Electronic spray records: what to record, how long to keep records and how to avoid duplicate data entry

What spray records are and who must keep them

Spray records show what was applied, when and where it was used, at what rate and for what reason. Many farmers still know this as the spray diary or spray notebook, often filled in by hand in the cab or back in the office.

The obligation applies to all professional users of plant protection products. There is no area threshold: a farm with a dozen or so hectares keeps records just like an agricultural business with several thousand. This also covers contractors who spray for others.

In Poland, spray records are checked by PIORiN (the State Plant Health and Seed Inspection Service). The same data may also be reviewed during inspections linked to subsidy payments, so incomplete records can cause problems beyond a standard PIORiN inspection.

What changes from 1 January 2027

The content and format of the records are set by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564 of 10 March 2023. It was originally due to apply from 1 January 2026, but Regulation (EU) 2025/2203 of 31 October 2025 pushed that date back by a year. From 1 January 2027, records must be kept electronically, in a machine-readable format.

In practice, a notebook alone is no longer enough. If you note an application on paper in the field, that entry has to be transferred to electronic form no later than 30 days after the application.

What exactly to record for each application

The table below shows a sample spray record entry. Each row represents one item of information required in the record, and the values in the “Example” column are illustrative only.

How to keep spray records ready for inspection

• Actual area, not registered area. If you sprayed only part of a field, record that part, not the whole parcel.
• Dose in the label unit. Do not mix l/ha with ml per tank. The inspector will compare the dose per hectare with the range authorised for the crop.
• A specific reason. "Diseases" or "protection" is not enough. Record the target organism or the purpose for which the product is authorised.
• A tank mix means several entries. When you apply several products in one pass, each product gets its own name, authorisation number and dose.

How long to keep spray records and in what form

You keep application records for at least 3 years. This follows from Article 67 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. It matters at inspection, which can cover applications from several seasons back, for example when residues of a product in the harvested crop are being checked.

“Electronic” does not mean you have to use one specific program. The rules require a machine-readable format — data that can be read and processed automatically. A scan or photo of a notebook page is still an image, not structured data. A spreadsheet with data entered into columns is machine-readable.

The most common mistakes in spray records

Most problems at inspection are not down to bad intent but to records being filled in from memory, weeks later. These mistakes come up most often:

1. Completing records just before an inspection. Dates and doses reconstructed from memory do not match the invoices and inventory.
2. Missing authorisation number. The trade name alone is not enough, and products with similar names have different approved uses.
3. Product not authorised for the crop. The product is registered, but not for that crop or not for that target.
4. Dose outside the label range. Often the result of converting litres per tank into litres per hectare.
5. Missing BBCH stage. The growth stage decides whether the application fell within the timing set on the label.
6. Inventory mismatch. The quantity used in the spray records does not match the quantity deducted from inventory.
7. Paper note not transferred in time. From 2027 a note made in the field must be transferred to electronic form within 30 days.

Spray notebook, Excel or farm management software?

You have three realistic ways to keep records. They differ in how much work they take and how many mistakes they let through.

Excel is a sensible minimum for a small farm with only a few applications each season. The problems start when you have dozens of fields and several operators: every application still has to be entered manually, and the spreadsheet cannot tell you what is in inventory or whether a product is approved for a particular use.

How to keep digital spray records without duplicating work

Most of the data needed for the record already exists somewhere: the product name on the invoice, the field and crop in the cropping plan, and the rate in the operator’s job card. The extra work comes from entering the same information in several places. A better workflow captures the data once and reuses it throughout the process.

1. Invoice. Upload a PDF or Excel invoice and Nirby reads the line items, quantities and prices into an inventory receipt. You review and approve it.
2. Inventory. The product is now in stock together with its product data, so there is no need to enter it again when planning the application.
3. Planned application. Choose the fields, date and products from inventory. If you manage crop rotation and cropping plans in the same system, the crop is already assigned to each field.
4. Job card. The operator gets the task in the mobile app and moves the card once it is done.
5. Record entry. Once the application is marked complete, it is added to the spray records and field history, while the quantity used is deducted from inventory.

At the end you only add what cannot be taken from the plan: the time of application, the reason for use and the BBCH stage. You can do this in bulk for many applications at once, for example after a full day of spraying.

The same entry also updates your costs. The product used is valued at its purchase price and allocated to the field, so you can see the cost of crop protection without maintaining a separate calculation. We explain this in more detail in our guide to calculating cost of production per hectare.

If invoice entry takes up most of your time, start with inventory and AI invoice processing. Products from approved invoices can then flow into applications and records without being entered again.

Checklist before a PIORiN inspection

Run through this list at the end of every spraying season — not only after an inspection has been announced:

• Every completed application has an entry, including applications carried out by contractors on your fields.
• Every product has its trade name and authorisation number.
• Date and time, rate, field and treated area, crop, BBCH stage and reason for use are all complete.
• Doses are within the label range, and products are authorised for the crop and target concerned.
• The quantity used in the records matches both purchase invoices and inventory movements.
• Paper notes from the field have been transferred to electronic form within 30 days.
• Records from at least the last 3 years are available and can be downloaded or printed.
• You can export the records in a few minutes, grouped by product, crop or date.

Good spray records are useful well beyond inspections. A field’s application history helps you assess what was done and when, and when combined with satellite field monitoring, it is easier to see whether a problem reappeared after treatment.