GB2605884A - System and method for the generation, allocation and/or control of agricultural work - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for the allocation, management and traceability of agriculture related work tasks 6 which are performed. The system includes a hub interface which used by customers 8, such as a farmer or landowner, to indicate work tasks that are required to be performed and allocate them to third parties 14, such as customer employees or contractors, who perform the work task. The third party can use information available to them via the hub interface, such as geographical location 12, and can input data to the memory of the hub interface to indicate the performance or status 18 of the work task, to charge for the work, to advise on work, and provide a record of the work performed. The hub interface may be in the form of an app for a user device such as a phone or computer. The system may be integrated with accountancy packages.

Description

System and Method for the generation, allocation and / or control of Agricultural work The invention to which this application relates is a system and a method and features thereof, which allow for the performance of the control of agricultural work and analysis to be achieved and in particular, although not necessarily exclusively, for the control and analysis to be achieved remotely from the location at which the work is, or may be, intended to be performed.

At present, agricultural work is generally undertaken by employees of a farmer or a company which owns or rents the land on which the work is performed, and/or by independent contractors, who are appointed and instructed by the farmer or company to undertake specific work on land specified by the farmer or company and/or, by a combination of employees and contractors. Ancillary and advisory companies may also provide services to the company (Jr fanner in relation to the land, analysis of the same and to provide advice in relation to the management and/or improvement of the land.

As the amount of land which is con trolled by a single farmer or company has generally increased, so the scale of demands and the amount of work which is required to be controlled has also increased. Furthermore, as is the nature with agricultural work, certain types of work may be required to be performed on a large scale but only at certain times of the year and therefore the resources, in terms of manpower and apparatus, may be stretched at particular times of the year and, as such, it can be necessary for work to be carefully managed so that optimum use of available apparatus and employees is achieved. Furthermore, historically the use of paper records have dominated farming tasks and records of the tasks having been performed and it is very difficult to keep up to date and accurate records on such a large scale especially as technology changes.

These problems are exacerbated by the fact that the work is performed using apparatus which is increasingly expensive and therefore in many cases it may be beyond the capabilities of a farmer or company to purchase outright the apparatus that they require to perform the required work. Once again therefore, there is a need to be able to call on the resources of independent contractors who may be able to utilise machinery to a greater extent and thereby avoid the fanner or company having to take on the financial burden of the purchase or leasing of the machinery.

Conventionally, the appointment of contractors and employees to perform particular work tasks is on a. relatively piecemeal manner. This can mean that from a contractor's viewpoint, the levels of work required to be performed may vary from week to week or day-to-day and this can lead to the allocation of the work which is to be performed by the contractor's employees having to be done on a short term, daily basis. From the fanner or company viewpoint, they may find that certain tasks may not be able to be performed as and when required due to the relatively short notice that they provide to their own employees, who may be involved in other work and/or contractors, who may not be able to immediately meet the demand. Thus, it will be appreciated that the work, while it may be performed, is often performed on an "urgent basis" which means that resources may not be best utilised and/or costs may not be best controlled. For example, contractors may find that they have to allocate particular workers and machinery to perform a work at a. first location which is geographically remote from a second location at which a similar work task is also required to be performed on the same day, whereas, if they had the opportunity to organise the work more efficiently, they would select to perform the similar work using the same apparatus on land which is geographically close by and thereby avoid travelling time to and from different geographical locations. This would have significant benefits in terms of reduction in travel, the optimum utilisation of the apparatus, and reducing the wear and tear on the apparatus due to transport between different locations.

In addition, and especially for the contractor, there are problems In receiving payment for the performance of the work tasks and this, in turn, creates cash flow problems. High machinery, labour input and fuel costs add to these problems alongside pressure and volatility in the agriculture markets which means contractors are often the last 'debtors' to receive their payment, usually after larger payments from third parties, such as subsidy payments, are received by the farmer or contractor.

While the problem is acknowledged and appreciated by many different, interested parties in the performance of agricultural work, and advice there is, at present, no available system by which to successfully control, monitor, advise on, or organise performance of work on agricultural land in an efficient and integrated basis and also provide for payments that are due, to be calculated a.nd paid more quickly.

