Power Agronomy Manual

Thank you for purchasing Power Agronomy. I hope that you find this program very helpful to your business.
Some items that you will need handy to get started with the program are:
The program CD and/or downloaded updates.
A copy of your Serial Number, found on the CD case of your original purchased copy.
Setup information for the program such as your customers and their fields, any chemicals and chemical recipes that you use that are not already in the program.
Weeds, insects, and diseases that are not already in the program.
Any crops that you work with.

Power Agronomy was designed by High Prairie Agronomy and Power Technology Solutions Group, Inc. to fill the need of an easy to use, affordable, efficient way for agronomists to collect and track data for their customers. With the paper and pen method, an agronomist would write out his/her findings, manually calculate any water usage and requirements, look up recommendations and write them down. This process takes a great deal of time and makes it very difficult to look up previous data. With Power Agronomy the agronomist can record only a few items and all calculations are done. All chemicals listed are based on the crop that they are labeled for. Data can then be printed for the customer as well as kept for easy retrieval later. Power Agronomy takes only a fraction of the time to record a visit when compared to the paper and pen method.

To install Power Agronomy, follow the steps for your operating system:


Insert the program CD into your CD drive. The setup program should launch automatically and begin the setup process for you. If it does not, then go to Start, up to run, and type d:\windows\setup.exe. Substitute the drive letter of your CD Drive for the D:. Follow the setup instructions, in most cases you can just keeping pressing "next" until installed. Remove the CD.

Macintosh
Insert the program CD into your CD drive. The Power Agronomy CD should appear on your desktop. Double click the CD to open it. There are two Mac folders on the CD. Open the Mac OS X folder if you are running Macintosh OS X or open the Mac OS 9 folder if you are running Macintosh OS 9 or below. Drag the Power Agronomy folder from the CD to a location on your Hard Drive, usually the applications folder is a good choice but you can put it where ever you would like as long as you remember where. Remove the CD.

When you first launch the program from the hard drive, it will bring you up to the "program setup" screen.

Here you will enter your company or individual name, address, etc. You can also copy and paste a copy of your logo in the large white box for printed reports. You will also need to enter the serial number that is on the CD case. Be sure to enter exactly as it appears with no spaces. Do not loose this serial number, as it will be required for the program to function and for any updates and support. We will not be able to give you a serial number over the phone for security reasons. Under the Serial number box is a preference for how you test for moisture on your field visit. If you use the depletion method, choose this, if you use the percent available method, choose availability. Under this you can choose whether or not you would like the field location displayed on the printed reports along with the field name. You also have options for different field report styles and what does or does not show up on the reports.

The two buttons "Backup Data" and "Restore/Update Data" buttons do the following. By clicking the backup data button, the program will save a copy of all of its data to a folder called "bak13" located in the programs folder. You can take the "bak13" folder and copy it to your backup media. The "Restore/Update Data" button will erase all data from the program and replace it with the data contained in the "bak13" folder.

Once you have entered this information, you can hit the main menu button to go to the main menu of the system.

The "Main Menu" will normally come up each time you launch the program once you have put the proper Serial Number in. This will be the link to the major parts of the program. At any time, on any screen, you can bring up the help for that screen by clicking on the question mark that appears in the top left of your screen. The majority of your day to day entry will occur in the "Field Visit" page. Reports can be printed/viewed in the reports section. More reports will be available soon. The "Program Setup" button will take you to the screen where you entered your information as well as the Serial Number. You can use this section to modify any of that information. You would also go there to backup your databases and to restore backed up data.
The "Farm Setup" section is where you would enter your customer's information including their contact information, fields, current crop, chemical applications and soil test results.
Power Agronomy ships with some chemicals and their recipes already entered. It also has some diseases, weeds, insects and crops setup. You would go to those respective areas to add or modify any of these items.
At the top of most screens are also smaller navigation buttons to allow you to navigate from anywhere in the program to somewhere else in the program.
You must have all the info setup in the various setup sections before you can use the field visit page.
Unlike many programs, Power Agronomy will automatically save your data as you enter it. This greatly reduces the risk of loosing data. Power Agronomy also automatically assigns unique ID numbers for each item entered.

