Useful farm records: begin simply, then consider farmOS

A record is useful when it helps answer a real question: which bed produced food, how much water it received, what an input cost or why a tree failed. Begin with that decision, then choose paper, a spreadsheet or a digital system.

The word Memoranda on an old notebook page. — A page detail from a farmer’s notebook dated 1895, USA. A historical illustration of keeping records, not a farmOS screenshot.Image: Unknown author; digitised copy shared by Wikimedia contributor (see source file) · Source and attribution · Public domain · Wikimedia display-size version; no additional crop or content edits.

From the Namibian discussions

The Namibian collection included an open-source farming list naming farmOS. Some broad lists mix active projects with uncertain examples, so each tool needs checking individually. farmOS is a concrete option with public documentation; its suitability still depends on the people who will maintain the records.

Choose one question to answer

For a small garden, a bed name, date, action, water and harvest may be enough. For a livestock or sales activity, the useful record will differ. Do not collect every possible detail before deciding how it will improve a weekly decision.

Understand the farmOS model

farmOS organises growing things and their context as assets, with dated logs recording activities and observations. Its documentation also describes CSV export. This can link records over time, but setup, hosting, backups and support still need someone responsible. Open-source software is not automatically a free managed service.

Try the workflow with ordinary data

Create a small example using one bed or animal group and a few dated events.
Agree names and units: litres, millimetres, kilograms and NAD as appropriate.
Check that another person can enter a record, find it and understand what it means.
Export a copy and verify that it opens and retains the information you need. Decide how backups will be kept.

Keep people and access in mind

Share accounts and records only in ways appropriate to the project’s privacy and responsibilities. A public learning summary does not need workers’ private details or precise locations of valuable assets. Check the actual tool’s offline capabilities rather than assuming it will work without connectivity.

Review, then simplify

After a month, ask which entries helped a decision and which were routinely skipped. Remove unnecessary fields before expanding. A maintained notebook is better than a complicated abandoned database, and it can be digitised later if there is a clear benefit.

Namibian climate and microclimate

Intermittent connectivity, shared phones, dust and power outages affect the working method. Seasonal workloads can also overwhelm a system designed during a quiet period. Test during an ordinary busy week.

Your first practical step

Choose one growing area and record its activities for a fortnight. Use those real entries to test whether farmOS would improve the workflow.

Watch and adapt

Watch: farmOS in 5 Minutes

Publisher: farmOS / Michael Stenta
Country and context: Software demonstration; filming country not specified.

An introduction to the software’s approach. Verify current features in the documentation.

This is a software demonstration rather than a climate-specific growing method. Interface details can change; use current documentation and verify export and backup arrangements.

Keep exploring

Sources and further reading

Have you tried this in Namibia? Share the site conditions, method and result—including what did not work—with the Living Earth community. Local observations help the next person adapt the idea.