Autocad and Farming

I am a farmer in the UK and I need a program that will help me check field areas in hectares to 3 decimal places on OS maps issued by RPA. I know a little about computers and I would imagine I need something that can read vector type files. Can anybody help?

What type of map does the RPA issue? If it is a digital map, then something like AutoCAD or some CAD programme will do the trick. If it is a paper map, then you are constrained as to the accuracy of the plot, and would need to use a planimeter to get an area.

Also it depends on what part of the country you live in, because each county has its own way of presenting mapping on the internet. For example, Dorset has the Dorset Explorer mapping and it has an area measuring facility. New Forest has a facility where you can print off accurate mapping, but other establishments have images without any accuracy.

As I say, there is no standard across the land