Efficient agricultural production is dependent on the appropriate application of technology and on making the right choices. Farming today involves much more than planting the seed and hoping for rain. As with any industry, there are countless variables that must be considered and acted on in the pursuit of maximizing yield and turning a profit. A well-organized geographic information system (GIS) built on XMap's GPS-enabled mapping technology can help in this process.

XMap offers just the right level of mapping functionality for small farming operations as well as large scale production management and agricultural research. Used in conjunction with the Earthmate PN-40 GPS receiver, XMap combines powerful field data collection functionality with access to centrally maintained GIS datasets to create a complete picture of the factors effecting agricultural output.

XMap Applications for Agriculture

Agricultural professionals employ XMap to:

 

Maps and Data

As a base map, all versions XMap include a highly detailed topographic dataset covering the entire U.S. Shaded relief and customizable contours combined with XMap's 3-D and terrain profiling tools provide a straightforward way to visualize the lay of the land and to determine its suitably for production. For a more realistic perspective, XMap also supports the display of aerial and satellite imagery either from a variety of third party sources or using DeLorme's innovative online Map Library service. XMap even offers an image registration tool for importing and aligning scanned paper maps or images.

Building an Agri-GIS

XMap's GIS component offers the means to import and display GIS layers in a variety of formats including ESRI shapefiles, AutoCAD files, and more. The accumulation of relevant layers containing such variables as soil chemistry, growing season, and the extent of pest infestations provides the farmer with the information needed to make critical decisions in a timely fashion.

Data Collection

All versions of XMap are optimized for use with the Earthmate PN-40 handheld GPS receiver. Rugged and waterproof, this device can display any map, aerial image or data layer that originated XMap. The PN-40 is also a remarkably powerful field data collection or editing tool. Using XMap's new forms functionality, points collected remotely on the device can be attributed with all of the relevant data such as plant height, condition, forecast yield, etc, and subsequently merged or synchronized with the master GIS layer.

Advanced Data Management

As the scale of agricultural operations expands, the need for efficient data management and communication becomes paramount. The Enterprise edition of XMap was designed with such as workflow in mind. Two-way data synchronization processes ensure that all of the relevant spatial data is deployed to those field technicians that need it most while updated information on variables such as crop yields and harvest projections is efficiently transferred back to a central database for analysis and planning.

Why Would an Agricultural Business Use XMap?

Recommended XMap Products for Agriculture

Small-scale operations

Large-scale operations