New to smartphone or tablet this Christmas? We're made life easy for you and have selected the best must have and free farming apps out there for Irish farmers.Agriland (free)Agriland is now the largest daily farming news portal in Ireland and is updated hourly with all the latest news and views from Ireland and beyond. We do not operate a subscription or sign in model, so all the content is totally free to view and there are no hidden charges or restrictions on the number of free articles you can view.The Agriland news app will make it easier for readers to stay up-to-date with all the latest agricultural and farming news from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Europe and around the world.

Now, readers can have up-to-the minute news, information and features on all that is happening in the agri world.The Agriland.ie app will allow readers access the most recent news stories as they happen, on their phone or tablet, on both IOS and Android.Stories are arranged in categories including latest news; comment; EU and Northern Ireland. The app will also allow our growing readership to engage further with us, get involved in debate and to also share their favourite stories.Features of the app include the option to save stories to read later, while innovative features such as swipe for the next story, make it easy to keep up-to-date while out and about on the farm, or while on the move.Download the Agriland app for free here.Met Eireann (free)

As all farmers know up to date weather information is vital to the efficient running of all farm's. The Met Eireann app is in this context an invaluble resource for farmers and should feature on the farming apps of every farmer.This is a cross-platform site, designed to work on most newer devices. It includes the following features:

Weather Warnings
Radar Animation
National & Provincial Text Forecasts
Latest Hourly Weather Reports
Sea Area Forecasts
Ferry Crossings
Coastal Reports

FarmFlo (free)Farmflo’s growing suite of applications which are designed to make compliance paperwork easier for Irish farmers.Farmers will also be able to view detailed records and histories about their entire herd down to the individual animal through the application.[caption id="attachment_57832" align="aligncenter" width="277"]

Gareth Devenney, Co-Founder of Farmflo and Arable Farmer[/caption]Done Deal (free)

The DoneDeal app as become one of the most essential farming apps download for many farmers. With over 500,000 visitors a day on Ireland's busiest and fastest selling website, you'll never miss a bargain with the DoneDeal app in your pocket.The latest version allows you to take photos of what you want to sell and create your ad directly from your mobile in minutes.Viber (free)Free calls, text and picture sharing with anyone, anywhere.This app allows the user to have free text, calling, photo messages and location-sharing with other Viber users.Some of the main advantages of Viber is that it is easy to make phone calls and there is no registration, alias or invitations required.It also instantly integrates with your own contact listBeef PriceWatch (free)The application, developed by his Department of Agriculture for smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices, will provide users with up-to-date information on the average price paid for animals in 24 of the Department's approved meat factories throughout the country.The 'Beef PriceWatch App' provides, each week, the average price at national and individual factory level for steers, heifers, cows, and young and old bulls.It presents beef producers with a comparison for a representative group of animals in each category, such as the average R3 price for Steers and Heifers, and the average U3 price for Young Bulls. Behind these representative prices, the user is one click away from detailed information, at factory level, for prices across the entire 15 x 15 beef carcass classification grid.BASF Weed ID (free)Based on the acclaimed Encyclopaedia of Arable Weeds and developed in association with ADAS, the BASF Weed ID App aims to provide an easy to use reference guide to the major broad-leaved weeds and grass-weeds in the UK supporting weed identification of 140 species.

The BASF Weed ID App brings weed identification right up to date, forgoing the need to take books into the field to identify potential weed species. Whatever crop you are growing, it is an essential part of good agricultural practice to know the weed species you need to control in order to use the most appropriate herbicide.This farming apps has been designed to be an easy to use in-field practical aid to crop advisors, growers, trainee agronomists and agricultural students. Correctly identifying weeds is the first step to effective control – download our smart, easy to use tool today.MooMonitorNext up is the MooMonitor app which has proved to be very popular among farmers for notifying them when a cow is in heat.The data from Dairymaster’s heat detection collars is automatically sent to the farmer’s phone where the MooMonitor mobile app allows the data to be viewed directly and inform the farmer which cows are in heat.According to Dairymaster, it can alert the farmer to the 75% of heats that happen overnightThe mobile app allows two way interaction with the system, this removes the need to go back to the computer. When the system detects sick cows it will send an immediate notification direct to your phone.Firestone Tyre Pressure (free) Firestone has introduced a free Europe-wide iPhone application to help farmers maintain their tractor tyres at the right pressure. When the 'Tyre Pressure Calculator' app is downloaded, users simply select their tyre size and then see the correct tyre pressure for the load and speed of their tractor.This is one of the best free farming apps on the market.Operating a tractor on incorrect pressure shortens tyre life and can unnecessarily increase soil compaction, which reduces crop yield. When changing farming activity (for example between field work and road transport) the app can help farmers maximize tyre life by adjusting to recommended tyre pressure, according to Firestone.

Agriland's top farming apps for iphone and android

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