An aim of the present invention is to provide a system which can be accessed by a number of interested parties such as farmers, contractors, agronomists, consultants and/or land owners in the performance of the work, and to allow a number of options to be available, which may be accessible to all or only limited numbers of said parties in order to perform, as part of an integrated system, different aspects relating to the performance of the work.

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for the management and control of performance of agricultural work for one or a. plurality of customers, said system including a hub interface including means to identify a location at which a work task is to be performed, means to allocate the said work task to a particular customer which has instructed the work task to be performed and means specifying the work task which is to be performed and wherein the system is accessible via the hub interface by a plurality of third parties to allow them to perform, advise on and/or charge for the work task and enable data relating to the work task to be accessed and data relating to the performance of the work task to be input.

In one embodiment the performance of the work task is performed by an employee of the customer or an independent con tractor who visits said identified location with, if necessary the appropriate apparatus and/or consumables and/or persoimel in order to ensure that the work task can be performed in the specified manner.

In one embodiment, the customer is a party which controls the management of the land on which the work task is to be performed and may be any of a farmer, a company, agronomist, crop consultant and an agent for the owner of the land.

Typically the system allows the input by the customer of one or a plurality of identified work tasks and the automatic movement of data relating to the said identified tasks is then performed to a data processing means and/or memory and said data is made available via the system to said one or more third parties to enable allocation and/or performance of the said identified work task so that they can then access the relevant data and organise the performance of the work task. Thus, in accordance with the system, the input of the work task, and the performance of the identified work task, the provision of advice relating to the work task and/ or charging flit the performance of the work task can be performed independently by the respective customer and one or more third parties, such as a contractor, agronomist and/or accountant without the need for direct contact between the same but all referring to and inputting data. into the same common sys tent This therefore allows an efficient manner of identifying the work task, allocating and performing the work task and charging for the completion of the work task in an in teg,rated manner and also the possibility of integration with other accounts packages to make it easier for farm businesses to reconcile their accounts at the end of the year.

In one embodiment, the system allows for the third party to schedule said identified work tasks and the geographical locations of the same and to arrange for the performance of a work task in a manner which best suits the efficient and economic use of their staff and/or apparatus and regardless of the particular identity of the customers who have requested the said identified work task to be performed. Thus, for example, the contractor may group together a number of work tasks which are required to be performed for different customers but in a similar geographical location.

In one embodiment, the performance of the identified work task, includes the input of data by the third party in terms of the third-party organisation if for example, they are a contractor, and also the particular person or persons who have performed a task and thereby allow the generation of a database of information relating to the performance of the particular identified task.

In one embodiment, the said input of data relates to any or any combination of, the start time of the task, the completion time of the task, any chemicals, any other products which have been used during the task and, if so, the quantity, the identity of the person who performed the task, the identity of the apparatus used to perform the task, and/or any problems which occurred during the performance of the task, visual health and safety pre start checks, push notifications of job progress and/or the like..

It will be appreciated that each of the items or information identified in the preceding paragraph, can have beneficial effects for the customer who has instructed the work and also for other third parties such as insurance companies, consultants in terms of crops and the like and therefore builds up an evidential database which can be referred to subsequently, if required, and especially for farm assurance audits.

In addition, the system allows if required, the uploading of evidence, such as photographic and/or video evidence, of the performance of the task, the apparatus which is used and/or the performance of health and safety checks prior to the commencement of operation of the apparatus at the particular location.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, the system allows the particular identified geographical location, to be automatically used as a means for the operator to be guided to the said location by the system. This therefore avoids any possibility of conflict between the customer and the contractor should, for example, work be performed on land which is not that which was intended by the farmer or company.

In one embodiment, the system allows the identified area. of land to be split into smaller sectors, if required, so as to enable more detailed data to be allocated to a particular sector of the land such as, for example, bales of straw which are collected at a particular location, crop yield and the like so a.s to provide further information and feedback to the interested parties.

