Agricultural machinery telematics: work, fuel and tractor utilisation

In brief

Telematics is worthwhile when it leads to a decision: reducing idling, improving the work plan or calculating the true cost of a field operation. GPS shows movement, CAN-Bus and SAE J1939 provide operating parameters, ISOBUS structures communication with the implement, and FarmPortal gives the data the context of a field, operator and cost.

• Do not equate engine time with productive fieldwork.
• Always calibrate fuel reports against the data source.
• Choose the KPI first, then the device.
• Start with the most heavily used machines.

What is agricultural machinery telematics?

Agricultural machinery telematics combines onboard electronics, GNSS positioning, data transmission and software. It answers more than the question, “Where is the tractor?” It also shows what the tractor is doing, when it started, which field it is on and what the work is costing.

At the most basic level, it provides location data and route history. The next level adds engine speed, engine hours, travel speed and fuel data. The most advanced level links completed work to a task in a farm management system (FMS). A machine spending two hours in a field does not necessarily mean that it completed two hours of productive work; some of that time may have been spent setting up equipment, refilling a tank or standing idle.

Why does operating without telematics cost time and money?

On a farm that runs several tractors intensively, the absence of telematics is not neutral. It conceals unnecessary journeys, idling, overdue servicing and uneven machinery utilisation. The cost becomes visible later, when work has to be reconstructed from phone calls, handwritten notes and operators’ memories.

In May, the situation often looks like this: at 9.30 pm, the farm manager still does not know whether the tractor has finished a field 18 km away or whether the sprayer can be sent elsewhere the next morning. The work record is completed two days later. The number of hours remains, but the idle time, route and exact completion time are lost.

Agri Solutions is also seeing growing interest among individual farms, supported by investment in Agriculture 4.0 and digitalisation grants. For that reason, FarmPortal is integrating an increasing number of telematics solutions rather than locking users into a single manufacturer’s ecosystem.

What data can be collected from agricultural machinery?

The scope depends on the model year, available connectors and integration method. Before buying any equipment, separate location data, engine data, fuel measurement, implement activity and the operational context supplied by the FMS.

CAN-Bus connects a machine’s control units, while SAE J1939 standardises many messages used in heavy-duty vehicles and off-road machinery. The structure of this family of documents is set out in the SAE J1939 Top Level Document.

How can tractor fuel, working time and routes be monitored?

Three reports are particularly useful: working time divided into operating states, fuel allocated to a task, and a route linked to the field boundary. A farm manager should be able to distinguish engine-on time, movement, idling and work carried out within the planned area.

An engine hour is not always productive

A tractor may record 11.2 engine hours but only 7.8 hours of fieldwork. The rest may be road travel, refuelling, equipment set-up or waiting. Only this breakdown reveals where time is being lost.

Fuel data must be calibrated

The engine control unit (ECU) usually provides calculated consumption, a probe measures a fuel level affected by the machine’s angle, and a flow meter measures flow directly. The report should be checked against refuelling records over several complete operating cycles.

A route needs field context

Geofencing identifies entry, exit and time spent within a field boundary. Route sequencing should also account for the width of the machine combination, road restrictions, access to inputs and the distance between locations.

How do CAN-Bus, ISOBUS and agricultural guidance systems work together?

CAN-Bus carries messages between control units, telematics collects data, guidance steers the machine combination, and ISOBUS structures communication between the tractor, terminal and implement. These are separate layers. Bought without a data-exchange plan, they create yet more closed dashboards.

ISOBUS, or ISO 11783, covers machinery communication and data transfer to farm software. The Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) points out that compatibility depends on the functions supported by the complete combination, not simply on an ISOBUS label. This is explained in the AEF’s official overview of ISOBUS.

ISOXML transfers structured task data, including fields, operations, products, application rates and spatial data. GPS is sufficient for route monitoring; fuel analysis requires CAN/J1939 data or a sensor; ISOBUS is useful for Section Control and task exchange. The differences are discussed in more detail in this comparison of CAN-Bus and ISOBUS in agricultural machinery.

How can tractor utilisation and machinery costs be measured?

A metric should lead to a decision. A location chart alone is not enough. The most useful indicators are idling percentage, hectares per hour, litres per hectare, travel time and task cost.

Do not compare operators without accounting for the type of work. Higher fuel consumption on heavy soil does not prove that someone is driving badly. The report must include the field, implement and task.

How should agricultural machinery telematics be implemented step by step?

Start with an operational problem, not a device catalogue. Fuel control requires different data from automated fieldwork records. A pilot involving two or three machines is safer than installing equipment across the entire fleet at once.

