I'm thinking of building an IOS or Android app for commercial farmers. I'm hitting a wall with all my ideas, just wanted to crowd source with some of you Ag students. Any thoughts?

3/4/2012 11:25:40 PM

Farmers have smartphones?

3/4/2012 11:36:50 PM

Tough market; the large commercial farms have technology like this already (not sure what all they have); local farmers don't give a shit for your technology.

3/5/2012 11:57:21 AM

If you're conceding exclusive rights . . .

3/6/2012 9:11:48 AM

Contact Thomas Keever at the National Plant Disease Forecast Center. http://cdm.ipmpipe.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=71

If you're doing all the work, they would probably like an app to help disseminate plant disease forecasts.

3/6/2012 4:30:12 PM

This will not end well.

3/6/2012 4:44:31 PM

they already got FarmVille, yo, what else do you want?


also I hope you didn't pay 5 bux to post this question

[Edited on March 6, 2012 at 6:15 PM. Reason : ]

3/6/2012 6:15:24 PM

you might get a better audience from some people who have small communal farms or grow some organic crops on the side...they probably already have smartphones and would love it...even if its something as simple as giving C : N : P ratios for certain plants

3/6/2012 7:04:00 PM

You mean like:

Garden Tracker
Gardening toolkit
Pocket Garden
Garden Pro
Garden guide
Lorax Garden

3/6/2012 9:33:32 PM

I'm interested to see where this goes. What would this app do?

4/6/2013 9:06:46 AM

There are metric fucktons of apps out there for commercial farmers.

EVERY GODDAMN MAJOR AG COMPANY OUT THERE HAS DEVELOPED AN APP(S) AND THINK THEY'RE THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD. ASK ME HOW I KNOW.

4/6/2013 11:43:35 PM

yeah, there are already a ton of apps within the agriculture industry.

you need to be specific to which type of farm you want to develop an app for.

4/8/2013 11:13:55 AM

By now, there is an app for every idea.

Your focus should be targeting the leading apps features, and doing what they do, better than them.

4/8/2013 11:34:58 AM

i've got a great idea for an app, but i don't know (well, remember) how to program java

and, while we're at it, i've always wondered how to go about getting an app developed...i mean, let's say that a person really DOES have a good idea for an app, but doesn't know how to write it...do you make a developer sign an NDA or something before pitching the idea for them to build it? do you get a company to back you, first?

[Edited on April 9, 2013 at 8:58 AM. Reason : .]

4/9/2013 8:56:54 AM

^ http://www.elance.com/ http://www.freelancer.com/

Create a RFQ, post a job, get bids, hire a contract developer.

4/9/2013 3:50:09 PM

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5532156

4/11/2013 11:41:23 AM

instead of an app for commercial farmers, build an app for farmers in the third world

4/11/2013 11:48:33 AM

^ I don't imagine there's a huge amount of third world farmers with app running smart phones.

4/11/2013 12:44:38 PM

^ Write the app and bundle it with a cheap Android device or an OLPC laptop

4/11/2013 1:01:39 PM

you'd really be surprised at how many cellphones are in the 3rd world. they are usually older dumb or feature phones, but i see no reason that can't become older Android phones very quickly.

make something that helps manage nutrients/fertilizing, irrigation, drainage, etc...

even 3rd world countries have agricultural schools, there are people who can take advantage of and help proliferate tools like this.

[Edited on April 11, 2013 at 1:17 PM. Reason : .]

4/11/2013 1:12:17 PM