In addition to providing efficient and scheduled operation of work, the system also allows the third party to be provided with information by their employees as to the time spent performing the particular task, travelling to and from the location of the particular task and from the same, and also allows the possibility of incorrect usage or unauthorised usage of their apparatus to be identified.

In one embodiment, the system may allow the input of identified tasks by the customer which may then be made available to a number of subscribers to the system and effectively allow each of the third parties such as a number of contractors to indicate, firstly, whether they arc capable of performing the identified task within, for example, a particular time interval and, if so, a further stage may be that the contractor effectively bids for performing the identified ta.sk and the successful bidder is then allocated the work task.

It should be appreciated that in one embodiment, if a contractor already has a number of identified work tasks allocated to the same geographical location or the same customer, and /or work tasks which are all required to be performed within a predetermined time interval the contractor may be able to put in a lower bid due to savings which they can make in being able to efficiently schedule the performance of the wok tasks as a group.

the invention therefore provides a Fully customisable system which is adaptable and usable by a number of parties, in combination. Thus, it allows the customer, such as a farmer,company or agent, to identify and make available specific requirements in relation to one or more work tasks to one or more third parties in order to allow then to perform the tasks and input data to the system to be available the customer and other third parties such as to provide for example data relating to load amounts, prestart checks which are required, health and safety requirements, chemicals or other treatments required to be used, cost of performing the task or any combination of the same. The system also allows the performance of all work tasks to be logged and data relating to the same to be stored and made available for subsequent inspection which is increasingly important a.s the auditing of the management and performance of activities on the land is used to show good management of the land, as a record of the substances added to the land and also to show evidence to support grant requests and the like.

It will also be appreciated that the contractor may use the system to effectively subcontract particular tasks to further contractors or more specialised organisations and these can all be collected within a general identified work task so that invoicing, and performance of the task by subcontractors, can all be grouped into a body of information provided to the system and, in turn, to the customer which instructed the task.

In one embodiment, the system allows the performance of the identified task, to be streamed live via the system to the fanner, agmnomist, aflutter or company who instructed the task. 't his may be by means of monitoring G PS movement data. of the apparatus and/or communication device used at that location such as the driver's phone, with respect to the identified geographical location, and/ or video and/or audio data generated as the task is being performed.

In a further aspect of the thvention, there is provided all agricultural nmnagement system, said system including a hub which acts as an interface to access a plurality of agricultural related functions and wherein said hub allows the monitoring of the performance of, and interaction between, said functions via the said hub.

In one embodiment, the hub can be provided in the form of an App or other user accessible facility which is provided on a user operable device. In one embodiment, some (Jr all of the said agricultural functions, may also be based on an App for each particular function which may be provided on the same hub as the system in accordance with the invention or alternatively, can be comiected, via a cable and/or wirelessly with further user devices on which die agricultural function or functions are managed. The data relating to the same can all be automatically uploaded and stored in memory.

Thus, in accordance with one embodiment_ the hub interface allows die communication with a series of function performance and control systems which and allows data from a function with a first format to be made available by the adaptation of data for a. first function, via the hub, and transfer of tha.t data to a function operating in a different format and thereby allow the data to be used effectively and efficiently and to avoid the repetition of generation of data and thereby saving time and improving efficiency to the users of the device and management of the agricultural work.

In one embodianent, one of the agricultural functions is agronomy in which a qualified person or persons, will typically review a designated portion of land, and prepare a report as to the current condition of that portion of land and, most typically, also prepare advice as to the ongoing management of the Land. In accordance with the invention, that report can then be transmitted to the hub and

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the data made available both for the purposes of maintaining a record of the advice and also to allow the advice to be used as a tool for managing the performance of functions on said portion of land going forward.

In one embodiment the agronomist prepares any or any combination of spray recommendations, nutrient management plans, fertilizer plans and/or assistance with the condition of designated portions of land. In accordance with the invention the -agronomist can use the system to communicate directly with the owner of the land and/or the contractor employed to treat the said portion of land so that all parties are aware of when the treatment is to be performed and once the treatment has been completed.

In one embodiment, the said transmission of reports allows the automatic operation or instigation of the work which is required to match the advice provided by the agronomist.

