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Geoinformatics_06-2009
article the north rhine-westphalia chamber of agriculture. we needed a better way of collecting and managing information in order to better meet the needs of local farmers. the chamber began searching for a gps solution that was accurate, reliable, easy to use, and compatible with other internal systems, while fitting in the department s budget. after evaluating their options, the chamber purchased 28 trimble geoexplorer 2008 series geoxt handheld gps computers running fkspad software. the fks-pad application is an esri arcpad-based software solution designed specifically for the european agriculture industry in accordance with european union regulations. as we started looking for a new solution, we discovered that the agricultural administration in a nearby state had been using trimble gps equipment for many years with great results, said sehrt. we selected trimble technology based on our colleagues recommendation, and because of the equipment s functionality latest news? visit www.geoinformatics.com and easy handling. although managers were convinced the new equipment would be easy to learn and use, they were still concerned about employee adoption of the new technology. we knew there would be some resistance to any new technology from our field workers, so it was important to find a solution that was user-friendly and intuitive, while also guaranteeing the accuracy and reliability we needed to meet eu requirements, said sehrt. ria for risk evaluation, aerial photos of the agricultural area under consideration, data from the application, the address, and quality control documentation. the field workers are equipped with a laptop computer and a geoxt handheld, said sehrt. the field worker logs into the system from a home office or the local branch office to retrieve the work orders assigned to him each day. with a work order in hand, the field worker then visits the agricultural site, using the geoxt handheld to map the area under consideration, collecting information about the size of the area, and creating an outline of it. additional information, such as type of crop, size of agricultural company, revenue, and ownership details are also collected at this time. once the field worker has gathered all of the necessary data, he discusses the results onseptember 2009 an integrated control system now, once the north rhine-westphalia chamber of agriculture receives a subsidy application from a local farmer, it is gathered and stored in the chamber s integrated administration and control system. from there, technical inspection service personnel review the application and determine which farms require a field visit. work orders for the field personnel are then issued in the system, which include the crite- 35
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