Mobile applications have long been an integral part of our lives—they can satisfy personal needs and solve a wide range of different business tasks. Modern technologies greatly simplify complex production processes, and businesses are more interested in how to use such technologies to their benefit. Creating a website and developing a mobile application for farming is an investment in the future, which can significantly simplify work processes and make any agricultural business more competitive. Today, we will discuss building a farming website and developing a mobile app. At first glance, this is one of the most conservative existing business sectors. Nevertheless, the sector is quite promising in terms of digitalization and its further development. In this article, we will tell you how much it costs to develop farm apps, how they can be implemented in the workflow, and how to earn money by creating and promoting such a product. Developing an agriculture app — why and for what ends? Agronomy and IT may initially seem incompatible and too distant from each other. Still, the demand for mobile application development for farmers has grown significantly in recent years due to the rapid growth of the agricultural sector and its modernization. Digitalization can take over the collection and analysis of large amounts of data and the automation of routine tasks and forecasting. {{ "title": "Write ChilliCode", "description": "To help you acknowledge your business needs and decide whether IT services will work for you, I’ve sorted out a list of cases.", "buttonText": "Contact us" }} Facility control You can develop a farming app for high-quality facility management and control. The app allows you to track your farm's progress in real time, monitor the installed equipment, machinery condition, and production facilities, and follow the sowing and irrigation schedules without errors. Through an internet connection, the ready-to-use program can take various sensor readings from devices installed on the farm, such as temperature, humidity, and light level detectors. Later, this data can be used to optimize farming processes and increase yields. Data collection and analysis Mathematical algorithms can help avoid cost and profit accounting errors, manage finances, and report on farm performance, facilitating decision-making and enhancing operational efficiency. Such software can also analyze yields and make plans to reduce fertilizer, seed, and feed costs. Resource planning and management The program can help plan and manage resources (water, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.), ensuring their optimal use and cost reduction. It is also possible to digitize the feed needed for a particular animal, allowing the company's staff to calculate the amount of feed to purchase for the upcoming season. Farm apps can also help with personnel management by providing information about the tasks that need to be completed and tracking the progress of those tasks. It will improve coordination between workers and reduce the margin of the error rate. Weather and climate monitoring The farming weather app can collect and analyze weather and climate data, helping farmers make decisions based on predictions about when and what crops to plant, fertilize, water, or harvest. Forecasting with the help of an agricultural application will help optimize work processes, reduce the risk of crop loss due to natural conditions, and make necessary changes to the work schedule in time. Plant and animal care Mobile applications for farmers can perform diverse tasks — from providing recommendations for plant and animal care based on soil conditions, weather conditions, and other factors to recognizing, diagnosing, and treating diseases. Suppose the program successfully analyzes the soil composition for its fertility. In that case, it can prepare the most effective solutions for further composition refinement, which will significantly improve plant growth conditions and increase general yields. Crop tracking features will help monitor plant growth and development in real time, identify problem areas, and suggest ways to improve yields, such as changing watering times or weeding a specific location. Communication and Collaboration A website or an app can serve as a platform for communication between farmers, agronomists, suppliers, and buyers, making it easier to share information, find partners for collaboration, and sell products. In general, developing farming apps provides many benefits for farmers, such as increased operational efficiency, better facilities control, optimized processes, and the ability to predict yields. These benefits will make it easier for both large agricultural enterprises and smaller vertical farms, where it is crucial to create an optimal environment in artificial conditions and to make the most of limited space. Five examples of agriculture apps and software The concept of creating an app for agriculture is not new, yet it is an emerging market ready to welcome new players. Here is the list of successful and popular apps for agronomists that occupied their niche and attracted users’ attention. Prospera Prospera apps help farmers effectively manage irrigation, improve crop health, reduce resource use, and increase facility productivity. The application analyzes crop health issues and possible irrigation problems, enhancing the planning and monitoring processes. Open Range An enterprise from Arkansas that was a cattle producer created a platform for farmers to communicate with each other and sell and buy livestock, animals, and agriculture equipment. Open Range also allows users to find items published for sale by handcrafters. This platform has brought together producers, suppliers, and buyers, creating a community where everyone can establish profitable connections and bring topics of concern for further discussion by community members. Doktar An IT startup, Doktar, bets on AI, which makes it possible to optimize