Typically, this sequence of communication can be repeated for as many portions of land as required and thereby allow a record and ongoing management of the said portions of land to be achieved.

In a. further embodiment, a. function in accordance with the invention is the management of inventories of vehicles and implements which are available to be used to perform agricultural tasks and also the inventory of spare parts for the same Sc) as to allow the efficient servicing and maintenance of the vehicle and implements whilst, at the same time, allowing the management of use of the vehicles and aplements so as to ensure, as much as possible, that the vehicles and implements are being used for as many hours of work as possible.

In one embodiment. the hub includes an interface with a function which controls the inventory of spare parts for the said vehicles and implements and a. function which determines the work which is required to be performed at any given tune or time range, the vehicles or implements required to perform said work and the hub then acts as an interface and commainication means to allow the allocation of the available vehicles a.nd implements to the required work using the data. relating to the various functions which is akeady stored in the hub database.

Typically, vehicles may include different operating software which is particularly the case with regard to vehicles which are made by different manufacturers. At present this can mean that while vehicles and implements which are provided by the same manufacturer may be integrated, there is no or very little integration between the vehicles and different manufacturers. In accordance with the invention, the hub is provided with an interfa.ce which allows interaction and reformatting or linking between the different operating software and/or codes for a range of different vehicles and/or implements and thereby allows the reformatting if required of the different types of operating software into a format which allows the same to all be integrated into the system and thereby allow data relating to the operation of the vehicles and implements to be made available to the system and be represented and made available to the customers and third parties via the hub interface other functions of the system even though the same comes from vehicles with differing formats. This means that the hub is provided to allow alteration and adaptation of the different codes to translate the instructions and controls between different vehicles and thereby allow interaction of vehicles with implements with different APIs.

In one embodiment, the hub includes a work tendering platform which enables organisations to place onto the platform, work items which they require to be performed and allows those organisations with the capability to perform the said work items, to indicate that via the interface of the hub and also to place a price on the perform2mce of the work. This then allows the organisation for which the work item is to be performed to select which of the tendering organisations to choose to perform the work and/or ask further questions and/or schedule work as required. A further platform is provided in one embodiment in which organisations can place adverts for vacant positions and the hub allows the individuals or personnel organisations to respond and attempt to obtain the employment.

In one embodiment, in addition to the control and management of inventories or parts that the vehicles and implements use, the hub of the system in accordance with the invention can also be used to monitor the use of materials which are required for the vehicles to operate such as, for example, fuel, diesel additives and the and/or consumable materials such as supplies of fertiliser which are to be applied, seeds and the like and, as and when a predetermined level of the same is reached, to order replacement supplies so as to ensure that the vehicles and implements can be operated to the maxtum capacity possible and that stores of consumables such as sprays, chemicals and/or gram are available..

In a further embodiment of the invention, a. function which is provided with an interface at the hub is to connect with a weighbridge or other weighing facility or monitoring facility to ensure that feedback from the said facility is automatically fed into the management of the veh cles or implements which are being monitored at that time.

In another embodiment, the hub allows an interface with the function which allows any potential hazards which are known to be present, to be identified and alerted to the users of apparatus which is identified to be used at the location of said one or more known hazards.

In a further embodiment, a function is to provide cartographic and/or mapping of the fields or the portions of land and to identify any nutrient requirements and/or other specific requirements which can be linked to said portions of land. Further possible functions include feedback from weather stations, the provision of summaries of jobs which are being performed, the ability to sell produce directly to consumers and thereby generally allow full traceability of actions which are performed on identified portions of land and by whom and when.

In one embodiment the system includes a function which allows for the management of livestock and the management function includes any, or any combination of the purchase, remotely of livestock from auctions at remote locations and/or third parties directly, the arrangement of transport for said livestock to and from designated locations, the provision of advice as to the care of the livestock, treatment of said livestock and management of the land on which the livestock are located, the completion of any statutory requirements in terms of records of keeping and movement of the livestock and the selling of livestock. It will be appreciated that once again that the work task which are required to allow these functions to be provided may be performed for the customer or customers by a number of third parties which may make their services available, be allocated the work task and then input data via the hub interface as to the performance of the work task and thereby provided an auditable record of the livestock management.

