The Best 7 Free and Open Source Farm Management Software

Today agriculture and farming have undergone a massive transformation. Gone are those days when farmers had to sow the seeds manually, plow the land, cultivate the crops, and harvest the produce using traditional practices. The evolution of smart farming practices has allowed farmers to adopt optimum methods to maximize yield, make the farm more sustainable, and minimize irrigation issues. Technology has been playing a significant role in the cultivation of high-quality crops and innovative agricultural practices. Interestingly, the agriculture industry is in a state of transition. 

Farming has become digitized. The machines have become technologically advanced and highly sophisticated. The implementation of farm management software enables farmers to efficiently organize and operate a farm for maximum profit and production.

A Brief Introduction to Farm Management

Farm management is a combined strategy for managing and simplifying a plethora of farm operations such as planning and budgeting, planting, growing,  fertilizing, irrigation, and harvesting to increase crop productivity and farm profitability. 

Farm management also focuses on protecting the crops and fields from bugs, weeds, and insects by spraying pesticides at the right time. In addition to these, you also have to manage livestock, inventory, and different assets. You may have to hire a farm manager or group of workers to oversee various aspects, depending on the farm size. 

Farm management combines agricultural engineering, agricultural science, and agricultural economics. 

Farm management is crucial for all farms, regardless of size. It plays variable roles for different types of farms. For example, small farm owners can use it to plan and budget, minimize risk, and update their knowledge of the latest techniques. Similarly, the large farms can increase crop production, boost profit, negotiate the best prices on fertilizers and pesticides, and more. 

Considering the present scenario, the farmers need to invest in an advanced system that can manage multiple factors like human, capital, land resources, social and political challenges, technological possibilities.

The Purpose or Scope of Farm Management

The purpose or scope of efficient farm management can be discussed as follows-

The Advantages of Efficient and Smart Farm Management

Technology has become smart, fast, and more user-friendly, and so has farming management. Today farmers are keen to implement intelligent agriculture solutions, whether it is commercial or local farming. The integration of digital transformation, such as the IoT, Big Data, Machine Learning, etc., has further simplified the tasks. The benefits of smart farm management are highlighted below.

• Reduce Operational Costs- Adopting smart and intelligent farm management techniques allow you to reduce and minimize your operational costs. You can lower the cost of the plantation, cultivation, crop management, irrigation, harvesting, and more. 
• Conserve More Water- Implementing smart irrigation tactics means that you can converse more water and identify moisture present in the soil. 
• Produce High-Quality Crops- Digital farming promotes high-quality crops free from bugs, weeds, and harmful chemicals. These crops tend to remain fresh for long periods. 
• Monitor Farming Equipment- You can even monitor your farming equipment to check whether they are correctly operating or not. The IoT-based sensors can help in this type of smart monitoring. 
• Getting Accurate Weather Information Getting accurate weather forecasts and information can help you take appropriate steps or measures from all sorts of environmental uncertainties such as excessive rain, snowfall, drought conditions, an approaching storm, etc. 
• Maximize Usage of Fertilizers The farmers can maximize the best quality fertilizers to increase their yield. For instance, the usage of organic fertilizers has enhanced in recent years. 
• Make Intelligent Decisions The smart farming techniques improve the farmers’ decision-making ability with real-time data accessibility. 

The Role of Smart Farm Management in Sustainable Agriculture 

Sustainable agriculture focuses on maximizing the farmer’s profitability. Create a healthy and viable farming environment, and promote biodiversity. Every person involved in crop plantation to the food distribution process plays a considerable role in making agriculture more sustainable. 

Smart farming makes agriculture sustainable through the usage of intelligent data. It also intends to make farming more cost-efficient and adopt innovative technologies such as using navigation satellites. It helps farmers to produce more improved decisions. They can use their resources smartly to get better economic outputs. 

Smart farm management also provides agricultural sustainability, allowing farmers to select the right crops to plant and cultivate. Today, they use highly mechanized equipment such as drones, GPS-enabled harvesting machines, and sensors to innovate farming practices. The disruptive farming trends are proving as a game-changer in accomplishing their goal. It has helped farmers deal with food scarcity issues, which has become a significant challenge due to massive population growth. 