This will bring up a list of the weeds that are already setup in the program. If you wish to modify any weed, simply click on the weed name to bring up the information. If you would like to add a new weed, click the "New" button at the top of the screen.
You can add/change the name and description of the weed. Click the "Delete this Record" to delete this weed. You can click the "List" button to return to the Weed list. There is also an option to import weed data from another Power Agronomy. From time to time we may release new data that you would be able to download and import in to save setup time.
Power Agronomy also comes with some common crops that you might deal with in your visits. You can modify or delete these and add your own crops. It is best to have this setup before you get busy with your field visits, but you can add or modify this section at any time. From the "Main Menu", click the "Setup Crops" button. We do not make any guarantees on the use of any of the crop information that is pre-entered in the program. This data may vary based on your region so Use the existing crop information at your own risk.
This will bring up a list of the crops that are pre installed in the program. If you wish to modify any crop setup, simply click on the crop name to bring up the information. If you would like to add a new crop, click the "New" button at the top of the screen.
You need to enter the crop name (which is required). Enter any/all growth stages of the crop, each on a separate line including description and daily water use in inches. If you work with varieties of crops that have different water uses, you can create multiple crops for the different varieties or variations. Be sure, however, that the crop name is unique. You might enter "Corn -standard" and a new crop which could be titled "Corn -roundup". The crop name is referenced throughout the program. The above example would allow you to setup chemicals with different labeling for different varieties, as well as adjust growth stage and water usage data. You would then want to enter any weeds that you would see in this crop. This helps narrow down the menu on the field visit page to show only those weeds that appear in the crop. A new line will be created once a weed is entered. The weed menu receives its values from the "Weed Setup" section of the program. Click the "Crop List" button to return to the list of crops or navigate with the buttons located at the top of the screen.

You will also see on this screen a place to enter the fertilizer requirement to produce one unit of the crop. The requirements thus far are for N, P2O5, K, S, Zn. These figures are used in the fertilizer recommendation section of the site discussed later. You may put these values in, or modify any of the existing values.

Farm Setup

The "Field Setup" screen allows you to set up virtually unlimited amount of fields for a particular farmer. Each field will be entered on a separate line with a new line automatically created after the information is typed. There is a small scroll bar to the right which will allow you to scroll through the fields should you have more than will show on the screen. When setting up fields, they need to be setup in a way that will match the crop planted on that field. If you have 1/4 or a section of land that will have three different crops in a given year, you would want to set that up as three different fields as most entries are based on the field and the crop on the field.

You can enter anything you wish in the field name and location boxes. These boxes will be used in the identification of the field throughout the program. If you have a naming scheme or if each farm's naming scheme is different, the program should accommodate. You can have duplicate field names for different farms, but the name must be unique within each farm. You can enter the soil type if you choose. The system will remember the data that you enter here and place it in a menu for quick access when setting up many fields. Enter the field size in acres. You can also enter the soil moisture holding capacity, which will be used in the irrigation and water use calculation within the program. Choose the field type from the popup menu provided.

Once you enter the above info, you can enter and/or view any soil test data for that field. Click on the "Soil Test" button.