In one embodiment the system includes a function of monitoring the usage of land to thereby allow further options to be made available by providing an auditable record of the same. Typically the input of the data relating to work tasks which are performed allows the creation of a historical record of work which can be allocated to particular geographical locations or fields and thereby allow the land or fields to qualify for specific grants such as, for example, carbon credit payments which allow the owner of the land to show that the land and historic land management and./or specific work tasks have been performed and thereby meet specific criteria. The historical data may and preferably will include the generation of data relating to the management of the soil condition a.t specific locations and thereby allow a historical and auditable database to be generated and maintained in a memory, typically in the electronic "cloud", and which can be retrieved for subsequent reference as and when required.

The hub interface and system accordance with the invention therefore provides a means of integration and monitoring of functions which are performed in the area of agriculture and which conventionally have been performed independently.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying Figures; wherein: Figures 1-39 illustrate examples of screen displays which show embodiments of the use of the system in accordance with the invention; and Figure 40 illustrates the system schematically in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Referring firstly to Figure 40 there is illustrated the system in accordance with the invention in one embodiment. The system includes a hub interface 60 typically provided via an app and in communication with a data processing means and memory which is typically hosted and located remotely but which is in two way communication with the hub interface. The interface 60 is provided to be accessible by customers 62, one of which is illustrated and a number of third parties which can be split into two groups, a first group of third parties 64 which provide services to the customer and second group of third parties 66 which perform agricultural work. 't he customer 62 is allowed access to the hub interface to input 68 data relating to one or more work tasks that they would like to be performed and to receive data 70 which relates to the allocation of the work task, the performance of the same and the charging for the same. The input data 68 relating to the work task is stored in a memory connected to the hub interface and the details are made available, or advertised, to the third parties 66 who may then decide whether they are capable of performing the work task, whether they want to perform the work task and, if so they can input data 72 to the hub interface 60 indicating this. In this embodiment two of the third parties have chosen to do this and the work task has been allocated to one of those third parties by the provision of data 74 from the hub interface. In order to be able to perform the work task it may be necessary for information to be provided in relation to the work task and the information may be provided by the third parties 64, in for example, the form of an agronomist report and/or information relating to restrictions or wildlife considerations and this information is input 76 and allocated to the work task by the hub interface. Other functions may be provided from other applications 78 which are integrated with the system at the hub interface so as to provide, for example, a reporting function, compliance function and accountancy function.

Turning now to Figure 1 there is illustrated a home page display which illustrates the profile and basic details relating to a third party user of the system who in this case is a third party contractor with manpower, apparatus and knowledge and therefore the capability to perform a number of work tasks which may be placed onto the system by a plurality of customers. The profile page shown, and indeed all the subsequent displays can be generated on for example, a person's mobile phone, tablet or PC display screen and, if and as required, adjusted versions of the system can be generated to suit specific operating systems. The user can therefore input appropriate data to allow them to be contacted and interact with customers and other third parties via the hub interface which lies behind the displays. Figure 3 illustrates a range of user options which are available for selection by each third party and/or customer, although not all options may be relevant to different types of customers or third parties and therefore access may not be possible for certain third parties or customers to certain of the options.

Figure 2 illustrates a display page and on the left column there is provided a range of user selectable options, which when selected, allow the user, if they have a. suitable user level or authority, to access further data of the system and/or input data into the system. In Figure 2 the third party has selected the "lobs" option 2 which, in this embodiment, has led to an indication that at present there are a series of work tasks 4 allocated to the third party and provides some basic details relating to each of the work tasks including, the type of work task, 6, the customer identity 8, the scheduled date for the work task to be performed 10, the field location 12, the person from the third party performing the task 14, the area of land to be charged 16, confirmation of whether the work task ha.s been completed 18 and if approved 20. Typically when the work tasks are allocated or received from customers of the system, the work task list is added to and data relating to the work task is automatically a.dded and displayed to the particular third party to whom the work task has been allocated so as to provide a dynamic indication of the work tasks which are live at any given time. Equally eth customer is provided with a similar display which will indicate the work tasks that are being performed for them, by whom and the progression of the same.