Smart farming has helped sustainable agriculture deal with various other issues such as a sudden change in weather conditions, change in soil composition, water supply, etc. Data analysis methodologies have become advanced with the advent of smart satellite data collection. Sustainable agriculture has incredibly reduced the ecological footprint resulting in minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers. 

The Major Issues with Managing Farm

Farm managers and farmers often have to tackle a few significant challenges while managing farms and fields, which are discussed as follows-

• Deal With Climate Changes or Soil Erosion- It is one of the critical issues for both farm managers and farmers where a sudden change in weather such as excessive rainfall can spoil the crops. It can lead to soil erosion. 
• Exceeding Cost Operating Farms- The farmers also have to pay more to operate their farms properly. This includes the cost of buying seeds, irrigation and harvesting costs, and various other additional expenses.
• The decision on What and How to Grow- At times, the farmers cannot decide what to cultivate and what quantities. 
• Scarcity of Water and Other Resources- Well, this is a common issue with all those adopting traditional farming practices. They do not get adequate water for irrigation and crop cultivation. 
• Not Yielding Sufficient Quantity- One intricate issue is that the farmer cannot produce a sufficient quantity of crops and fails to meet the required demand. 

If you want to eliminate all these issues effectively without any hassles, it is time to invest in free and open source farm management software. The FMS Systems help to track crucial metrics that can prove handy to farmers. It allows you to maximize available resources and notch for better business projections. 

What is Farm Management Software?

Farm Management Software is an automotive tool that automates and streamlines the processes of managing and maintaining farms. The farm management tool also simplifies the record-keeping and accounting systems for agriculture farms and ranches. 

It further optimizes crop production and harvesting abilities and enables farmers and farmers owners to make strategic decisions based on real-time data. The Farm Management System (FMS) enables farmers to plan and forecast accurately, manage inventory efficiently, evaluate farm activities, prepare reports, and more. 

Farm management software is often associated with crop management software and farm record-keeping systems. It provides the next-generation tools that specialize in improving production efficiency, track workers’ productivity, and provide day-to-day farm insights about field operations. 

Is the Farm Management Software only for Large Commercial Farms?

Well, the answer to the question is a clear no. The farm business management software caters to large commercial farms' needs and sufficing mid-size and small farms' requirements. Indeed, the tool has become more than useful for new farmers. They can opt for a free farm management tool such as LiteFarm and Granular Insights, where they do not have to pay anything for implementing the application. Hence you can select a farm management application based on your specific needs and budget. 

The Core Features of Farm Management Software 

The free and open source farm management system is stuffed with many handy features that help farm managers and farmers carry out their farm operations seamlessly and track various activities without any hassle. The core features include-

 

Benefits of Farm Management Software

Farm management tools provide an array of advantages to all farm operators and farmers, regardless of the farm size. The key benefits are-

1. Farm management software is an innovative tool that provides a holistic view of all your farm operations and activities using a single platform. 
2. The advanced farm management tool helps to create improved strategic plans for crop plantation and cultivation. Also, you can manage your accounts in one place. 
3. The all-in-one-platform also enables you to track irrigation and harvesting activities. You can maximize water resources.
4. Farmers and managers can save a lot of bucks on labor costs. Since the tasks get automated, they need to hire fewer workers to carry out different activities. 
5. A viable and leading farm management software strictly complies with the Global Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP).  All these increase the crop yield quality and fortifies the trust factor. 
6. You can seamlessly minimize weather-related hazards and risks with accurate weather forecasting to take timely actions in an emergency. 
7. Get real-time data access to take instant and apt decisions on crop production and soil management.
8. Inventory management is streamlined with an improved storage capacity.
9. Farm management applications also ensure environmental sustainability. 
10. The soil health testing helps to select the best quality soil for growing the crops. 

Farming Revolution: The Use of the Best Free And Open Source Farm Management Software

There is no doubt that the best free and open source farm management software has brought a significant farming revolution. Any farm operator, farmer, or those involved in the agriculture business can choose the farm apps and unleash their various benefits. Thus, all tasks related to managing a farm, crop, inventory, labor, livestock, etc., have become effortless and straightforward.  The open source farm management tool allows one to customize the app based on their requirements. The free farm management software helps one to leverage the features without investing any money. 

