RHIZA – Making digital farming work for you
JUNE, 2026
Blog
How the Smart Connected Farm connects agronomy, data and decision support
More farm technology does not automatically mean better decisions.
The value comes from connecting the systems already being used, bringing relevant information together and making it easier for farmers and agronomists to act on it.
That is the principle behind Agrii’s Smart Connected Farm, a model for combining agronomy, farm data, decision-support tools and specialist technologies around the needs of the farm business.
Not another platform
The Smart Connected Farm is not intended to replace the individual technologies already being used on farm.
Instead, it provides a framework for connecting different tools and making better use of the information they generate.
“The Smart Connected Farm is not another platform, it’s not another product, it is a blueprint for farmers to utilise the different agri-tech tools available to them in a way that benefits their business,” says Rachel Watling, National Marketing Manager at Agrii.
For RHIZA, Contour has a central role in this approach by bringing field information and decision-support tools together in one place.
Connecting Contour and TELUS Crop Management
A key part of the Smart Connected Farm is the integration between Contour and TELUS Crop Management.
The connection is designed to allow core farm and field information to move between the two systems, reducing the need to enter the same data more than once.
Jonny Kerley, Senior Product Manager for Origin Digital, says this addresses one of the main frustrations created by the increasing number of digital farming platforms.
“We need to be connected across the decisions we make on a crop, and to do this, our data needs to be connected.”
“We’ve seen a huge amount of new platforms coming to the market, whether that is individual machinery manufacturers with their telematics offerings or new agri-tech software. However, it is all siloed.”
Rather than attempting to build every function into one platform, the approach is to connect specialist systems where that improves the overall workflow.
“Contour brings data into one place and, with the aid of decision-support tools, uses the data to make better decisions. That’s why, rather than try to build a platform that does everything, we have collaborated with organisations like TELUS.”
Reducing duplicate data entry
Once the integration is complete, core farm and field information will be shared between Contour and TELUS Crop Management.
This should reduce duplicate data entry and allow growers and agronomists to work from the same underlying information across both systems.
A new crop protection module within Contour will also use information from the TELUS Label Database to support crop protection recommendations.
The aim is to create a more connected workflow without forcing users into a single all-encompassing platform.
Supporting the changing role of the agronomist
Satellite imagery, sensors, drones, disease forecasting and AI are increasing the amount of information available to both growers and advisers.
The challenge is turning that information into something useful.
Agrii agronomist Kathryn Styan believes this will change how agronomists work, with more time spent interpreting data and building more targeted recommendations.
“The Smart Connected Farm will bring all of our data together to help agronomists make better decisions, working with farmers to improve their businesses.”
She says the technology should support, rather than replace, the relationship between farmer and agronomist.
“Even if AI plays a bigger part in the process, our company is still about the relationship between the farmer and agronomist. A computer can’t replace that.”
Testing technology before wider use
Agrii’s research and development programme underpins the Smart Connected Farm approach.
New technologies are assessed through controlled research, field trials and commercial-scale testing before their wider role is considered.
Dr Ruth Mann, Agrii Head of Integrated Technologies, says more than 60 technologies have been reviewed and tested over the past three years.
“Around 20 of them were considered to have good potential for use on farm and so were taken to field-scale testing at our Digital Technology Farms.”
“Of those, we have identified five technologies to date that we consider have potential, are scalable, work effectively and deliver value in terms of return on investment.”
The Digital Technology Farm network is particularly important because technologies are assessed in combination, not simply as standalone tools.
Technology-led agronomic programmes are compared with the host farmer’s standard approach, helping Agrii understand how different systems can work together and where they genuinely add useful information.
Keeping farmers in control of their data
Greater connectivity means more information moving between systems, but control of that data remains with the farmer.
Farmers will be able to withdraw their data from either system if they choose.
This is an important part of the Smart Connected Farm approach: making farm information more useful without removing control from the business that generated it.
From disconnected systems to connected decisions
The Smart Connected Farm is less about adding more technology and more about helping existing tools work together.
For RHIZA, that means using Contour as part of a connected digital environment where field data, agronomy, decision-support tools and farm management systems can contribute to the same decision-making process.
The objective is simple: reduce duplication, make information easier to use and help farmers and agronomists make better-informed decisions.
Speak to the RHIZA team or your Agrii agronomist about how Contour can help bring farm data and decision-support tools together.