In Figure 3 the user has selected the "Customers" option and this has generated two customers, and their contact details and any farm details can be populated into the system as shown 22.

In Figures 4 and 5 the "vehicles" option has been chosen and details of available relevant vehicles 24 of the particular third party to perform work tasks are shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 illustrates a screen display which allows the user to enter and update the details relating to a particular vehicle, in this embodiment the l'endt tractor 26. It should be appreciated that for at least some of the other options there is provided a similar ability for details to be edited, although access to the same may be restricted to only certain users of the system.

Figure 6 illustrates a similar display relating to implements which are available to the third party to use when the "implements" option 28 is chosen by the user.

In Figure 7 the user has selected the "Products" option 30 and this has generated a screen display showing details of consumable products 32 which are available andin stock for the third parry to use when performing work tasks, if they a.re required to do so. This therefore allows the third party to immediately be aware if they are able to offer to perform a work task which requires consumables and they can offer to do so if the y have the same in stock so that the same can be applied to a crop or field and details of the products include the cost and the unit in which the costs are allocated.

In Figure 8 the "team members" option 34 has been selected and this generates a screen showing details of members 36 of the third party to whom, the work tasks which are to be performed can be allocated. The contact details as well as the hours at which they are available to work and their role within the user organisation can also be provided.

In Figures 9-11 there are illustrated screen displays relating to the selection of the "Fields" option and in this embodiment the user is adding details of a new field 38 to which a proposed work task relates. 'this option could also be selected by the customer who wishes the work task to be performed and thereby provide geographical data relating to the field on which the work is to be performed. In the Figures there is shown a satellite image 40 of the geographical location at which the field is provided, in Figure 9 the field name is input and in Figure 10 the shape of the specific field is drawn and allocated to that field name along with the size and geographical location. In Figure lithe crop details 42 are added for that year and the data also serves to provide a historical record of crops for the field.

In Figure 12 the "Operations" option 44 has been selected and this, in turn, has led to the display of a range of activities which can be performed by the third party in relation to a specific work task. I c_ir each third party they will have the option of selecting which of the activities or operations they are capable of performing. In Figure 13a, the combination drilling activity has been selected and in Figure 1313 the "round baling" activity has been selected and the billing cost and unit 46 is identified for the respective activities. l*Urther details such as vehicles, implements and products can also be identified and other details such as, in this embodiment, moisture content, health and safety checklist requirements can also be displayed as shown in Figure 14a.

The checklist requirement may be generated automatically with regard to the particular type of work task and particular machinery And activities which are to be performed and one such checklist 48 is illustrated in Figure 14b. 'typically the cheddist has to bc detected as being completed before performance of the work task is allowed to be performed.

Figure 13 illustrates the jobs display again and another list of work tasks which have been allocated to a third party. With reference to one of the work tasks. J00063, 30 for round baling then the more detailed work task details are displayed in Figure 16 which shows that the task has been completed and includes identifying on the satellite image 52 the location of the work task. Figures 17a and b illustrate a display showing the relevant data for work task J00095 54 which is scheduled to be performed and identifies the geographical location and the particular user, Will Dunn, to whom the work task has been allocated to be performed by. When the work task has been performed the user inputs this into the system to change the status of the same. Figure 17b also illustrates the portion of the display which is generated to show the billable amount for the work task 54 in terms of the 100 bales that have been taken from two fields and also that the use of the fertiliser screenings which have been applied should also be charged Figures 18-30 illustrate screen displays of a user's mobile phone device on which the system has been loaded as an app. There is a log in display and menu of options as shown in Figures 18 and 19. Of the user then selects the jobs option the user is provided with a list of work tasks which have been allocated to them as shown in Figure 20. For the round baling work task J00063 50 that is shown as having been completed in the display of Figure 21 with 30 Bales having been created and the movement of the vehicle used for the baling is shown with regard to the satellite image of the field as shown in Figure 23.