Free and Open Source Farm Management Software 

1. farmOS
2. Tania 
3. AgroSense 
4. LiteFarm 
5. ERPNext
6. Granular Insights 
7. FarmBrite 

Comparison Table of the Best 7 Free and Open Source Farm Management Software 

farmOS (Free and Open Source)

farmOS is one of the leading web-based applications and the best free and open source farm management software that helps you plan and manage your farms efficiently. This is also a next-generation tool for simplified record-keeping and tracking field activities. An expert community of farmers has developed this software with the intent to streamline data collection and management. 

The software gets further empowered by Drupal, a free and open source content management system. The PHP-based framework enhances security, extensibility and makes it modular. In addition to that, farmOS also provides more than a handy native mobile application known as Field Kit, using which you can access offline data. It is also a progressive web application or PWA. 

 

Source: farmOS 

Features-

• Organize and manage all places in your farms effectively with farmOS. It proves useful when setting the location of the assets.
• You can easily create an Area on the Mapping Dashboard of the software.
• The software allows you to use geometry fields to perform different functions such as geolocating, zooming, address search, and drawing. 
• The logging event is an incredible feature that helps to record all types of events. 
• The Planning Ahead is a unique feature that helps you note future strategies for improving crop management and farming activities. 
•  One can view all logs in the calendar format. 
• There are different types of logs, such as activities, observations, inputs, harvests, etc.
• You can organize and manage all your assets with ease. 
• The tool allows you to assign a task to any other person. 

Tania (Free and Open Source)

Tania is a community-driven free, and open source farm management tool. It is a one-in-all digital farm journal that provides comprehensive information on smart and innovative farming techniques. You can also manage your farm seamlessly without investing a single penny. 

The software has been beneficial to farmers, agriculturists, growers, researchers, etc. The dashboard provides a summary of the area that you can use for cultivation and growing crops. Also, it informs you about the variety of produce that you can expand on that land. The dashboard even highlights specific areas that need to be managed appropriately. The widgets display the current plant that you are growing. 

The crop segment is one of the significant sections of the software that help you track and record all farming activities related to each of the crops getting cultivated. After creating a crop batch, you get a unique identification string that monitors all tasks from plantation to harvesting crops. 

Source: Tania 

Features-

• Tania’s most significant unique selling point (USP) is integrated with the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. It means that the climate sensors and irrigation controllers provide you with exact weather conditions when you are not on the field.
• The software is extensible, helping you create a customized standard operating procedure based on your farm requirements. 
• The free and open source farm management software allows you to manage and streamline your farm operations and crop cultivation with ease.
• You can register the seeds to create an inventory segment. Use this segment to record all details related to fertilizers, tools, supplies, etc.
• You can even create a water reservoir, which helps to define the water source for irrigation. You can choose the preferred tank or cistern in the case of an abundant or limited water supply. 
•  The software enables you to define your area where you will be planting and growing your crops. You can determine the exact location of the field. 
• Track every single detail about your crop from plantation to harvesting using the crop section. 

AgroSense (Free and Open Source)

AgroSense is another viable option for a free and open source farm management system. It is also the best precision agriculture solution that provides you precise information about your farm. You can do appropriate measurements to plant and cultivate the crops in the right spots and at the right time.

The software aims to improve your crop production, increase profitability with minimum investment. The software even allows you to share the work packages, time tables, and parcel information with other farmers or workers. Also, since you have enhanced your cultivation abilities, you can expect to grow high-quality produce with no risks. 

The software simplifies the mapping of the fields, which is an integral part of the farm management process. You can either import a digital file or design the area on your own with a reference map. You can create a map plan for each year through proper planning and crop assigning. 

Source: AgroSense

Features

• Streamline farm management with precise plot mapping. 
• Easily import a digital file or draw the plat yourself.
• ISOBUS is a unique tool that digitizes farming activity by analyzing day-to-day data and various other tasks. 
• The software also provides other facilities such as soil sampling. 
• You can also easily connect your location with sensor data or yield maps to know the crops’ exact conditions. 
• The free farming tool also supports farmers using Precision Agriculture Technology. 
• You can also carry out automatic registration through ISOBUS supporting devices. 
• Produce high-quality grains using Harvest Locator to increase your customer base. 

