Cultivations

A Cultivation represents the lifecycle of a crop on a Field. It is a central concept in the Farm Data Model (FDM) that allows you to track the entire process of growing a crop, from planting to harvest.

The Cultivation Lifecycle

A Cultivation is defined by a sequence of actions that are stored in separate tables:

1. cultivationStarting: This action marks the beginning of a cultivation. It links a cultivation to a field and records the following information:
   • b_lu_start: The date when the crop was planted.
   • b_sowing_amount: The amount of seed that was used.
   • b_sowing_method: The method used for sowing.
2. cultivationHarvesting: This action represents the gathering of the crop. It links a cultivation to a harvestable and records the b_lu_harvest_date. A single cultivation can have multiple harvesting events.
3. cultivationEnding: This action marks the end of a cultivation. It records the b_lu_end date and whether the crop residue was left on the field (m_cropresidue).

This sequence of actions defines a single cultivation period. A Field can have multiple cultivations over time, be fallow or have multiple cultivations on the same time.

Linking to Catalogues

Each Cultivation is linked to the cultivationsCatalogue via the b_lu_catalogue foreign key. This catalogue is a standardized list of crops that ensures data consistency and comparability across different farms and applications.

The cultivationsCatalogue provides a wealth of information about each crop, including:

• b_lu_name: The name of the crop.
• b_lu_variety_options: A list of possible varieties for the crop.
• b_lu_harvestable: Indicates whether the crop is harvested none, once, or multiple times.
• b_lu_yield: The typical yield of the crop.
• b_lu_n_harvestable and b_lu_n_residue: The nitrogen content of the harvestable part of the crop and the residue, respectively.

A farm can select which cultivation catalogues it wants to use by creating an entry in the cultivationCatalogueSelecting table.