Farmable has launched an affordable, user-friendly tool for Swiss growers and it’s already connected to the national field database.
Oslo, April 30, 2024 – The Federal Office of Agriculture (FOAG) in Switzerland is currently working on implementing the 2021 parliamentary initiative “Reducing the risk of pesticide use“, which supports the monitoring and ultimately the reduction of plant protection product use. These changing regulations present numerous challenges to Swiss farms and one of these is the increased level of reporting being put on the shoulders of farm managers. One team is focused specifically on solving this problem for European farmers.
Farmable is a farm management system designed by Norway’s largest fruit farm, which has proven itself to be easily adopted by fruit and vegetable farmers over the past three years. Today, more than 12,000 farms across Europe have started using the digital platform, which allows producers to easily manage their operations and, most notably, simplify compliance reporting.
In January 2024, Farmable launched a new version of their mobile app in French and Italian to better support Swiss farmers. The app is available in 8 other languages including English, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Romanian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian and Dutch.
Having the Farmable app in the local languages is just the first of several commitments the team is making towards serving Swiss farmers. Farmable is actively working on an integration with “Meine Agrardatenfreigabe” in Agate to make the account set-up seamless for all farmers in Switzerland and it is already possible for Swiss farms to select Farmable as a trusted partner for data sharing. Once farms have downloaded the Farmable app, they can immediately upload their fields from the national database. By the end of May, the app will also offer free access to the approved list of plant protection products for Swiss farms. Using the approved product list in combination with Farmable will make it easy for farms to maintain a compliant log of farm activities.
The FOAG, has also been busy preparing for changing EU legislation and has initiated a digital reporting system, DigiFLUX, for farms to submit their use of plant protection measures. State level digital reporting is expected to be a requirement for plant protection product sales starting in 2026.
In 2027, it is expected that farms will be required to digitally report where and when these products are used, which is echoed by EU legislation. In preparation for these changes, Farmable is prioritizing a DigiFLUX integration and will connect with the federal tool at the earliest possibility. For Swiss farmers, Farmable is guaranteeing to provide a simple, affordable and user-friendly tool for farms to comply with future reporting regulations.
In the meantime, farm managers and advisors can start preparing for the coming changes with the Farmable platform. Fruchthof Diethelm, near Siebnen, is one Swiss farm who is already successfully managing their spray and fertilization tasks with Farmable. Kilian Diethelm, who owns and manages the farm with his wife, Sandra, has been using the platform since 2021 to simplify their compliance processes for local standards and the Suisse Garantie. He shares his first impression,
“I felt a huge relief. I could calculate and document the spraying work straight away."
Farmable Pro allows farms to GPS track and record all farming work and includes mobile smart alerts to notify users of product limitations such as withholding periods and maximum application levels. Compliant reports for crop treatments are then easily viewed or downloaded either from a mobile or a desktop device.
The team at Farmable understands these days there are many farm management systems targeting farms. So why should Swiss farms give Farmable a try?
"The big win is the simplicity of the app,” shares Diethelm.
Farmable will be developing its platform to integrate with the national DigiFLUX tool in 2024. In the meantime, growers can get started with Farmable Pro for 99 EUR per farm, per year, always with unlimited users and hectares. The DigiFLUX connection, when available, will be priced at 249 EUR per year, per farm and cover all compliance requirements for crop applications in Switzerland. Fair and transparent pricing is a top priority for Farmable, who also offers a 14-day free trial on all their products.
Farmable has already proven this approach works in Spain where farm managers are preparing to submit monthly crop treatment reports starting in 2024. To support its Spanish users, Farmable built a custom integration with the government reporting tool, SIEX, to streamline compliance for growers.
“Our #1 goal is to minimize the burden on the farm to stay compliant while offering a user-friendly and affordable solution,” Lars Blikom, CEO and Founder of Farmable.
About Farmable
Farmable is a leading provider of farm management software that empowers farmers to efficiently manage their agricultural operations while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. With a strong focus on innovation and technology, Farmable is committed to helping farmers thrive in an ever-changing agricultural landscape.