LiteFarm (Free and Open Source)

Litefarm is a leading free and open source farm management tool that has been specifically designed to simplify the task of both current and sustainable farmers. The software aims to help farmers in every possible way by providing a best-in-class tool that offers complete information on their farm’s health. 

The software can further help farmers take appropriate measurements and track the crop and management and weather forecasts in real-time. They can also observe the change in market variables and contribute to enriching the environmental ecosystem.  

You can even download and install the free farm management tool as a mobile application. You can also access different inputs and data related to crop production, quality of yield, the laborers’ skill, fertilizers, seed, etc. The application also offers several other data insights such as the quantity of soil added, organic matter, biodiversity, prices, amount of water, and nitrogen fed into the ground. 

The farmers can add their farms' address and delete the same in case of an address change. Similarly, they can add the preferred crops that you want to cultivate and make changes with ease. 

 

Source: LiteFarm 

Features

• LiteFarm simplifies the operations by getting everyone on the same page.
• You can easily access any information through a map-based interface application. 
• Align all your farm operations, payroll, and inventory with a single data.
• The software helps you determine each crop’s profitability and make a comparative study based on price, time, and location. 
• You can also access the feature Payment for Environmental Services Scheme. 
• Streamline your certification with a single click document submission. 
• Simplify the audit and verification process and invite auditors to your farm to verify accounts. 
• View the seed to sale timeline automatically for all the crops. 

ERPNext (Open Source With Free Trial) 

ERPNext is a cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning system that excels in providing a wide range of solutions such as supply chain management, production scheduling, IT asset management, and nonprofit software tools. It is also one of the best open source farm apps that streamlines agriculture business management with advanced features. You can easily record and trace your crop cycle and get location and fertilizer information in real-time. 

ERPNext also provides you with real-time analytics that plays a crucial role in farming, such as crops, soil, weather, water, etc. Besides that, you can also record invoices and orders, apart from crops and fertilizers. The software can also analyze various other critical parameters such as precipitation, minerals present in the soil, and temperature.

You can streamline all activities such as planting the seeding, tilting the land, crop row spacing, harvesting and picking all the produce, etc. Set the timeline for each of the activities and store the inventory hassle-free. The software does not offer a free version, but it provides a 14-day free trial period to all its users. 

Source: ERPNext 

Features

• Customize the crop cycle to manage different tasks such as sowing, irrigation, and harvesting.
• Record the total area of the farm and create parent locations in case of multiple areas.
• Quickly get rid of the bugs and pests that damage the crops with timely action. 
• Make an analysis of the plants in a specific location and record the collection and testing of soil.
• Record and analyze the water contents, including logging for minimum and maximum values.
• Check and verify the type and quantity of soil that you are using for growing plants.
• Check all weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, pressure, dew point, and others using a single software. 
• ERPNext is a multilingual farm management software that uses various languages with translation facilities. 
• You can create your customized form.

Granular Insights (Free But Not Open Source)

Granular Insights is a free Farm Management Software (FMS) that aims to make the farms smarter and provide more profit-driving opportunities to farmers. The next-generation farm management tool aligns the planting and harvesting data that can generate an anticipated revenue and cost. You can also find out what’s working in your field and plan your farming strategy accordingly. 

The software enables farmers to make data-driven decisions related to agriculture operations, budgeting, and agronomy. You can also find answers to a few crucial questions, such as spraying pesticides on crops, profit analysis, and others. You can also collaborate with your team with ease and send geolocated images and notes. The software even offers the scouting facility allowing you to detect crop issues and rectify the same quickly. The software provides a free basic version, but it is not an open source FMS. 

Source: Granular Insights 

Features

• Make a comparison and get estimated farm profitability without reconciling spreadsheets.
• Analyze the harvest moisture layer to decide the planting date of the crop.
• View the agronomic and financial map simultaneously. 
• The software can take satellite imagery, helping you to identify the field changes. 
• The weekly email alerts help you decide where to scout first. 
• Granular Insights is also integrated with GPS System technology to find the exact location on the farm. 
• You can even share the geolocated notes with other team members.
• The company also offers various other products such as Granular Business, Granular Agronomy, AcreValue, and AgStudio. 

FarmBrite (Free Trial But Not Open Source) 

FarmBrite is a prominent farm business management software that aims to provide agriculture sustainability fueled by the latest technology. The FMS specifically proves handy for small farmers looking to simplify and organize the record-keeping tasks. It means they don’t have to depend on the manual spreadsheets to manage farm operations. 