1. List the machines: model, model year, connectors, CAN/J1939, ISOBUS, terminal and engine hours.
2. Choose one cost: idling, road travel, servicing, fuel or manual work records.
3. Define the data sources: GPS, ECU, probe, flow meter, power take-off (PTO) or task status.
4. Organise fields and operators: automated events have no context without accurate records.
5. Run a pilot for 3–6 weeks: compare refuelling, time, hectares and work records.
6. Define the response: decide who handles an alert and when a report should change the schedule.
7. Scale after calibration: only then add more machines and ISOBUS data.

Before buying, check data ownership, offline buffering, export options, the API and transmission costs. A cheap tracker is a poor investment when its history cannot be transferred to the FMS.

How does FarmPortal use machinery data?

FarmPortal connects GPS monitoring with records of fields, crops, operators, tasks, costs and servicing. Data from a tractor can be assigned to a specific operation instead of remaining in a separate manufacturer dashboard.

The system organises the machinery fleet, scheduled servicing, repairs, costs and task history. The scope is described on the page covering FarmPortal features for farm and machinery management.

A work plan can be sent to an operator or a compatible terminal, while completion data can return to the field history. With application maps, this reduces the number of copied files and the risk of using an outdated task. An example is provided by the integration of an agricultural guidance system with FarmPortal.

Benefits for the farmer

The farmer can check completed work, machinery location, fuel consumption and the next service date more quickly. Where several operators use the same equipment, this reduces phone calls, manual records and disputes over engine hours.

Benefits for the farm manager

The manager can see fleet workload, the task queue and bottlenecks within a weather window. They can decide whether to move a machine combination, change the route, hire a contractor or make better use of an existing machine.

An example of a telematics implementation

A farm growing cereals, oilseed rape and maize operates across three locations. It has five tractors, one combine harvester and eight operators. The pilot covered the three most heavily used tractors. GNSS position was recorded every 30 seconds, together with ignition status, movement, engine speed, ECU fuel data, field boundaries and FarmPortal tasks.

At PLN 6.50 per litre, the difference is equivalent to PLN 5,265. This is an indicative figure, not a guaranteed saving. Weather, soil, the type of work and individual operators all affect the result. The most important outcome of the pilot is the identification of idling sources and improved data completeness.

When will telematics fail, and what mistakes do farms make?

In our experience, telematics will not repair a poor schedule or a lack of responsibility for acting on reports. It will reveal the problem, but someone still has to respond.

• Buying without a defined purpose: no KPI and no responsible person.
• Assuming full compatibility: CAN-Bus or ISOBUS does not guarantee access to every data point.
• No fuel calibration: the ECU reading is compared directly with the fuel invoice.
• Poor time classification: time spent in a field is automatically treated as productive work.
• Separation from the FMS: the operator still copies data into a notebook.
• Starting too broadly: the entire fleet is covered before three machines have been tested.

Full CAN data may not be economical for a single older tractor used only occasionally. In that case, GPS, a service schedule and a digital work record are a better option. The device should also buffer data when there is no signal, so a transmission gap does not create false stationary periods.

Questions we are most frequently asked by customers

Glossary

Agricultural machinery telematics

Devices, data transmission and software that collect information on the location, condition and utilisation of machinery.

GPS / GNSS

Satellite positioning systems used for route recording, geofencing and machinery guidance.

Geofencing

A digital boundary around a field or farm base that identifies entry, exit and time spent within the area.

CAN-Bus

A network connecting control units and sensors; it may provide engine and diagnostic data.

SAE J1939

A family of CAN-based communication standards used in heavy-duty vehicles and off-road machinery.

ISOBUS

The ISO 11783 standard for communication between a tractor, terminal and agricultural implement.

ISOXML

A format for exchanging task, field, product, application-rate and spatial data between an FMS and a terminal.

FMS

A farm management system connecting fields, operations, machinery, employees, documentation and costs.

PGN and SPN

Identifiers for message groups and parameters in J1939, used to determine which data is available.

Telematics should manage work, not merely track a tractor

Location answers “where?”, CAN-Bus and J1939 answer “how is it operating?”, ISOBUS answers “what is the machine combination doing?”, and FarmPortal links the data to a field, task, operator and cost.

Our recommendation is clear: a farm with several intensively used machines should not manage them through phone calls and paper notes alone. It should begin with two or three machines, one problem and one report that leads to a decision. This should be supported by structured machinery maintenance and digital service records.

A practical next step

Select the three machines with the highest engine hours. For one week, record engine time, movement, fieldwork, refuelling, hectares and the operator. The differences will show whether the first stage should focus on GPS, fuel, CAN/J1939, servicing or integration with FarmPortal tasks.