I started writing prescriptions when I was a teenager... and I'm no Doogie Howser.
Honestly though, why did precision ag start using the phraseology "Rx" and "Prescriptions" and "Scripts?" My theory is that the original power users of precision ag software either had a PhD or felt like they deserved a PhD for figuring out how to use the stuff.
In the coming years Variable Rate file generation will not require a PhD.
And why should they? I have farmer customers that build and download their files from their smartphones... fast and easy. I know of no other business manager that asks a "doctor" what they should do next. Rather than getting a prescription for some ill condition, most savvy business managers look to adjust plans to preempt painful conditions. As such, they are comfortable with limited knowledge and willing to accept some risk. This is quite unlike a doctor who tests, diagnoses and prescribes treatment AFTER symptoms have revealed themselves.
Certainly there is good reason to use sound statistics and mine spatial data for insights regarding trend forecasts. Every good manager needs insights and forecasts based on their actual data. There is certainly a role for consultants and suppliers to play a relationship role in helping shape parameters for the controller files, but the setup and delivery needs to be fluid and adaptable if for no other reason than the weather changed the circumstances!
So what should we call it? Let's just call it "Download file" or "Crop Plan" or "VR File" or something less suggestive and more accurate. The emphasis shouldn't be on making us some software/research demi-god but rather on the agreeable logic applied to match up with the farmer's own strategic vision for his farm.
Instead of building software that is suitable for a demi-god only, let's write software that normal humans can run. No certification required. Let's make it fast, easy and fun... and profitable for the farmer and the salesman.
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