Creating field boundaries using GIS software to import to FarmQA – FarmQA

FarmQA supports multiple different methods for getting your field boundaries into your FarmQA account. One method is drawing your boundaries directly in FarmQA, which you can learn how to do in FarmQA Controller and FarmQA Scouting by clicking on the respective links. Additionally, field boundaries can be sent to the FarmQA support team for us to upload to your account. FarmQA supports field boundary uploads as polygons drawn in a Geographic Information System (GIS) software and saved in one of the following formats: ESRI Shapefiles, KML/KMZ, and GeoTIFF.

The content below will walk you through how to create field boundaries that can be uploaded to FarmQA Controller. Specifically, you'll learn how to make your own ESRI Shapefiles and KML/KMZ files.

NOTE: ESRI Shapefiles need to be zipped folder and contain .shp, .shx, and .dbf files in order for us to properly import them.

Software

There are a lot of software tools that you can use to create field boundary polygons. In this document we will be working with two of them: Google Earth Pro and QGIS. Both of these options are free to use, and either can be used to create field boundary polygons. It's your choice which one you want to use!

Here are the download links for each application:

Google Earth Pro

QGIS

Making field boundaries in Google Earth Pro

Google Earth Pro is a great tool for drawing field boundary polygons that's free and easy to use. This application is best used for drawing simple field boundaries that have square, rectangular, or circular shapes. Follow the instructions below to learn how to draw a field boundary using this software tool.

Open Google Earth Pro on your desktop computer.
Click the Add polygon button at the top of the screen (pictured below).

A window titled Google Earth - New Polygon will appear. Move this out of the way while you are drawing your polygon; we'll come back to this window later.
Draw your field on the map by selecting the corners of the field (pictured below).

Go back to the Google Earth - New Polygon window, give your polygon a Name, then click OK.
You've now finished drawing your field in Google Earth Pro. To export your field out of Google Earth Pro, right-click on the polygon name in the Places window and select Save place as... (pictured below).

Choose where on your computer you want to save your field, make sure it's named properly, and click Save.
- NOTE: Google Earth Pro gives you the option to either save your polygon as a .KML or .KMZ file. Both file formats can be uploaded to FarmQA, so whichever you choose to save your field as is fine.

Making field boundaries in QGIS

QGIS is a powerful GIS mapping tool that is free to use, however it has a steeper learning curve than Google Earth Pro. The added benefit is that you're able to create more complex polygons to better reflect your field boundaries. We'll walk you through a few scenarios for drawing both simple and more complex field boundaries below.

Single Polygon

Open QGIS and click on the New Empty Project option under the Project Templates tab on the launch page (pictured below).

Your new project will not have any background imagery, called a base map. To add a base map, click on the Search QMS button at the top of the screen (pictured below).
Select your desired base map source in the Search QMS window on the right-hand side of the screen. We recommend using the Google Satellite Hybrid, which is the same imagery you'd see in Google Maps.

Now that we have a base map, find the location of the field you want to create a field boundary for.
Create the empty polygon for the field by clicking Layer > Create Layer > New Shapefile Layer... (pictured below).

Fill out the following information in the New Shapefile Layer window to finish setting up your shapefile (pictured below):
- File Name: this is the name of the polygon as it will appear in QGIS.
- Geometry Type: use the geometry type dropdown menu to set your geometry to Polygon.
Click the OK button to save your changes.

Your new empty polygon can now be found in the Layers window on the left-hand side of the screen.
To draw your field boundaries in your newly made polygon, click the Toggle Editing button, then Add Polygon Feature at the top of the screen (pictured below).

Click on the corners of your field to draw your field boundary. When you're finished drawing your boundary, right click anywhere on the screen to finish drawing (pictured below).

Click the Toggle Editing button again to finish editing your polygon.
In the Stop Editing window, click Save Changes to save your new field boundary.
We're now ready to export our polygon out of QGIS. Right click on the field name in the Layers window, then click on Export > Save feature as... (pictured below).

In the Save Vector Layer as... window, set your file name (this can be the same as your Field name), and press the Browse button to choose where you want the file to be saved.
Click the OK button to export your shapefile (pictured below).

- NOTE: Your shapefile will be exported as six individual files in the following formats: .cpg, .dbf, .prj, .qmd, .shp, and .shx. You will only the the .shp, .shx, and .dbf files for the FarmQA file upload. Send those three files to a zipped folder, then send that folder to FarmQA so your field boundary can be uploaded.

Polygon with at least one hole

You might have drawn a simple field boundary that has a homestead, lot, or other type of uncultivated area that you do not want included in your field boundary area. Follow the instructions below to learn how to draw holes in your field boundaries to exclude certain areas.

Follow the instructions in the Single Polygon section to create your polygon.
Select the field name in the Layers window, then click the Edit button at the top left-hand side of the screen.
In the Edit menu, click Edit Geometry > Add Ring (pictured below).

Outline the area that you want removed from your field boundaries by left-clicking those spots on the map. Right-click anywhere on the map to finish your changes (pictured below).

Multi-polygon

You may want to draw multiple fields in the same polygon in order to simplify the process of getting them uploaded to FarmQA. Read the instructions below on how to draw multi-polygon field boundaries.

Follow the instructions in the Single Polygon section to create your polygon.
Select the field name in the Layers window. Then click the Toggle Editing button, followed by the Add Polygon Feature button at the top of the screen (pictured below).