Voice logging

How to record a spray by voice, in the paddock

To record a spray by voice, say the paddock or block, the product, the rate with units, and when. Then check the record and confirm it. It takes about a minute and means you do not have to remember the details at night. Sowsay does this from your phone’s browser, with nothing to download from an app store.

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Last updated 17 October 2026. General information only, not legal or compliance advice. Rules differ by product, region and programme, so check the label, your regional plan and your programme’s current requirements.

The steps

  1. Open Sowsay and tap the microphone

    Open Sowsay on your phone and tap the big microphone button. If you would rather not talk, tap Type it instead.

  2. Say the job the way you would tell your crew

    Name the paddock or block, the product, the rate with units, and when you did it. Add the timing or target if you want them on the record.

  3. Check the record

    Sowsay fills in a record and highlights anything it is unsure about. Look at the product name, rate, units and area first.

  4. Confirm and save

    Fix anything that is wrong, then tap Confirm and save. Nothing is saved until you do.

What to say

Talk the way you would tell someone on the radio. A good note has four parts:

  1. Where. The paddock or block name, the same way each time.
  2. What. The product or products.
  3. How much. The rate with its units, such as litres per hectare or millilitres per 100 litres, and the area if it was not the whole paddock.
  4. When and why (optional). This morning, post-emerge, the weed or disease you were targeting.

“Sprayed Top Paddock with Roundup, 2 litres a hectare, post-emerge, this morning.”

“Sprayed Block 3, fungicide, 50 mil per 100 litres, about 1,200 litres a hectare, this afternoon.”

“Spread 150 kilos of urea per hectare on North Block, 14 hectares.”

Those are example phrases, not recommendations for any product or rate. Use the product and rate from your label or your agronomist.

Tips for getting a clean recording

  • Say units out loud. “Two” on its own is ambiguous. “Two litres a hectare” is a record.
  • Keep paddock names consistent. Name an area as you speak and Sowsay saves it for next time.
  • Say product names as printed on the label. Product names are matched against the New Zealand agrichemical (ACVM) register. A match only means the name looks registered, so always check the label for your use.
  • Cut the noise. Turn the fan down or step out of the cab if you can. Phones are good at speech, but a loud engine still costs accuracy.
  • One job per note. If you did two paddocks, record two notes or say clearly which products went on which paddock.

Always check the record before you confirm

Speech recognition and AI can mishear a product name, a rate or a paddock. Sowsay shows a confirm screen, highlights anything it is unsure about, and saves nothing until you confirm. Look at the product, rate, units, area and date.

Weather is filled in from model data for your location and time (from Open-Meteo), not measured on your farm. If you are allowed to share your phone’s location, Sowsay can use it at the moment you log the job, and you can change or remove it on the confirm screen.

No signal, and what happens to the recording

  • Signal. Sowsay needs a mobile connection to turn what you say into a record and save it. There is no offline logging yet. With no signal, jot a quick note and log it when you are back in coverage.
  • Your recording. The recording is sent to a speech-to-text service to be turned into words, and the words go to an AI language model to fill in the record. Your records are stored under your own account. Full details are on the privacy page.

Put the mic one tap away

On iPhone, open Sowsay in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. On Android, open it in Chrome and tap Install Sowsay or choose Add to Home screen. It then opens full screen like an app.

Try it on your next spray

Make a free account, tap the mic and say your next job. You will see the confirm screen before anything is saved, and you can export your diary as a PDF or CSV.

Start free, no card needed

30 days free. Then NZ$19 a month or NZ$189 a year per farm. See how Sowsay works.

Questions and answers

Can I really log a spray just by talking?

Yes. Tap the microphone, say what you sprayed, check the record Sowsay fills in and confirm it. If you prefer, you can type the note instead.

Does it work on iPhone and Android?

Yes. It runs in your phone’s browser (Safari on iPhone, Chrome on Android) and on a computer, and you can add it to your home screen so it opens like an app.

What if it mishears a product or rate?

That is why there is a confirm screen. Anything it is unsure about is highlighted, you can fix it before saving, and you can edit a saved record later. Edited records are marked as edited and the earlier version is kept.

Does it work with no phone signal?

Not yet. It needs a connection to turn your voice into a record and save it, so note it down and log it when you are back in coverage.

Can I say per-100-litre rates for orchard sprays?

Yes. Rates can be per hectare, such as litres or kilograms per hectare, or dilute rates such as per 100 litres.

Sources

Checked 17 October 2026. Programme rules and legislation change, so check the current source. General information only, not legal or compliance advice. Rules differ by product, region and programme, so check the label, your regional plan and your programme’s current requirements.

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