FIELD RECORDS: KEEPING A RECORD THAT LASTS
A useful field record holds operations, inputs, observations, imagery and decisions against a stable field boundary, each with a date and a source. The test of a good record is not whether it satisfies a form today, but whether it answers a question honestly in five years when nobody involved is still available.
UPDATED 2026-09-01 · WRITTEN FOR: FARMS WANTING DURABLE, RETRIEVABLE FIELD-LEVEL RECORDS.
WHAT BELONGS IN THE RECORD
- The field boundary and area the record applies to, with its own change history.
- Operations and inputs with dates and who carried them out.
- Observations from the ground, with photographs where possible.
- Imagery-derived observations with acquisition dates.
- Decisions taken and the reasoning behind them.
- Explicit unknowns and gaps, including periods with no observation.
RECORD THE DECISION, NOT JUST THE ACTION
Most systems capture what was done. The expensive knowledge is why. A note saying “held off because the headland was still wet after the previous week” is worth more in three years than the operation date alone, and it is exactly the kind of thing memory does not retain.
CONTINUITY IS THE REAL BENEFIT
Staff change, contractors change, and farms change hands or managers. A field record that survives those transitions is the difference between a farm that accumulates knowledge and one that restarts every few years.
- Records depend on what is captured; automated capture covers only part of farm activity.
- AXARA records are a management record and do not constitute compliance certification.
- Historic records imported from other systems carry their original accuracy and gaps.
- Imagery-derived entries depend on third-party source availability.
- One persistent record per field that holds operations, observations, imagery and decisions together.
- Dates and provenance on every entry so the record stays interpretable.
- A change timeline that shows the field's history at a glance.
- Ask AXARA to search and summarise your own records with the underlying entries shown.
How long should farm records be kept?
Retention requirements vary by scheme, contract and jurisdiction, so check what applies to you. Practically, multi-year records are where most of the management value sits.
What is the most commonly missing item?
The reasoning behind decisions, and the record of periods when nothing was observed.
Do digital records satisfy scheme requirements?
That depends on the scheme's own rules. Treat software as a record-keeping tool and confirm requirements with the scheme administrator or your adviser.
Can I import records from another system?
Usually, subject to format. Imported records keep whatever gaps and inaccuracies they arrived with, so they should be dated and attributed as imported.
Who should enter records?
Whoever was there. Capture at the point of work, on a phone, beats reconstruction at a desk.