Parallel Farm · Research & Trials
From trial design to audit-ready report — on one traceable data chain.
A research-and-trials workspace on top of Parallel Farm. Organise projects, design plots and treatments, lock protocols, bring CSV, farm, sample, lab and device data into quality-controlled datasets, then export analysis, reports and audit packages you can defend.
Why a trials platform
Spreadsheets capture data. They don't prove it.
Agricultural research is hard not only because data is difficult to collect, but because you have to show how it was produced, how it was checked, how it was analysed — and whether the conclusion can be reviewed.
Farm management answers “what should I do on this field this season?”. A trial has to answer something stricter, and keep the answer defensible months or years later.
What a trial has to answer
- Is the design valid — plots, blocks, replicates, randomisation?
- Were treatments and protocols actually executed as written?
- Do variables have a dictionary, units, methods and subject semantics?
- Can samples, lab results, sensors and manual observations join one QC'd dataset?
- Do analysis and reports trace back to a locked dataset, QC and parameters?
- Can funders, partners and reviewers get an explainable, exportable evidence pack?
The trial data chain
One controlled path from project to audit package.
Every trial moves along the same spine. Data enters through one controlled path, is checked and locked, and only then feeds analysis, reporting and the audit trail.
- 01Project
Organise work by research project, study and trial, with members, roles and scoped permissions.
- 02Trial design
Site, plot, block, replicate, treatment and assignment, with randomisation and a design lock.
- 03Protocol
Draft, lock and supersede protocols; tie sampling and measurement methods to versioned steps.
- 04Data sources
CSV, farm measurements, sample results and device observations enter through one controlled path.
- 05QC & lock
Field mapping, variable dictionary, unit and subject checks, QC summary, then dataset lock.
- 06Analysis
Treatment summaries and control comparisons that trace back to a locked dataset and parameters.
- 07Report
Structured research reports with data status and results — PDF, CSV and JSON export.
- 08Audit package
Provenance events and an exportable evidence package for review and collaboration.
Data sources feeding the chain
Who it's for
Built for research, product validation and trial delivery.
Research & public institutions
Universities, institutes, experiment stations and publicly funded programmes running soil, crop, breeding, crop-protection and sustainability studies across sites and seasons.
Why it helps: Bring data out of scattered spreadsheets, paper records and lab reports into one traceable, reusable research project.
Agri-input, seed & equipment companies
Fertiliser, crop-protection, biostimulant, seed, sensor and machinery teams running product validation, demonstration plots and commercial effectiveness studies.
Why it helps: Turn product validation from “notes plus after-the-fact tidy-up” into a designed, executed, quality-controlled and reportable process.
CROs & trial-service organisations
Contract research organisations, regional trial stations and agronomy firms delivering third-party field trials for multiple clients.
Why it helps: Manage many clients, projects and sites under clear permission boundaries, and deliver reports and data packages per project.
Farms running on-farm trials
Large farms and farm networks validating new inputs, practices or equipment with universities or industry partners.
Why it helps: Run trials in a dedicated research workspace while reusing existing farm, field, measurement and prescription data.
What you get
Four things a trials platform should do well.
Rigorous by design
Trials carry real structure — site, plot, block, replicate, treatment, assignment, randomisation and a design lock — so comparisons are defensible, not ad hoc.
A data chain you can trust
Every value passes variable mapping, unit and subject checks and QC before a dataset is locked. Analysis and reports trace back to the version they used.
Faster, defensible reporting
Generate structured research reports from locked datasets and export PDF, CSV, JSON and a full audit package — evidence created during the work, not reconstructed after.
Built to connect
Samples, external links, device assets and credential metadata sit in one governance model, with standard entry points for LIMS, sensors and research platforms.
Capabilities
Eight modules, one governed workspace.
Research Project Workspace
Organise collaboration by project, member, role and permission — isolating different teams and partners.
Trial Designer
Lay out site, plot, block, replicate, treatment and assignment with randomisation and a design summary.
Protocol Management
Lock execution protocols and keep versions and change history for sampling and measurement methods.
Research Dataset & QC
Preview, map, validate and lock research datasets before anything reaches analysis.
Samples & LIMS Import
Register samples and import laboratory results as CSV, linked back to trial, plot, treatment and variable.
Devices & Integrations
Register device assets, external platform links and integration credential metadata through a controlled entry point.
Analysis & Report
Run treatment summaries and control comparisons, and export structured research reports.
Audit Package
Export a reviewable evidence package with provenance for internal audit and partner delivery.
See it in the platform
Screens show an illustrative demonstration trial (a winter wheat nitrogen-response RCBD), not a specific customer's data.
Where it stands today
What's live now — and what's on the roadmap.