the utilization of pesticides, ensuring their precise application. This significantly reduces waste and mitigates the impact on the environment. Agri App Agri App is a mobile application that helps to effectively protect and manage crops to achieve high yields and product quality. The application will be helpful for various facilities, from smaller ranches and poultry farms to more extensive vegetable and fruit farms. The app also provides a platform for farmers to contact experts, learn the latest industry news, and access training courses. Farmland Finder As the title shows, the app helps potential buyers find landholdings open for sale if the enterprise needs to increase its area. Using the application, facility owners can easily and quickly find land available for purchase and even entire farms to increase their holdings. The app's premium version also provides access to satellite records and the feature of comparing sales among each other. How to make money out of building an agriculture app A successful mobile application can give you an edge over your competitors and become a source of profit. Successfully launched and high-quality mobile apps or websites can become a resource for professionals in their industry. Several app monetization strategies may help attract traffic to an application and bring in revenue: In-App Advertisements Perhaps the easiest and most common way to make money through mobile apps is by running in-app ads. If you want to make it fast and there are no partners for you to promote on your own, adding a third-party ad network might be a perfect option. Those networks will automatically display ads to your users, and they will likely follow the same methods as Google AdMob, Flurry, Adcash, etc. With the help of these additional advertising tools, you can easily customize the display of ads inside your app and earn money depending on how often they are offered to the user. You can also resort to referral marketing, promoting the goods and services of partners and receiving a commission for placement from them, depending on the type of agreement you have. The rates can be fixed, as well as the payment you get for showing ads in your app, or they vary according to the interaction types with the ad. Referral marketing is not the easiest method to gain an audience or get money, yet it can be a superb solution to increase your app recognition, so we encourage you to try it. In-app Purchases and Subscription Models Many free mobile apps make money through in-app purchases that provide users with additional content or features. It is not as bold as to request money immediately for the whole product and creates an impression of a choice. Subscriptions, though, are based on a time period. Users may either be offered a free trial or a limited version of an app, which can be extended with the premium features once the subscription is active (for example, when developing an application for controlling fieldwork, it is possible to make a paid offline version; such features are always relevant for users). This strategy is exceptionally beneficial since subscribers are more loyal to the product. Yet, it introduces additional complications as the developers will be expected to launch updates and create new content to encourage customers to renew their subscriptions. Nevertheless, this model performs better on a long-term basis since people tend to buy access once they are used to the service. One-time Payments The opposite of the previous one, this strategy suits mobile apps that provide exceptional service that no free applications can offer. People are more willing to buy something they had an opportunity to try first, but still, they can complete a purchase once they are sure the product is worth their money. That is the case when brand awareness gets crucial — the more famous and trustworthy your app is, the more people will be ready to pay for it. If you lean more towards the one-time payment, consider offering a limited free trial anyway. This will give potential customers a risk-free opportunity to try your product, build brand trust, and improve customer acquisition and engagement. If you are a customer-oriented developer, it is a win-win scenario. Investments If your product is successful and holds a specific niche that no one currently owns, other companies and organizations may benefit from investing in your app. These investors may be interested in future profits alone or in the functionality if it proves useful in their core business. In this case, your partnership will last for years, given that the service is good and promising enough. How do you create a digital agriculture app? Where do you start? Developing an application for agriculture requires deep knowledge of agronomy and IT technologies and an understanding of the specifics of agricultural facilities. Developing an app on your own can be a complex task that requires considerable time and money. Alternatively, you can hire freelance developers to help with custom mobile app development. Still, cooperation within a dispersed team of specialists has its risks — in this case, it is difficult to ensure proper quality and adherence to deadlines. Advantages and disadvantages of hiring freelancers or an IT company: Freelance developers IT Company ✔️More flexibility in the choice of contractors. ❌The choice of contractors within companies is smaller. ❌Possibility to hire contractors specializing in a narrow field. ✔️Specialists are more versatile in their experience, but the expanded staff ensures up-to-date knowledge and competencies in the required area for development. ✔️Opportunity to save money on development as the range of individuals involved in development will be limited and freelancers often work at rates lower than for the IT companies. ❌Requesting a ‘turnkey’ development of a website and/or mobile application can cost a large sum depending on the planned functionality and complexity of implementation. ❌Risk of missed