This screen will contain the history of soil test results from the field. You can enter new results in the blank line provided or view the history of the test results. There are scroll bars to the right that will allow you to view the results if there are more entered than fits on the screen. When finished, you can click the "Back to Field List" button to return to the field list you were working on, or click any of the navigation buttons at the top to maneuver through the program.
Version 2.10 added the ability to import soil test results from some laboratories. In order to import the results, the lab that you use must be listed in the pop-up menu in the upper right of the screen. Currently only Olsen Laboratories, and Ward Laboratory are supported. If you use a different lab, email me an attached file with the exported data from your lab's software. You can import one field at a time (which is recommended) or one file with many results. Choose the lab that you use from the popup menu, and type in the sample ID exactly as it appears on your soil test results. The sample ID is what the program uses to correspond the data that you are importing with the correct field. If this does not match exactly for each field, the results will not show up under the field. Once you have chosen the lab and entered the sample ID, click the import soil test results button. This will then ask you to choose the exported data file from your lab test results software or website. For Olsen Labs, you will need to go into their software, Click the Soil Sample Report button, select the sample that you wish to export and click the Export button. When you click the import button in Power Agronomy it will ask for the file you exported in Olsen's software. Ward Labs you will need to go online, and email yourself the data and then save it to a file. We cannot help you with the lab portion of the procedure, so contact them if you have questions on how to export their data.

Another option on the field list is the crop information. There is one required field on this screen that you must enter and change each time the crop on the field changes. Click the "Crop Info" button to bring up the "Crop Info" for the screen.

The current crop must be chosen from in the menu provided. This is important as it is used throughout the field visits section to display the various contextual menus from growth stage, water usage and chemicals that may be applied. You must update this each time the crop changes on each field. The crop menu uses values from the crop setup which will be discussed later. You can also keep a crop history for each field. You have the ability to enter the crop year, crop grown/planted, brand/variety and any other info. You can enter the planting date, harvest date, the final yield and final plant stand or population. You may enter any remarks that you desire. This information will be helpfull later in future reporting options. You can click the "Back to Field List" button to return to the farms list of fields to move on to the next field, or navigate elsewhere in the program.

The final item you enter in the field information is the actual chemicals applied to a field. You can click the "Chemical" button in the line of a field to bring up the "Actual Chemicals Applied" screen.

This screen will show you the history of the fertilizer that has been applied or recommended for this field. Each line represents either an application or a recommendation or both. You can quickly enter an application via this screen, or on the first blank line, click the detail / recommendation tab to move to a more detailed section for an application or recommendation. On the detail screen you will see a box that will give a computer recommendation based on several pieces of data from other places in the program. You will also see a box for your fertilizer recommendation. To create a recommendation, enter the recommendation or Application date, choose the crop you will be fertilizing for and enter the target yield. The box after the target yield amount allows you to specify the unit of measurement; i.e.: bu/ac. cwt/ac ..... This is a learning menu, each item you type in will be stored in the pop-up menu for easier entry later on.


The computer recommendation:
Once you have the date, crop, and target yield entered the computer will formulate its recommendation based on the following data. The computer will grab the amount of fertilizer required to produce one unit of crop from the crop setup section of the site. Earlier in the manual we discussed how to enter/change the fertilizer requirements for a given crop. The second line of the computer recommendation is the latest soil test data for the current field. If you do not enter/track soil test results, this will be blank. The final line is the recommendation that the computer has calculated based on the requirements and soil test data. If you like the figures, you can click the "Use Computer Recommendation" button to transfer the recommendation down to your recommendation box. Although we have based the computer recommendation on popular formulas, they should not be relied upon for any given results, but are used as a generic calculation only.

Your Recommendation:
The lower box is for your recommendation. If you had used the computer recommendation those numbers will be filled in, you can modify and of the actual lbs./ac. to fit your need. If you chose not to use the computers recommendation, you can enter your own amounts in the lbs/ac actual column. Next you can pick the chemical to use. Some of the popular ones are setup in the program, you can add to those in the chemical setup section of the site. After you have picked the chemical, the actual lbs/ac will be calculated out for you.

There is a box that you can use to recommend something other than the 4 main chemicals we have listed. You can also enter a recommended planting date and any comments that you would like to store or show on the report. When everything is done, you can click the "Print Report" button in the top section of the screen and it will print the recommendation out for your customer or your records.

If the actual application differs from your recommendation, you can simply modify the recommendation numbers to match the actual and use those for the permanent fertilizer records for the field.

