Field measurement, records and costing

We are preparing a mode for ATVs, UTVs and tractors with an external RTK GNSS receiver. The first intended use is a 3 m weed wiper; the design allows other mounted implements to follow.

Planned capabilities include reusable equipment profiles, antenna offsets, an implement working line, treated acres, overlap and missed areas, and links to Field Activities & Costing. A–B manual guidance is a later goal.

The architecture review is complete. Profile and geometry development comes next; live coverage and guidance are not implemented and no release date is set. Current external receiver support is diagnostics only.

See the development update and concept screen →

Choose UK mixed, Imperial / US or Metric in Settings. UK mixed is the default: acres first for field area, with hectares and square metres alongside, and metres or kilometres for distance.

Imperial / US shows acres and square feet for area, with feet and miles for distance. Metric shows hectares and square metres, with metres and kilometres.

Field activities follow that choice: treated area and new product rates start in acres for UK and Imperial / US modes, or hectares for Metric. You can set each product rate per acre or hectare independently. Cost summaries show both.

These are measurement preferences. Version 0.13.0 costing uses GBP and metric product quantities; US dollars, pounds and gallons are not yet supported.

Available to authorised internal testers in AcreTrace 0.13.0. Open a saved area field, choose Activities & costs, then Add activity.

Record the date, work type, notes and treated area. The starting area is the field's net area after exclusions; change it for a partial-field job.

Add multiple products with rates per acre or hectare. Litres, millilitres, kilograms, grams and tonnes are supported, with compatible purchase-unit conversion. Enter a bag price such as £32 per 25 kg, or a price per litre or tonne.

See required quantities, each input cost, additional costs, the total and cost per acre and hectare. Costs represent the amount used, rather than whole packs to buy. Prices are in GBP.

View, edit or delete saved activities and review all-time and calendar-year spend, with activity-type and input-category breakdowns. Historical activities retain their treated-area snapshot; annual spend per area uses the current whole-field net area.

Everything works offline. Complete backups include activities and costs; existing PDF survey reports and mapping exports do not include the new activity history.

Learn to record field activities and costs →

On first launch, five short full-screen pages explain Measure, Record, Mark & Return, and Report & Protect.

The final page lets the user choose Guided or Standard mode. The tour can be replayed later from Guide to AcreTrace.

Turn on Guided field mode for a simpler interface with large controls and clear instructions about what to do next.

AcreTrace leads the user through measuring, checking, recording field details, adding exclusions and markers, and finishing the field record.

Switch back to the full interface at any time. Both modes use the same surveys and settings.

Walk an irregular field boundary and record it point by point, or use automatic capture where it suits the job.

AcreTrace calculates the enclosed area and perimeter, with acres shown first in UK mixed and Imperial / US modes, or hectares in Metric mode.

The saved record includes the positioning accuracy reported by the phone.

Distance measures between two points.

Route records the travelled path, including bends in tracks, fences and ditches.

Name a survey, give it a field reference and add it to a farm or holding.

Add notes, mark regularly used fields as favourites and archive old records without having to throw them away.

Enter a nine-digit SBI, identify whether you are a farmer, employee or agent, and explicitly accept the official data licence before fetching.

The GeoJSON travels directly between the Android app and Defra over HTTPS. There is no AcreTrace proxy, account or server in the request path.

Preview the geometry, select parcels and choose the holding and field names before importing.

• See parcels that are added, changed, unchanged or removed on refresh
• Keep every official baseline, local edit and walked survey safe
• Create a separate local copy when an official boundary needs editing
• Retain RPA feature, sheet, parcel, validity, area, perimeter and licence provenance

RPA source vertices are not presented as phone measurement points and do not claim phone accuracy.

Already have a field boundary from another app or GIS system? Choose the file on the phone and check the outline before importing.

AcreTrace accepts KML, KMZ and WGS84 GeoJSON polygons, lets you untick shapes you do not need and asks for clear holding and field names.

The original file is not uploaded. Imported vertices are identified as source vertices and are not given invented phone accuracy.

A measured field may include woodland, ponds, buildings, heaps or other ground that shouldn't count towards the usable acreage.

Walk around those areas as exclusions.

AcreTrace shows:

• Total measured area
• Excluded area
• Usable area

So a 20-acre boundary doesn't automatically mean 20 usable acres.

Save named locations within a field.

Markers can be used for things such as:

• Gates
• Troughs
• Water points
• Drains
• Pipes
• Fence posts
• Trees
• Hazards
• Samples
• Access points
• Repair Needed
• Fallen tree

Add a name, note and photograph where useful.

Later, AcreTrace can show the distance and bearing back to the marker.

If you find a broken fence, damaged gate, leaking trough, blocked drain or something else needing attention, mark Repair Needed.

Attach a note or photograph to describe the repair.

The marker stays with the field record and can be included in reports and exports.

Create an A4 PDF field report containing the field map, acreage, measurement information, exclusions, markers and notes.

For mapping and GIS work, AcreTrace can also export common geographic file formats.

Several fields can be combined into one map for a whole farm or holding.

For contract work, add a client name, job or quote reference and short work description.

Distance and route records help with fencing, hedging and track work. Area and exclusions help with mowing, spraying and other per-acre work.

Entered contractor details are included in the PDF report. Blank fields are omitted.

Switch on the verified free OS OpenData Light mapping in Settings for extra context while online.

AcreTrace uses only free OpenData zoom levels and requests tiles directly from Ordnance Survey. It does not put OS mapping into the PDF report.

If the map service or mobile signal is unavailable, AcreTrace says so plainly while saved records, measurements and the normal field plan continue to work offline.

Records are stored on the phone. Backups can be saved to a location you choose.

Create a complete AcreTrace backup when you choose and save it somewhere separate from the phone.

A backup can include your surveys, field activities and costs, settings and marker photographs.

Phone positioning accuracy varies with the device and conditions.

AcreTrace displays the accuracy reported by the phone and flags low-confidence positions.

For work requiring survey-grade or legal accuracy, use the appropriate surveying equipment.