Field maps with your visit notes attached

Every layer on one map

The map has two kinds of layer. Your own: field boundaries, places colored by how long since the last visit, the pins from every capture, a heat map of where the team recorded its captures, today's route and the area you can reach in half an hour or an hour. And reference layers for the ground itself: the soil survey, eight years of crop history, NDVI from Sentinel-2, and elevation with hillshade and contours.

Reference layers are clipped to your field boundaries, so the soil map shows the soils inside the field you drew and not the whole county. Each layer has its own page with its source, its date and what it can and cannot tell you.

The field boundary and the observation location

A useful farm map answers two different questions: which ground belongs to this visit, and where you made each observation. The saved field boundary identifies the place. The visit’s observation locations explain individual stops. Together with the photos and notes, they let another advisor understand the work without relying on a field nickname alone.

Check the outline against the ground you intend to discuss. An imported boundary may include a different area from the field the grower names at the gate. A lane, waterway or neighboring parcel can change the area represented by a map layer. Keep that distinction clear before interpreting a field average or writing about the whole field.

A phone location helps you find a stop again, but the observation still needs words. Describe the outlet, row, entrance or visible landmark when it helps the next person. A close photograph of a damaged plant may show the detail well while giving little clue about which part of the field contains it.

If you return after a repair or a change in conditions, make a fresh visit record. The earlier pin shows where the earlier observation was made. The new photo and note describe what you found today. The report can then explain what changed, using dates and locations the client can follow.

Choosing map layers for the question at hand

Before a scouting round, a dated satellite image may help you choose a patch to inspect. A US soil survey may suggest a question about the soils mapped beneath it. Crop classifications may raise a question about earlier land use. These layers provide context for the walk, and each describes a different source and period.

Saved maps can accompany you offline. New layers need a connection, and US soil and crop-history coverage does not extend to every farm worldwide. Our data-sources page explains those sources. For the client’s report, select the map that supports the finding and explain why that location matters to the proposed next step.

Who it’s for

Crop advisors and land managers can find a farm, return to a photographed stop and read its earlier visit notes. Agricultural layers add survey and satellite background when planning the walk.