Using On-Farm Data for Decisions that Matter

This article was first published in Ag Alert, a weekly publication of the California Farm Bureau. 

Farming in California has always required grit—but today, more than ever, it requires clarity. Growers face forces that shift faster than the season: global market uncertainty and tariffs that move prices overnight, tightening labor, rising input costs, especially water, and expanding compliance requirements that add hours of recordkeeping to an already full workload.

Many growers tell me, “Sustaining my farm is sustainability to me.” This year, that feels especially true. Ensuring the farm endures means every decision carries more weight. A missed spray window, an irrigation mistake, or incomplete records can add up quickly. While agtech promises relief, it often brings complexity including multiple point solutions that don’t connect, and uncertainty about adopting yet another tool.

The real opportunity isn’t adding more technology. It’s using the information farms already generate like soil, weather, field activities, inputs, and yield history and turning it into decisions that matter.

Think broad. Think deep.

Getting the most from on-farm data requires thinking both broad and deep.

Thinking broad means understanding how decisions and outcomes connect across the operation. Financial planning, cropping choices, input spend, labor allocation, and yields all influence one another. When these elements live in a single system, patterns emerge—and growers can see how today’s choices shape future seasons.

Farm management information systems like Agworld bring this operational picture together through consistent record-keeping, input tracking, work order management, and documentation. Instead of digging through spreadsheets or paper files, growers have a structured, centralized platform.

A strong example comes from Booth Ranches, a family-owned citrus operation in Orange Cove managing 7,000+ acres. They turned to Agworld to modernize and simplify their workflow—cutting recommendation-writing time by 50% and reducing manual compliance reporting by 80%. With real-time updates and smoother coordination, their agronomy team now spends less time at their desks and more time managing crops in the field:

“The less time we spend in the office dealing with paperwork, the better everyone’s job is going to be.”… “Agworld helps us do that immensely. It saves time. It saves energy. There’s way less truck time driving back and forth to the office. Now we’re out in the field. We can stay on target working with our scouts.”

Thinking deep means strengthening the agronomic engine behind the crop: soil health, moisture trends, nutrient needs, weather timing, pest pressure, and more. Tools like soil moisture probes, camera traps, and weather stations deliver precise insights that complement on-the-ground knowledge. And in times of labor shortage, digital tools reduce manual data collection, freeing teams to focus on timely execution.

When growers combine broad operational visibility with deep agronomic insight, their data becomes a powerful decision tool not just a record of what happened yesterday. Technology bridges the gap, helping turn insight into action.

Turning data into decisions

Data matters only when it supports real decisions in the field. Semios’ on-farm solutions bring together the practical tools growers rely on every day: automated emitter scheduling that sharpens mating disruption, WiseConn integration for better irrigation timing and visibility, Altrac frost alerts that support rapid response during freeze events, local weather that guides spraying and irrigation decisions, and yield off-take information that links season-long agronomy to results. When these components work together, field observations become clearer and growers gain confidence in their decisions.

Consider the questions growers face daily—each with real cost, risk, and performance implications:

• Do I spray today, or is delaying less risky?

• Is this block truly at risk, or are pest counts below threshold?

• Where should I send crews, and what can be managed remotely?

• Is this field water-stressed, or can irrigation wait?

• Are my records complete for compliance and audits?

• Can documentation support market premiums or regulatory readiness?

Integrated data helps answer these questions quickly and accurately, bringing clarity to daily decision-making.

Experience and stability matter

In a market where tech companies can come and go, growers need partners committed to the long haul. The Semios Group marks 15 years of supporting California growers. Our long-standing partnerships across irrigation, automation, and field technology reflect that commitment. We look forward to continuing our grower and industry partnerships well into the future—both in California and beyond.