For the work task J00063 51which is scheduled to be performed and as illustrated in Figures 20, 22, and for any other work tasks the user, if their level of access allows, can change the status of the work task from scheduled, to in progress, to completed, update any relevant details and record the performance of the work task using the selection of options from the display screens as shown in Figures 23-26. It will also be seen that a visual representation of the progression of the work task can be provided.

In Figures 27 -30 the performance of the work task j00065 5lis shown which includes, in Figure 28, the performance of the health and safety check steps which are predetermined to be required for the machinery for performing the work task and which may also allow the inclusion of details of any break downs of the machinery which may occur. In Figure 27 there is shown the geographical mapping of the machinery with respect to the Held as the work task is being performed.

In Figure 29, other details which relate to the work task can be included which allow the charging of the performance of the work task,kckrhigwngthneandmwnt notes to be included when the work task has been completed as indicated in Figure 30.

Figures 31 and 32 illustrate the generation of invoicing displays 55 as part of the system which allows the third party and customer to access invoice details which are relevant to the work task, whether the same have been paid and the specilic work task details to which each invoice relates, with this information having been generated, and the display populated via the hub interface of the system and the relevant data for the work task stored therein Figure 33 also illustrates a display of other Apps and functional systems 56 which have been integrated into the system in accordance with the invention and which will operate automatically and integrally with the system. Although not shown, various operating systems of different vehicles and implements can also be integrated and, if required reformatted, so as to allow the same to be viewable via the hub interface and also for the data from said vehicles and implements to be input in the memory of the system in relation to specific work tasks.

Figure 34 illustrates the provision of a timesheet display whereby the time taken by each person of a third party is identified and allocated to a specific work task and the input of this data. into the system allows the generation of invoices to be accurately achieved and for a further level of granularity of the performance of the work task to be available.

Figures 35-39 illustrates displays generated in accordance with the invention for further work tasks. Figure 35 illustrates arrange of work tasks allocated to a third party user of the system and also provided a visual indication of the geographical layout of the files in which the tasks are to be performed and the specific customers with, in this embodiment a number of fields in the same vicinity for which work tasks are to be performed but for different customers in the form of HT Agricultural Services and Joe Filoggs and Sons. 'this therefore illustrates the manner in which the third party is able to group together work tasks for different customers in the same geographical location and/or for similar work tasks and thereby improve the efficiency of scheduling and use of vehicles and implements. Figure 36 indicates a scheduled list of work tasks 58, 58', 58"that can be generated by a third party via the system and Figure 37 indicates further information with regard to a further task 59.

Figures 38 and 39 illustrate a work task report display generated by the system upon completion of the work task 57. In this report there is provided a visual indication 55 of how the task was completed on the fields, the vehicle and implement used to perform the task, the fuel used, time spent to perform the task, a visual indication of the fields with the work task having been performed, any instructions relating to the job and a time lime 53 of the actions of the operator of the apparatus, Fred Clements, as they reached the location and performed the work task. All of this report information can be used for multiple Functions within the system in accordance with the invention, including, for example, the generation of invoices for the work performed and passing the same to the customer, allow the customer to check that the work has been performed, and/or the data relating to the work task is allocated to the historical data for the geographical location as part of the retrievable historical data for the management of the Land.

Claims (3)

