EZi App, a joint venture between farmers, Peter Macdougall and Adrian Lyons, and builder Dave Campbell, has already released an iPhone/iPad software application ("app") to support agronomists.

The company is readying the release of an app to support recording of on-farm spray applications, and later this year plans to release a multi-tasking "Farmers App" with the objective of replacing the ubiquitous farmer's pocket notebook.

EZi App began with Dave Campbell, who came from a farming background at Braidwood but for the past 12 years has been running his own building business in Sydney.

Tinkering with the apps on his iPhone, Mr Campbell began wondering about the potential of a custom app to simplify the management of the multiple building projects he maintains.

After a long and sometimes tortuous path into the world of software development, he achieved his aim.

Today, instead of driving to sites to assess, record and troubleshoot the many facets of a building project, his foremen and contract electricians use their iPhones or iPads to report site movements, material requirements, deliveries and non-deliveries, and progress status.

All of this information streams through Mr Campbell's iPhone, freeing him from the necessity to be on-site, and allowing him to remotely tackle issues as they occur.

An old friend of Mr Campbells, Rye Park, NSW, farmer Peter Macdougall saw the "Tradies App" at work and recognised an answer to his own challenges in managing the information flow on his 5000-head lamb feedlot.

When a friend of Mr Macdougall's, Adrian Lyons, who farms 4000 ha "Caraminyah" at Gulargambone, also saw a way to address some management challenges, the trio decided to pursue app development as a business opportunity. EZi App was born.

The new company's first inclination was to dive straight into developing a replacement for the farmer's pocket notebook.

A look at the minimal penetration of smartphones and tablets into the agricultural sector argued against this, and EZi App is instead taking a staged approach.

At $1200 for a one-off lifetime payment, all future upgrades included, Agro App is an anomaly among the 350,000-plus apps in Apple's app store, most of which are priced in the $2-$10 range.

More: www.eziapp.com.au