Field notes get lost between notebook and office
Observations are recorded in the field in a structured form: field, crop, growth stage, issue, photo. Nothing is retyped in the evening: records are already in the shared database or queued for sync.
Fields, machinery and production
An offline mobile app for agronomists in the field
askcust develops a mobile app for agronomists on iOS and Android: fields with crop history, observations with geotagged photos, tasks and records of completed work are available without a network and sync with the office. For agronomists who spend the day in the field, not at a computer.
- platforms
- iOS and Android, native (Swift, Kotlin)
- offline
- fields, history, tasks and inspection cards without a network
- photos
- geotag, GPS accuracy and capture time
- reply
- within one business day
What a mobile app for agronomists is
A mobile app for agronomists is a native smartphone or tablet app the agronomist uses in the field: to see their fields with crops and history, record observations, photos and growth stages, receive tasks and confirm completed work, even without coverage. Unlike web agronomy software, it is not where the season is planned or technology maps are built; it is the tool for capturing data where it appears.
Who needs an agronomist app
- ·Farm agronomists who visit dozens of fields a day and note what they see in a notebook or voice messages.
- ·Agronomy teams whose chief agronomist wants each unit's observations on the day of inspection, not at Monday's meeting.
- ·Farms that already have web agronomy software or field records and need a mobile client for them.
- ·Distributors' field advisers who inspect clients' fields and must report with photos and coordinates.
Which tasks an agronomist's mobile app solves
Photos without coordinates are useless a week later
Every photo is stored with a geotag, location accuracy and capture time and is linked to a field by its boundary. A week or a year later you can see exactly where it was taken and return to the same spot.
Field tasks travel by phone calls and messages
The chief agronomist sets a task in the web software, such as checking emergence or accepting a treatment; it arrives on the phone with the field on the map, a deadline and a push notification, and the status comes back.
Nobody uses the office software in the field
A web page on a phone is awkward and needs a network. The app shows only what the field requires, with large buttons and minimal typing, on the same database as the office software.
Nobody knows which fields were inspected this week
Every observation has a time and a point on the map, so the chief agronomist sees where agronomists have been this week and which fields got no attention, without daily reports by phone.
What the agronomist app does
The set of screens follows the agronomy team's scenarios; below is the typical core of the app.
Fields and crop history offline
Field boundaries, crop and variety, previous crops, recent treatments and observations are downloaded to the phone before leaving and are available without a network, together with the map and your own location.
Observations by template
An inspection card with the BBCH growth stage, crop condition, and pests, diseases and weeds from the farm's reference list; the agronomy team, not the developer, defines the card's fields.
Photos with geotag and GPS accuracy
Each photo gets coordinates, location error and time; it is compressed before sending, and the original can be uploaded later over Wi-Fi to save mobile data.
Tasks and work acceptance
Tasks from the chief agronomist with a deadline and the field on the map; an acceptance note for a treatment or sowing with actual area, comment and photo goes into the field operations records.
Sync and conflicts
Changes are queued and sent in the background as soon as there is a network. New observations are only ever added, so they do not conflict; for records two people could change, agreed rules decide who overwrites what.
Native on iOS and Android
Swift and SwiftUI for iPhone and iPad, Kotlin and Jetpack Compose for Android: a local database, background sync, camera and GPS without browser limits, and stable performance on budget smartphones.
Link to the office software
The app works with the same database as the web agronomy software or the farm's records: observations, photos and work notes appear there after sync without manual transfer.
What the app works with
The app is a mobile client for your systems; maps and platform services are connected under the client's keys.
- web agronomy software
- digital field map
- field operations records
- Apple MapKit
- Google Maps SDK
- APNs and Firebase Cloud Messaging
- your system's REST API
- BAS accounting (via the backend)
An agri platform's app or your own agronomist app
| criterion | App of an off-the-shelf agri platform | Agronomist app by askcust |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection card | The platform defines observation fields; adding your own indicators and reference lists is hard. | The agronomy team defines the card's fields and its pest and stage lists, and changes them itself. |
| Offline work | The provider decides what works without a network; check it against your own scenarios. | Designed around your route: fields, history, tasks and forms are available without a network. |
| Link to records | Observations and notes stay in the platform and are moved to your records separately. | Work notes and observations flow into your records or web software automatically. |
| Data | Stored in the platform's cloud while the subscription lasts. | Stored on the farm's own server or cloud account. |
| Cost | A subscription per user, often bundled with the platform's web part. | Development and support by agreement, with no fee per agronomist. |
| When to choose | The farm already works in the platform and its inspection card fits. | Your own inspection forms, an existing records system or web software, work without coverage. |
How askcust builds an agronomist app
An agronomist's day in the field
askcust walks through a typical day with an agronomist: which fields, what gets recorded, where coverage drops, what the chief agronomist needs. The result is the scenarios and the list of inspection card fields.
Prototype on a phone
The agronomist tests a clickable prototype of the key screens in the field, in bright sun and with one hand; unnecessary fields and steps are removed before development starts.
First version on one farm unit
Native apps, the backend and sync; test builds go to the agronomists of one farm unit or cluster, who use them on real fields during the season.
Link to the office
Connection to the web agronomy software, the field map and field operations records: observations and work notes reach the office without manual transfer.
Release and support
Distribution through the App Store and Google Play or privately to employees, updates for new system versions and inspection card changes before each season.
examples of askcust's work →not agriculture, but the same kind of task: records, CRM, automation
questions and answers
Does the agronomist app work without coverage?
Yes, that is its main requirement. Fields, crop history, tasks and reference lists are downloaded to the phone in advance, observations and photos are stored locally, and sync runs in the background as soon as there is a network. GPS determines the location without mobile coverage, so photo geotags are correct even in fields with no signal.
Will the app be available on both iOS and Android?
Yes, askcust builds both platforms natively: Swift and SwiftUI for iPhone and iPad, Kotlin and Jetpack Compose for Android. If the farm's agronomists use one platform, for example company Android phones, it can be released first and the second one added later without reworking the backend.
Can the app connect to our existing system?
Yes, through the app's backend: it exchanges data with your web agronomy software, field records or ERP through their API, or through the database or exchange files if there is no API. The phone receives only the fields, tasks and reference lists the agronomist needs and sends back observations, photos and work notes.
How are sync conflicts resolved?
Most of an agronomist's records, new observations and photos, are only ever added, so they create no conflicts. For data several people can change, such as a task status, the rules are agreed in advance, office priority or latest change, and disputed cases are shown to the chief agronomist instead of being silently overwritten.
Where are the observations and photos from the app stored?
On the farm's server or cloud account, where the backend sends them; the phone keeps only a working copy for offline use. Photos take up the most space, so retention periods are set for originals and compressed copies to keep the archive of past seasons from growing without limits.
How much does an agronomist app cost?
The cost depends on the number of scenarios and inspection card fields, the depth of offline mode, integrations with office systems and whether both platforms are needed at once. After reviewing the agronomist's day and the prototype, askcust estimates the first version with a fixed scope; inspection card changes between seasons are covered by a support agreement.
Describe an agronomist's day; askcust will propose the screens
A reply within one business day; a call only if we agree on one.