There are several parts to the chemical that you will need to enter in order for the program to function properly when using chemicals. The first item that is required is the chemical name. This is required as it is the reference for other parts of the program. You then must choose the type of chemical it is (weed, insect, disease). You can enter any chemical description that you wish. You then enter the recommendations. You may enter as many recommendations as you wish, a blank box will appear for new recommendations with a small scroll bar at the right for scrolling through if you have more than 3 recommendations per chemical. You must enter at least one recommendation here in order to utilize this section in the field visit screens. If you wish to delete a recommendation, simply click the "Del" button next to the item you wish to delete. You then can enter any comments for this chemical in the comments box(s) This will also be used on the field visit screen. You can enter any type of data you wish in these boxes. Next choose the crops that this chemical is labeled for. The "Crops Pop-up Menu" receives its values from the "Crop Setup" section of the program. If you do not list the crop here, it will not list the chemical on the "Field Visit" screen. When entering a crop, a blank line will be created for the next crop. Again, there is a small scroll bar at the right of the box to show the crops that do not fit on the screen. Then enter any "Label Comments" for your own reference. Click the "Chemical List" button to return to the list of chemicals or navigate throughout the rest of the program with the various buttons. If a crop is needed for the "Valid Crop Use" and does not show up in the menu, you can click the "Crop Setup" button to add the new crop and then come back to modify the chemical setup.

Backup Backup Backup!!! As with any software package or component it is extremely important that you have backup copies. If you will be using this out in the field on a laptop, the chance for losing data increases. Power Technology Solutions Group, Inc. and High Prairie Agronomy are not responsible for any data loss, it is ultimately your responsibly to keep the program backed up in case of computer failure or data corruption. Power Agronomy will automatically create a backup copy of the databases each time you exit the software. This backup data is stored in a folder called "bak13" in the Power Agronomy program folder. This backup is better than none at all, but you will want to take it one or two steps further and copy the bak13 folder to a CD-R, CD-RW, floppy (although after a great deal of data collection it may not fit on floppies), tape drive and/or another computer. Copy it to media that can be stored in a different location than your computer in case of fire or theft. You will have invested a great deal of data into the software and it is ultimately the reason for purchasing Power Agronomy. If you would like to have Power Agronomy backup the databases more frequently than each time you exit, you can do so by clicking the "Program Setup" button from the "Main Menu". There is also a "Restore" button on this screen. Use this only if you are very sure you want to replace your data with a backup copy. Doing the restore will erase all data from the program and insert the data from the "bak13" folder.

One of the main reasons that you will be using Power Agronomy is for collection and calculating data. All of the setup culminates with the data collected in the field visit section of the program. This screen is designed for efficiency for the agronomist who is entering data on the road or for those who will be inputting the data from their home/office. To start entering field visits, it is a good idea to have all of the other setup of the program complete or near complete as all of the menus rely on the information that is entered during the setup process of the program. If you do need to add any setup data you can do so by navigating to the particular area and setting up the data and then return to the field visit to choose that data from the menu. To start, you will want to click the "Field Visit" button from the "Main Menu".

When you get here, if you want to start a new visit, you can click the "New Visit" button at the top of the screen. You can also navigate through the visits by using the arrow buttons at the top left of the screen or find a visit by clicking the "Find Visit" button at the top. The find visit will bring up a list of currently entered visits, sorted with the most recent at the top. You can also perform an advanced find by choosing "Find Mode" under the "View" menu located in the menu bar at the very top of your screen. You can then enter any data in any field that you wish to query and then hit the enter/return key to perform the find.

