LAMMA 2022: Frontier to introduce new app and support for sustainable farming practices

26th April 2022

Frontier Agriculture will return to LAMMA’s 40^th anniversary show with the launch of the new MySOYL mobile app, as well as expert talks on funding opportunities and advice linked to sustainable farming.

Visitors to the event on 4^th and 5^th May will be able to see live demonstrations of the new app, developed by Frontier’s digital team and its precision farming division, SOYL. In it, farmers can see field and crop data on-the-go as well as use a range of scouting tools to log farm features, crop performance metrics and agri-environment projects.

Its development comes as a direct result of Frontier’s commitment to investing in more digital solutions for farmers, particularly as a means of supporting sustainable crop production practices and evidencing activity for compliance purposes. Any observations captured seamlessly sync with the MySOYL desktop application in Frontier’s MyFarm platform, which will also be on display via interactive screens.

“The purpose of the app is to put everything at a farmer’s fingertips while they are in the field, so they can include real-time observations alongside the data they are already capturing,” explains Frontier’s head of customer digital solutions, Tom Parker. “We’re thrilled to be able to bring it to LAMMA so visitors can test the features for themselves, as well as understand how it interacts with MyFarm so all the information is in one place.”

Frontier’s sustainability and digital experts will be joined on stand by advisors from SOYL, as well as specialists from its environmental division, Kings Crops. Together they will collectively share Frontier’s seven-step sustainable crop production model with visitors, within which digital tools have a key role.

“Technology has an increasingly important part to play on farm,” says Tom. “There’s greater pressure to optimise farming practices to be more resilient – this is coming from policy makers but also supply chains and consumers. It’s not just a case of adopting new approaches, growers are expected to provide more evidence they are doing them and seeing results too.”

This sentiment is also shared by Frontier’s sustainability lead, Jim Stotzka, who agrees that digital tools as part of a sustainable farming system can offer huge benefits.

“We know many farmers will be feeling overwhelmed at the industry changes coming through and it’s understandable,” explains Jim. “While some have already started their journey to more sustainable farming, others aren’t sure where to begin.

"It's vital we link growers to the good opportunities that lie ahead and having reliable digital services to hand can make all the difference. We want to support them so they can make the most of the data they capture, whether that be measuring successes, making comparisons or simply recording and benchmarking the work they are doing." 

Expert talks: securing agri-environment funding and using technology to measure progress

As well as live demos of digital tools, visitors are also invited to attend talks on the stand from some of Frontier’s experts across the two days. The sessions will run at set times and cover:

1. Funding for sustainable farming (10.00am and 2.00pm both days)

An overview of the public and private sources available, what data and evidence is required and how digital tools like the MySOYL app can help with planning, management and evidence-gathering.

	Speakers - 4th May		Speakers - 5th May
	Kings technical advisor, Jim Egan		Kings technical advisor, Hannah Clarke
	Frontier head of customer digital solutions, Tom Parker		SOYL & sustainability knowledge exchange manager, Edward Jones

2. Measuring the success of a sustainable farming system (11.am and 3.00pm both days)

A look at practical methods for capturing and recording the impact of sustainable crop production approaches, including how to measure and compare farm data in MySOYL and MyFarm.

	Speakers - 4th May		Speakers - 5th May
	Frontier lead on sustainability, Jim Stotzka		Frontier sustainable crop production support officer, Caroline Lewis
	Frontier head of customer digital solutions, Tom Parker		SOYL & sustainability knowledge exchange manager, Edward Jones

LAMMA 2022 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham on 4^th-5^th May. Visitors can find the teams from Frontier Agriculture, Kings Crops and SOYL on stand 11.346 in Hall 11.

Visitors to the stand can also earn CPD points if participating in the BASIS Knowledge Trail.

Registration to attend the event is free and can be done at www.lammashow.com.