Farm, Field, and Farm Manager
A FIELD is an organizational entity that represents a certain area that is managed by a FARM and its resources.
A field is linked to an AREA that defines the current field boundaries.
Fields can be grouped in FIELD GROUPS. Frequently, this is also done to represent hierarchies (field section, field, and so on).
A farm can be linked to a business partner which represents the legal entity owning the farm. A field can also be assigned an owner.
A farm is also assigned to a FARM MANAGER that is operationally in charge of the field. A GROWER can also be a farm manager.
Areas
An AREA is a generic entity to identify an area or terrain based on organizational, environmental attributes, or operational needs. Areas can be hierarchical.
Areas can be specified with a geo-shape (required for a lot of use cases), or abstractly by giving an absolute area (for example, 5 hectares) or relative area (percentage of another area).
The attributes of an area are defined by a set of area attributes and an area type.
The following are examples for different area types:
- Field boundaries
- Soil Zones
- Cadastre boundaries
- Management Zones
- Temporarily Blocked Areas
- Headland
- Water protection areas
- Other areas of interest
Crop and Variety
CROP is an entity to identify different crops cultivated by farmers. For crops, specific VARIETIES are planted. The characteristics of these varieties influence decisions in the farming process.
Varieties can have a set of VARIETY CHARACTERISTICS that describe the specific attributes of a variety - for example, if it is frost resistant, genetically enhanced, and so on. Crops can also have general characteristics that are, for example, used in longer term planning.
For varieties, a set of GROWTH STAGES can be assigned.
Crop Zone
A CROP ZONE is an entity that represents a specific CROP that is grown in a specific AREA during a specific SEASON. A crop zone is a tool to model different cropping scenarios.
Crop zones are assigned to a specific FIELD and can include CROP PATTERNS (for example, rows) and individual crops.
For perennial crops, a crop zone is created for the Perennial, each season and is linked to the PERENNIAL entity that will contain planting specific attributes.
Crop Zones can be grouped in CROP ZONE GROUPS.
Crop Patterns and Individual Crops
A CROP PATTERN describes how crops are spatially grouped in a certain way - for example, in rows.
Crop patterns are defined by CROP PATTERN ELEMENTS that are individually identifiable - for example, by row numbers.
Each crop pattern element, if it is required for operational purposes, should be part of a CROP ZONE. In this case, crop patterns should include plants of either one specific crop or one specific variety matching the crop or variety definition of the crop zone.
An INDIVIDUAL CROP can be part of multiple crop pattern elements at the same time - for example, rows and cross rows (as part of a square or hedgerow pattern). Still the assignment of individual crops to crop pattern elements is optional, as individual crop should also directly connect with the crop zone.
Task, Resource, and Work Order
A farming TASK represents one pass over the field. This is the level for scheduling, resources, and assignments.
A task can have one or multiple TASK OPERATIONS that describe the actual operations that a resource conducts during that pass over the field.
A WORK ORDER represents a catalogue of tasks that belong to a specific order and are usually executed sequentially. Technically a work order can be used as a bracket for tasks that are part of a farming procedure and recommendations.
A RESOURCE represents either a specific machinery or a specific worker required to perform a TASK. A resource can also be assigned to a specific field as a default resource. This approach assumes that whenever a task is created for a field, default resources will be allocated to it.
Resources can have a capacity, and this must be considered during task scheduling.
Farming Procedure
A FARMING PROCEDURE represents an abstract sequence of steps that are normally executed during a season when a certain crop or variety is farmed. The farming procedure is used in planning.
A farming procedure can be assigned to a specific production type - for example, to indicate the procedure is for organic farming. The procedure can also be assigned to a certain crop purpose.
An item of the farming procedure represents a specific task that has to be performed with a certain task type, which requires specific resources, specific inputs and sometimes gives a certain produce.