CropMate™ a web based decision support tool helping farmers make agronomic decisions using historic and forecast weather and climate data

Abstract

The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) launched an interactive website called CropMate™ in February 2011 in conjunction with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). The website provides grain producers, advisors and agronomists in eastern Australia an online 'one-stop-shop' access to soil and crop management decision support tools linked to Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) weather and climate information and 100 years of rainfall data of the Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence. It is designed to provide timely and accurate climate and agronomic information to assist users make informed planning and management decisions about grain cropping during the crop management cycle. This paper provides an overview of CropMate™. The program is divided into 5 sections, which are aligned to different parts of the cropping cycle. The pre-season planning pages analyse historic climate data and seasonal forecasts and provide the latest information on the influences on climate such as ocean temperatures. Decision support tools such as 'CropChooser' and 'VarietyChooser' are also located in the pre-season planning pages. The sowing pages contain recent rainfall and temperature analyses, synoptic charts as well as a decision tool to help decide which variety of a particular crop to plant. Spraying pages interpret current and historic data into spraying advice. Tracking the season pages uses climate and agronomic data to support nitrogen topdressing decisions and difficult low rainfall questions such as salvaging crops for hay, silage or grain. The harvest page can collate the nutrient use of the crop just harvested.