TracLink popularity exceeds expectations by 400%

Media Release

22 May 2013

TracLink popularity exceeds expectations by 400% as 7,000 Farmers flock to the cloud

If anyone wanted evidence of the increasing sophistication of farm management practices and the convergence of new technology in the sector they need only look at the astounding growth of TracMap – New Zealand’s largest agricultural GPS business.

TracMap supplies GPS guidance systems to most of the country's fertiliser spreading trucks, as well as large numbers of agricultural contractors and farmers. In mid 2012 they launched TracLink, a cloud based job tasking and mapping system for farmers and agricultural contractors to store and map their spray and fertiliser applications. Now nine months on TracLink has exceeded forecasts by over 400%, with over 7,000 users now registered.

"We have been astounded at the take-up" said TracMap Managing Director Colin Brown. "We have always provided a simple to use mapping system and it was in response to our customer’s feedback and evolving technology that we developed TracLink, but the farmer and contractor response has still well exceeded our expectations" says Brown.

An indication of the system’s popularity is the doubling of map numbers through the TracMap system in the last year. 42,000 maps went through TracMap’s incumbent system in 2011, but with the launch of TracLink, that number grew to just over 80,000 in 2012, and continues to grow each month. "We have already had to double our server capacity " said Brown.

The launch of TracLink is hot on the heels of the Government’s announcement earlier this year of a $65 million dollar fund to increase sheep and beef farmer profitability and sustainability. “A key emphasis of the programme is to promote best management practices and address gaps in technology use” says Grant Gibson, TracMap General Manager, “This is perfect timing for TracMap, our business has been built on improving farm productivity and profitability through technology, we provide a system our farmers can understand without needing a computer science degree!”.

Brown also attributes the popularity of TracLink to its simplicity, and that it meets the needs of an increasingly sophisticated and margin squeezed farming industry. "More and more, farmers need to manage and report data about their farm’s performance" said Brown. "Profitable farming needs smart decisions based on past results, but farmers and their contractors can easily get overwhelmed by information. TracLink solves that problem".

The TracLink system allows farmers and contractors to store all their treatment history, and then use those maps to get people and vehicles to treat the correct areas of the farm. "We keep an eye on what is out there internationally", said Brown, "And there is no other system in the world that makes it this simple for people."

Take for example the case of Dave Hislop from the 500 hectare Medbury Dairy Farm in North Canterbury. Hislop was one of the first users of TracLink, “I used to use the old Tracmap software, when it was just reporting, this new system is a marked improvement – I’m using it a lot more”, he says. “I find it really good for sending maps to the fert spreader, it makes things much easier. But by far the biggest advantage is proof of placement – I know what I’ve put on, when and exactly where. It saves on paper work, chasing maps and any room for human error – it can be easy to forget what went on a paddock last time round”, explains Dave.

“Our contractor’s driver likes it, it’s actually picked up mistakes in the past and makes their job much easier – they now don’t like doing jobs without it!”

Dave also suspects that in the future proof of placement is likely to become a requirement of all farms, not just good management practice, “We’re not required to report on proof of placement yet, but it will most likely come, and when it does we are more than prepared.”

The TracLink system has proven so popular it is now being picked up and trialed in other sectors, including grape harvesters in NZ, crop-dusting planes in the USA, and water tankers fighting wildfires in Victoria, Australia.

About TracMap
TracMap supplies GPS based guidance systems to a range of industries, and is the largest agricultural GPS business in NZ. It specialises in systems for people operating vehicles in demanding environments. Outside of NZ TracMap exports to nine countries, its principal markets are USA and Australia, where it is one of the leading suppliers of guidance systems for agricultural aircraft.
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