Live today
- Research project, study, trial, membership, roles and permissions
- Trial design: site, plot, block, replicate, treatment, assignment, randomisation, design lock
- Protocol draft / lock / supersede, with protocol steps tied to variables
- Observation variable dictionary — code, trait, method, scale, unit, valid range
- Dataset preview, submit, QC summary and dataset lock; CSV research import with field mapping
- Convert farm field measurements into research observations
- Sample registration and LIMS CSV result import into a LAB_RESULT dataset
- Device assets, external links, integration credential metadata and single device-observation ingest
- Analysis runs — treatment summary and control comparison on locked datasets
- Structured research report (PDF / CSV / JSON) and audit package export
On the roadmap
- More report templates and plot-level summaries
- Sample barcodes and bulk sample import
- LIMS API connectors and bulk device-observation import
- Standards adapters — BrAPI-lite, SensorThings-lite, ISOXML / ADAPT — delivered per target system
- Advanced statistical analysis modules
- Finer permission matrices and external-collaborator invitations
- SSO, dedicated environments and customer key-management integration
Evidence boundary — Research & Trials is a research data-governance and decision-support platform. It supports LIMS CSV result import (API integrations delivered per project), device registration and observation ingest (bulk standards adapters delivered per target system), and descriptive treatment summaries and control comparisons (a traceable reporting base, not paper-grade statistics). It is not a full LIMS replacement, a full machinery-interoperability layer, or a GLP / GEP / 21 CFR Part 11 validated environment.
One platform, two workspaces
Research rigour without disrupting the farm user.
Research & Trials shares the same foundation as Parallel Farm's Farm Operations. Ordinary farm users stay in the operations workspace; research teams work in Research & Trials. Low-friction links appear only where a farm, field, prescription or report genuinely relates to a trial and the user has permission.
That shared base is a real advantage: existing farm assets seed trials, and research findings can flow back into farm decisions.
Farm data → research
- Fields and boundaries seed trial sites and plots
- Field measurements become covariates or baseline observations
- Prescriptions carry treatment assignments into execution
Research → farm
- Variable dictionary and QC raise everyday data quality
- Treatment comparison supports on-farm A/B validation
- Provenance makes prescriptions and reports easier to defend
Commercial models
From a scoped pilot to an institution-wide platform.
We size each engagement to the work rather than publishing blanket list prices. Capacity is measured by active projects, trials, users, observations and integrations — the things that actually drive value and cost. Below is the shape; exact figures follow a short scoping conversation.
- Start here
Research pilot
A fixed-scope pilot on one to a few projects and trials, with template configuration, a training session and a pilot summary. The lowest-friction way to validate the data flow on real trials before committing.
Fixed-scope engagement — on application.
- Core
SaaS subscription
Annual Starter, Professional and Institution tiers. Sized by active projects and trials, included users, observations and storage — not by headcount alone, so temporary collaborators and read-only reviewers don’t block adoption.
Annual tiers — starting points shared on request.
- Scale
Enterprise / Consortium
For large institutions, agri-input R&D and cross-region trial networks needing dedicated capacity, SSO, priority integration, private-cloud or self-hosting options and an SLA.
Contact us for a scoped quote.
- Add-on
Integration & professional services
LIMS and sensor connectors, machinery as-applied import, data migration, custom report templates and data-governance consulting — scoped and quoted per system.
Implementation and support — quoted per scope.
Academic, teaching and public-good discounts are available; case use, publication and data-sharing terms are agreed in the contract. See engagement models on the How we work page.
You keep ownership of your research data, samples and uploads. Platform outputs are decision-support and research data-governance results — not automatic regulatory, audit or publication conclusions. SSO, private deployment, data residency and SLAs are agreed in enterprise contracts.
Good questions
A few things researchers ask first.
Why this platform instead of Excel?
Spreadsheets are fine for early tidying, but they struggle to hold project, trial, plot, treatment, protocol, sample, device, QC, dataset version and provenance together. The platform turns spreadsheet data into a research asset you can validate, lock, analyse and hand over.
Does it replace our LIMS?
Not in this first version. It registers samples and imports LIMS results as CSV, linking them back to trial, plot, treatment and dataset. Full LIMS APIs, instrument management, electronic signatures and validated environments are enterprise-integration or later-module work.
Can the analysis go straight into a paper or a regulatory submission?
The current analysis is a descriptive, traceable reporting base — treatment summaries, control comparisons, data-quality and provenance. Formal statistical plans, registered trials and regulatory submissions need defined models, sample sizing, electronic signatures and validated environments, available through enterprise or professional services — not promised by default.
Get started
Put a real trial through the platform.
Book a demo to see the Research & Trials workspace on your own trial in mind, or apply for a scoped research pilot. We'll be honest about fit and what's live today.