1. Claims 1. A system for the management and control of performance of agricultural work for one or a plurality of customers, said system including a hub interface including means to identify a location at which a work task is to be performed, means to allocate the said work task to a particular customer which has instructed the work task to be performed and means specifying the work task which is to be performed and wherein the system is accessible via the hub interface by a plurality of third parties to allow them to perform, advise on and/or charge for the work task and enable data relating to the work task to be accessed and data relating to the performance of the work task to be input.
2. 2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the performance of the work task is by an employee of the customer or an independent contractor party who visits said work task location with the appropriate apparatus and/or personnel required to perform the said work task.3. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the customer is a party which controls the management of the land on which the work task is to be performed and may include any or any combination of a farmer, a company, agronomist, crop consultant and/or an agent for the owner of the land 4. A system according to any of the preceding chum. s wherein the system allows the input by the customer of one or a plurality of identified work tasks and the automatic movement of data relating to the said identified tasks to data processing means and a memory of the system so as to be available for access by the party or parties performing the work tasks.
3. 3. A system according to claim 4 wherein at least some of the data which is input into the system is only made available to the third party or parties selected to perform the said work task.6. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the input of the work task by the customer, the performance, the provision of advice and/or charging for the performance of the said work task by the one or more third parties arc done independently and without the need for direct contact between the same but all referring to and inputting data into the said system for the same work task.7. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein one or more accountancy packages are integrated with the system.8. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the third party is given access to the geographical location of the work task to allow guidance to the work task location and/or scheduling the performance of a plurality of said work tasks with respect to the geographical locations of the same.9. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein prior to starting, during and/or following performance of the identified work task, data relating to the identity of the third party, the identity of the particular person or persons who have performed the work task, apparatus used to perform the work task and/or consumables used in the performance of the work task is input into the said system memory.10. A system according to claim 9 wherein the input data includes any or any combination of the start time of the task, the completion time of the task, any consumables used, any other products which have been used during the task, the identity of the person who performed the task, the identity of the apparatus used to performed the task, any problems which occurred during the performance of the task, visual Health & Safety prechecks and/or notifications of progress.11. A system according to claim9 wherein the input data includes the uploading of photographic evidence of the performance of the work task.12 A system according to claim -11 wherein video of the performance of the work task is streamed live via the system to the customer.13. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein an area of land on which the work task is to be performed is identified and, selectively split into smaller sectors so as to enable greater granularity of data to be allocated to said sectors.14. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the system allows said third parties to indicate whether they are capable of performing the identified task within a particular time interval and a cost for performing the work task.15. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein said hub interface enables access to a number of third parties offering agricultural related functions and the monitoring and performance of and interaction between said functions.16. A system according to the preceding claim wherein the hub interface is accessible as an APP or other user accessible facility which is provided on a user operable electronic device such as a mobile phone, tablet or PC.17. A system according to claim 16 wherein some or all of the said agricultural functions offered by said third parties are each based on one or more APP's and the said APP's are linked to the hub to be accessible to the customer and other third parties via said hub interface.18. A system according to claim 17 wherein the hub interface allows the communication with a series of function performance and control systems and allows data from a function with a first format to be made available by the adaptation of data relating to the first function via the hub interface and transfer that data to a function operating in a different format and thereby allow the data to be used effectively and efficiently and be transferable between functions.19. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein when a third party provides a report related to a work task the report is downloaded to the memory via the hub interface and selectively made available to the relevant customer and at least one third party who is to perform the work task.20. A system according to claim 19 wherein the said report includes any, or any combination of, spray recommendations, nutrient management plans and/or assistance with the condition of designated portions of land.21. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the system includes the function of management of inventories of vehicles, implements and spare parts which are available to a third party and to be used by them to perform work tasks and the servicing, maintenance and scheduling of use of the same.22. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the hub interface includes a work rendering platform to enable customers to place onto the platform, work tasks which they require to be performed and allows third parties with the capability to perform the said work tasks to indicate that via the hub interface and submit a price for performance of the work task.23. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the system allows the monitoring of the use of consumable materials used to perform said work tasks, said material including any, or any combination, of fuel, diesel additives, fertiliser, seeds, spray liquids and, as and when a predetermined level of the same is reached, to automatically order replacement supplies so as to ensure that the work tasks can be performed in as efficient a manner as possible.24. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein a function of the system is the automatic allocation of information relating to potential hazards of a particular work task and to make any hazards information available to a third party performing said work task.25. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein a function of the system is to provide cartographic and/or mapping of fields or sectors of land on which a work task is to be performed and automatically identify and allocate any information in the system memory which is linked to the said field or sector of land to that field or sector and made available to the third party performing a work task thereon.26. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the system memory receives data relating the to the performance of work tasks and/or external data and advice and allocates the same to a specific geographical location and/or customer and stores the same over time to therefore generate a retrievable historical database record.27 A system according to claim 26 wherein the historical database record is provided in an auditable format.