There is an order in which to enter data for a field visit. Start by choosing the farm from the pop-up menu. When you choose the farm, it will adjust the other menus on the screen with the information related to that farm. If you utilize more than one person for field visits, you can choose or add the agronomist. This menu will remember values entered. The date and time automatically are entered but you can change if needed. Enter any weather information if desired. Next choose the field. This menu will show the list of fields that belong to the farm chosen above. Once the field is chosen, the current crop will display to the right. If you have correctly setup the current crops for each field, this should be correct and not blank. Next choose the growth stage. This menu is based on the current crop for the field that you chose. This will also start the calculation of the water and irrigation formulas. Enter or choose the soil moisture. This menu will remember values that you enter, so the more you do, the more choices you will have. Enter any additional water application that you recommend. Enter in inches. You can also choose the irrigation schedule that you recommend. With these entries, the water usage and recommendations should display on the right hand side of the screen.

Next you can choose any weeds that you see and/or recommend treatment. You can enter up to 6 weeds per visit, using a new box for each weed. You might enter in the order of importance. The weeds in the "Weed Menu" are from your weed setup and are narrowed down based on the crop that is on that field. Enter any weed comments. Next, if you recommend any treatments for the weeds, choose the herbicides, recommendations, and/or comments. A new line will be created for each one. The "Herbicides Menu" is based on your chemical setup and are dependant upon the current crop on the field. Once a chemical is chosen, the recommendations for that chemical will show up in the next menu as well as any comments for that chemical. These are all setup within the chemical setup portion of the program.

Next choose any insects and/or diseases in the same manner as the weeds.


With Version 2.30, we included the ability to choose a pivot position on irrigated fields so that it will print the position on the field report. On the right hand side of the screen is a box where you can choose N, NE, E, SE ..... pivot positions. There is also a button that will take you to the field image where you can pick this, or copy and paste an image into the image field for perminate record, ie: weed patch, or particular insect.

Next to each chemical recomondation, there is an "R" button. You can click this to post that recomondation to the actual chemical record for the field if the recomondation was actually applied.

At the bottom of the screen there is a button "Enter Actual Chemical Applied to This Field" click this and enter the information if there was chemical actually applied to this field. In the lower right of the screen is the general comments for you to enter. All data is automatically saved. Click "New Visit" to start a new visit or navigate to other portions of the program.

Currently there is only one printable report for the field visit data. Future versions of Power Agronomy will incorporate a wide variety of printable reports based on purchasers desires. See the "Feature Suggestions" portion of this manual for information on how to submit your request for new features. To print your field visit reports you can click the "Reports" button from the main menu or click the "Print Report" from the top of the field visit page. You can enter the date or date range for your report. A date range would be entered as follows: 11/1/2002..11/30/2002. A beginning date, two periods, and an ending date. Choose the farm for which to print the report and then click the "View/Print Irrigated" or "View/Print Dryland" buttons.

You can now view the report, print preview, or switch to the field visit screen to modify the information. If the information is correct, you can then print the report.

We have extensively tested and utilized Power Agronomy but with any computer and software package the chance is there for problems to arise. The most important thing you can do on your part is to BACKUP your data. Power Agronomy is written on a leading database software engine which has been a very stable platform for data collection and organization. All data in this software saves automatically so you do not need to save after entering data. Here are some things you may run into when using Power Agronomy.

Error messages entering data:
Power Agronomy cannot be ran from a read-only drive. Make sure you are not running the program from a CD or other Read-Only drive. Some fields also require a certain type of data. Make sure if you are entering a date or time that it is entered correctly. Also where unique values are required, make sure the value is unique. Verify all of the setup items and that they have been setup properly.

Corrupt Databases:
If the program is not shut down properly you may corrupt your database. When this happens, you will get a message that a database is corrupt and needs to be recovered. If this happens, write down the name of the database that will need to be recovered. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BACKED UP YOUR DATA before you even get this far. Please call our Tech Support number or e-mail tech support with the database name and any information on the corruption. We will then give you further instruction on how to recover the database and data.



If you have other problems, be sure to visit our website at http://www.powertekgroup.com for the latest troubleshooting information.

Power Technology and High Prairie Agronomy Present