The cutting -edge technology also streamlines the process of soil sampling and helps to heal the field. The Farm Management System (FMS) also plays an essential role in making the data collection work hassle-free and support farmers with innovative tools to increase productivity and profitability. 

FarmBrite is not only a viable option for farm management, but it expands its domain in other areas such as cattle management, farm cooperative, farm marketing, and e-commerce solutions. It means that you can simplify your cattle and herd management, manage and report farm cooperatives, and automate marketing, sales, and inventory using an exclusive tool. 

The software provides a 14-day free trial to all its users. It is not a free FMS. The starting basic version costs $15 per month. 

Source: FarmBrite 

Features

• FarmBrite is a one-in-all-solution that simplifies farm and ranch management.
• Strategize crop plans, manage records, livestock, and tasks with ease. 
• Track and schedule critical activities, work orders, etc. using a mobile app. Automate notifications and recurring task management.
• Automate the planting and harvesting tasks, streamline crop management from projecting the yields to estimating the income.
• Improve resource utilization and reporting with easy mapping and automatic area calculations. 
• The software simplifies livestock management, allowing you to manage breeding and genealogy. 
• You can track your transactions with ease as the tool integrates the farm bookkeeping features. 
• FarmBrite allows you to market and sells your yield online by integrating with an e-commerce app. You can track orders and sales, automate inventory, and simplify various other tasks. 

The Farm Management System (FMS) is an innovative tool that optimizes your farm activities, enhances productivity, and streamlines crop planning and management. So far, the blog highlighted the seven best free and open source farm management software, all simplifying farm management. But you can also select a popular and extensively used FMS System if you want to access more exclusive features. The one name that comes to mind is FarmLogic. Let’s explore this software further. 

FarmLogic (Popular Choice) 

FarmLogic is a premier and top-notch cloud-based farm management software and farm recordkeeping system that simplifies farm recording, crop scouting, and GPS field mapping. The accurate records help you to make improved decisions and enhance the efficiency of farm operations. What’s essential is that all your data is highly secured and can be accessed easily from any device such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. 

The popular farm management tool allows you to view daily reports, define the farm boundaries, create and assign work orders, plan a budget, and more. Also, you can work in an offline mode without any internet connectivity. You can take pictures of the field and make notes accordingly. The software provides a wide array of products such as Soil TestPro, Farm Scout Pro, Farm Spray Pro, Tank Mix Calculator, and more. You can choose the 14-day trial period before making a final purchase. 

Source: FarmLogic 

Features

• The leading crop management software helps you to plan your cultivation strategy for the next year. 
• Enter all records smartly and quickly with FarmPad even when you don’t have an internet connection.
• The efficient farm record-keeping system maintains and manages up-to-date records related to crop cultivation and harvest.
• The GPS Field Mapping sets farm boundaries. 
• You can also look for the best pesticide for your crops and search for manufacturers and EPA numbers, etc.
• Create a work order with much ease.
• The scouting helps to inspect bugs, weeds, and insects so that you can remove them quickly. 

Conclusion 

A recent and reliable report estimates that farm management software’s market size is expected to reach $4.22 billion by 2025. Another study indicates that farming management in America is predicted to grow at different CAGRs by 2023. For instance, precision crop farming is forecasted to reach 18.12%, and livestock management will increase by 16.27%. The experts view that water scarcity for irrigation purposes and population indiscreet growth have allowed farm owners and farmers to adopt innovative technologies to increase crop yields. 

The implementation of the latest and disruptive trends in farm management software has brought an agricultural revolution. The use of futuristic technologies such as farm robotics, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and blockchain has simplified almost every activity from the sowing of seeds to harvesting the produce. For example, the Internet of Things (IoT)-powered smart agriculture sector market will expand to $30 billion by 2023. 

If you are ready to digitize and optimize your farm operations, you can explore the GoodFirms list of best free and open source farm management software to find more options. These include Navfarm, Agsquared, Farmlogs, Agrivi, EasyFarm, etc. 

You are free to share your reviews and feedback on any software tools you have already used. 

Also, visit the software directory page to go through other vital software categories to help you in business expansion.