deadlines. ✔️The risk of deadlines being missed is much lower due to a well-functioning system of interaction between employees and the presence of a product manager responsible for a specific project. ❌Risks associated with possible loss of money due to high chances of coming across fraudsters or unscrupulous individuals who have no legal tax status. ✔️Risks of losing money are minimal as the companies are officially registered and fulfill their obligations to the customer within the terms of signed agreements and contracts. ❌Probability of frequent change of hired employees, which makes it difficult to provide quality technical support for the developed product. ✔️Within the terms of the signed agreement, the company will continue to provide quality technical support for the product, knowing its structure from the inside. The optimal solution is to contact a specialized company that deals with software development. This approach will allow you to get an application customized to the specific needs of your agricultural enterprise and ensure its quality support throughout its lifetime. You can turn to CHILLICODE studio for the creation and support of the application. CHILLICODE studio has been providing mobile application and website development services for 8 years — we successfully launched more than 350 projects. It is important for us to understand all the pains and needs of our clients to create quality customized ‘turnkey’ products. There are some crucial steps to consider when building an agriculture app: Analyzing the idea and testing hypotheses First, you need to define the app's mission and target audience. Ask yourself who you are creating the app for and what tasks it should solve. At this stage, it is important to analyze the market and test several hypotheses to settle on the most suitable and promising ones for your goals. During this preparation process, you will start getting an idea of the functionality and user interface required for the application. Competitor Analysis Study the market and your competitors: Research existing farm apps in your niche to understand what has already been developed and identify gaps your app can fill. Realizing what exactly should make your product stand out from existing apps is very useful as part of this analysis. Defining the functionality An essential step in developing an agriculture app is defining its functionality. Put yourself in the user's shoes and think about how you would like to interact with the application and what you want to see. The product manager will also help you decide on this — develop a concept, make sure the app will solve the target audience's pain points, and successfully cope with its tasks. Choosing a platform for implementation If necessary, you can opt for a mobile application or a full-fledged website, which will be implemented for both mobile devices and tablets. If you are interested in mobile development, you have to choose which operating system your application will be suitable for Android, iOS, or the app implementation for both platforms. The results achieved during the analysis of the target audience and competitors are very important here—you can either focus on the platform with a potentially larger target audience (e.g., Android) or opt for the one where your product will have no or much fewer competitors at all (e.g., iOS). UX/UI design development UX design (User Experience design) creates user-friendly and pleasant-to-use products, services, and interfaces. It starts at the stage of idea analysis, as the application design should meet the identified needs of potential users. User Interface (UI) design is the appearance and functionality of the elements that users see and interact with on the screen (buttons, menus, fonts, colors, and positioning of elements on the screen). The goal of UI design is to make user interaction with an application or a website as simple and intuitive as possible. Creating an application prototype MVP (minimum viable product) stands for developing a prototype, a test version of the product with a minimum set of functions. At this stage, the team decides on the development tools, the most suitable environment, and the backend and frontend programming languages that will be used for your app. The back end is developed, and the application code is written. Development of the final version of the application and testing Before publishing the application in official stores, it is necessary to ensure that it works correctly on different devices and operating system versions and that crucial application security vulnerabilities are addressed. At this stage, test engineers check all the functionality within the application. If any defects are found, they control the changes made by the developers and bring the application to the final version. Application support and further development After the application's release, it is necessary to follow user feedback, release software updates, and fix possible issues and unwanted limitations. The team that developed the application knows its software inside out like no one else and will be able to provide high-quality technical support. sub The cost of building an agriculture app or a website depends on many factors, including functionality, design, complexity, and implementation platforms. On average, developing an agriculture app costs around $38,000. However, the total expense can range from $25,000 to $50,000. An app with fewer features, often referred to as a minimum viable product (MVP), will be more cost-effective than an app with plenty of functions, excellent UI/UX design, and complex features. To find out the cost of developing a mobile app or an agriculture website, leave a request on our website, and our manager will contact you to discuss the details of the project. We will define the goals and objectives of your farming app and estimate the cost of developing a customized solution.
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