July 17, 2016 09:16 PM

The R7® Tool by Winfield US and Climate FieldView™ digital agriculture platform will offer a direct interface for easier use by ag retailers, facilitating quicker, data-driven decisions by farmers.

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Winfield US (Winfield United Suppliers) and The Climate Corporation, a division of Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON), are further enhancing their collaboration by implementing a two-way, cross-navigation exchange between the R7® Tool, the Winfield US decision ag solution, and The Climate Corporation’s Climate FieldView™ platform.

“Our aim is to help foster better adoption of ag technology tools so retailers can then use those capabilities to help farmers make more profitable and agronomically sound decisions,” said Mike Vande Logt, chief operating officer, Winfield US. “Technology is changing rapidly, and retailers and farmers who don’t avail themselves of its many benefits may find themselves at risk of being left behind.”

The new enhancements are expected to roll out in two phases in time for 2017 crop season planning, and provide retailers with a more streamlined process to help them visualize and use data.

Phase 1, expected to launch in October, will help ag retailers make seed recommendations that best fit a field’s profile. This enhancement will be available to retail sales personnel through navigation from the Climate FieldView™ platform’s prescription tools to the R7® Tool, which accesses Answer Plot® Program <http://bit.ly/29Ah9Og> data.

Phase 2, expected to begin in March 2017, will help retailers address in-season issues, such as nitrogen management. It will provide navigation from the R7® Tool to the Climate FieldView™ platform and make it easy for retailers to access nitrogen monitoring, field health, and variable rate seeding prescription features.

“With these enhancements, the R7® Tool and the Climate FieldView™ platform can be used very easily in a synergistic way,” said Vande Logt. “For example, a retailer can call up a historic image and a prescription map from the R7® Tool, and pair that with the Climate FieldView™ platform’s nitrogen monitoring features to evaluate the past, present and future state of a field, then use that data to help the grower make the best decisions.”

“Easy data integration between the Climate FieldView™ platform and retailer software systems is an important step in enabling farmers and their trusted advisors to collectively make data-driven decisions with confidence,” said Mike Stern, chief executive officer for The Climate Corporation. “We’re thrilled to have an advanced data connectivity partnership between the Climate FieldView™ platform and the R7® Tool so Winfield US retailers can easily navigate between the two platforms for a more collaborative experience with their Climate FieldView™ customers.”

The R7® Tool will also be enhanced in the coming months. Beginning October 1, the tool will be reengineered to be faster, more user-friendly and customizable, with a single platform accessible from PC, laptop or tablet. Enhancements include new functionality that enables retailers to create a multi-hybrid prescription for variable-rate seeding recommendations.

Retailers can learn more about these new capabilities by contacting their Winfield US agriculture technology specialist, their local Climate representative, or they can read more at answertech.com .

About Winfield US
Winfield US (Winfield United Suppliers) is a seed and crop protection business serving nearly 1,300 independently owned and operated agricultural retailers that operate thousands of retail locations across the United States. Through its recognized portfolios of agricultural products, services and agricultural expertise delivered under the WinField® and United Suppliers® brands, the business supports retailers in helping farmers achieve high levels of success in the field.

About The Climate Corporation
The Climate Corporation, a division of Monsanto Company, aims to help all the world's farmers sustainably increase their productivity through the use of digital tools. The integrated Climate FieldView™ digital agriculture platform provides farmers with a comprehensive, connected suite of digital tools. Bringing together seamless field data collection, advanced agronomic modeling and local weather monitoring into simple mobile and web software solutions, Climate FieldView™ Prime, Climate FieldView™ Plus and Climate FieldView™ Pro give farmers a deeper understanding of their fields so they can make more informed operating decisions to optimize yields, maximize efficiency and reduce risk. For more information, please visit www.climate.com <https://www.climate.com/> or follow the company on Twitter@climatecorp <https://twitter.com/climatecorp> .