From mass to measuring

New myKWS application “Fit4NEXT Field-Check” makes the performance of catch crops visible.

From sowing to harvest: the myKWS online platform guides farmers through the season with more than 30 tools and services. Area-specific technical information, digital field management and sophisticated smart farming technologies help farmers to optimize their crop rotation and make agronomic decisions based on objective data.

This is also made possible by the new myKWS application ‘Fit4NEXT Field-Check’: "With our biomass tool, we are providing farmers with concrete figures for the parameters nitrogen and carbon as well as for humus formation and CO₂ fixation for the first time. The ‘Fit4NEXT Field-Check’ makes the performance and potential of catch crops visible and measurable," explains Portfolio Manager Markus Molthan.

We have been cultivating catch crops on our farm for more than 20 years. The challenges in agriculture, such as climate change or the elimination of herbicides, are making catch crop cultivation increasingly important.

Carl Eggers, Farmer

The “Fit4NEXT Field-Check" is calibrated for the five most important KWS catch crop mixtures and can be used universally for different crop rotations. The launch of the “Fit4NEXT Field Check” is planned for this year in Germany. Expansion to other markets is planned for the future.

1 / 3

Farmer Carl Eggers, who cultivates catch crops on his farm using the new biomass tool “Fit4NEXT Field-Check”. On the right Markus Molthan, Portfolio Manager Catch Crops at KWS.
2 / 3

To determine the biomass produced by catch crops, the fields are designated within myKWS, and various details, such as sowing time and soil type, are entered.
3 / 3

The “Fit4NEXT Field-Check” is calibrated for the five most important KWS catch crop mixtures and can be used universally for different crop rotations.

Catch crops promote soil fertility and biodiversity and thus make an important contribution to more sustainable agriculture: Small crops, big impact – KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA

Hightech meets handcraft

Artificial intelligence, robotics and genome analysis are important tools in modern sugar beet breeding. But the experience and craftsmanship of the breeders remain essential.