making sure that advice is recorded properly, communicated clearly, and accessible later when decisions need to be reviewed. That need for structure became more important as growers started dealing with increasing compliance requirements and more complex crop rotations. According to Chris, the value of recording information properly increases every season: “The data they’re gathering over the years is going to be invaluable to them going forward.”

This formed one of the main reasons for the team at Advance Agriculture to start using Agworld. According to Nick, one of the biggest advantages for the team is being able to use Agworld directly in the field instead of waiting until they return to the office: “We use the Agworld app itself a lot more than we use Agworld on the web,” Nick explains. “Everyday use is mostly in the field and on the app.”

That mobility has changed how recommendations and observations are recorded. Instead of writing notes during the day and entering them later, the information is captured immediately while standing in the field. “If you’ve got Agworld in your pocket, you’re making recommendations or observations literally on the run,” Chris says.

That shift has reduced duplication and improved consistency across the business. Rather than relying on memory at the end of the day, the work is already completed while the agronomist is in the field. “I’ve just learned that I have to take an extra minute, and if I do it all properly when I’m right there in the field, it’s done,” Chris explains. “Then you don’t have to think about writing recommendations later on in the night and can spend more time winding down instead of working.”

Creating clearer communication with growers

For Advance Agriculture, Agworld is not just an internal tool, it also strengthens communication with grower clients. Recommendations, work plans, and field histories can all be shared digitally, giving growers a clearer understanding of what is happening across their operation. Nick says growers respond particularly well when they can visually see their farm plans during meetings.

“Farmers do love seeing if it’s on an iPad and you’re sitting around the kitchen table or dining table in your spring planning meetings,” he explains. “They love seeing a digital version of their farm map on Agworld where we can zoom in and put what crops are going into which field.”

Because Agworld allows fields to be adjusted and managed visually, recommendations can also be tailored more accurately to real field conditions. “Let’s say it’s a 37 acre field but it’s got a big gully down the middle,” Chris says. “You can just change that field to thirteen acres or whatever the workable area is.” That flexibility helps ensure recommendations reflect the reality of the field rather than just what appears on paper maps.

While recommendations and spray plans are important day-to-day, both Nick and Chris see long-term data collection as one of the biggest benefits of Agworld for growers. Chris explains that agronomists may only handle one part of a farming operation, but growers can use Agworld to build a much broader operational picture over time. “I’m doing the chemical and seed recommendations,” Chris says, “but growers can input all their own fertilizer applications into Agworld as well. And once I’ve created a recommendation, they can then turn it into an application record in Agworld to show exactly what happened in the field and when.“

That creates a complete historical record of what has happened in each field, which becomes increasingly valuable over time. “It’s all well and good to know when the task was created,” Chris explains, “but to know when that actually went on the field is helpful as well.” As compliance expectations continue to increase for New Zealand agriculture, having accurate records readily available is becoming more important every season.

Support that understands farming

Another key part of the experience for Advance Agriculture has been the support behind the platform itself. Because the Agworld support team is passionate about agriculture, Nick says it feels far more personal than dealing with a generic software helpdesk. “I’m speaking to them typically once a week,” Nick says. “There’s not often an issue that goes unresolved. It’s a speedy support system.“

The New Zealand and Australian support teams also provide practical coverage across time zones, which works well during busy periods. “I can talk to my Agworld contact in New Zealand at any time during the day and then, if I’m toying around with things at nighttime, I can still call the Perth team,“ Nick explains, “that’s the benefit of having a team that’s spread across the continent.”

For Chris, one of the biggest strengths is dealing with people who actually understand how agronomists and growers operate. “When you speak to the Agworld support team, you are talking to a real person,” Chris says. “They tend to get to know you and how you run. It’s a team that’s very receptive, which is very helpful from my perspective as a customer.”

A system designed for real-world agronomy

For Advance Agriculture, Agworld has become part of the everyday workflow rather than an extra layer of admin. Recommendations, observations, planning, and communication now happen in one connected system that both agronomists and growers can access easily. By recording information in real time and keeping everything tied to the field, the business has created a more efficient and transparent way of working. Chris: “Agworld is like my memory now, when I walk into a field I don’t have to try remember what was planted in here 3 years ago: I can just look at Agworld and it is all there”.

Most importantly, the system allows Advance Agriculture’s agronomists to spend less time chasing paperwork and more time focusing on growers and crop performance, while giving clients the records and visibility they increasingly need to run modern farming operations with confidence. Chris sums it up with: “Agworld is very much integrated into how we run our agronomy operations, and without it we wouldn’t be able to offer the level of service we’re offering now!”