Precision Pays

Here’s another story by our Joanna Schroeder from the floor of AG CONNECT Expo.

Topcon Precision Agriculture is a global company with a strong presence in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and is growing in Europe. One of their most popular products is the AGI-3 receiver. This system not only picks up GPS satellites, but also receives information from Galileo, the European satellite and Glonass, the Russian satellite said Michael Gomes, the company’s Director of Global Strategic Alliances, during the AG CONNECT Expo.

The most unique aspect of this precision ag technology is that the receiver can steer the tractor and I asked Gomes why this was advantageous to a farmer. He explained that being a farmer is economically hard. Input costs keep rising whereas commodity prices are not neccesarily increasing so farmers are squeezed for profit. So, he continued, products like the AGI-3 are tools for efficiency.

“What they allow you to do is get more productivity out of the asset. When you put in an auto steering system on a tractor it is not uncommon to get double hours. Now you can get day and night repeatability,” said Gomes. This also allows farmers to go through re-tooling and ultimately a farmer can farm more acres at a lower cost per acre.

The AIG-3 works directly with steer ready tractors but if a farmer doesn’t have one, he can use the AES25 which in essence, gives the farmer a steer-ready tractor.

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

Listen to my interview with Michael here.

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Most any photographer will know the Leica name. Oskar Barnack created a small 35mm camera back in 1925 that pretty much changed the way we look at things. What a lot of people are now learning about Leica is that they’re into precision agriculture technology in a big way. The company has three distinct divisions and the one on display at AG CONNECT Expo was Leica Geosystems. It was there that I met with Rob Kiernan, Global Sales & Marketing Manager.

Rob says that since they come from the optical business they’re basically a measurement company that has moved into GPS and that has led them into agriculture. At the show he says they’re promoting their mojoRTK which was launched in early 2008. He thinks they’re just now hitting their stride with the product. Service has been one of their priorities and they offer Virtual Wrench which allows the operator to get help without leaving the cab using mobile phone technology. The newest addition to their product lineup is their mojoMINI which does field guidance as well as standard navigation and will be available starting in February. You can see the unit on the display in the photo.

You can listen to my interview with Rob below:

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

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One of the exhibits I visited at AG CONNECT Expo last week is Precision Pays.com sponsor, Ag Leader Technology. Mike Olson, Sales and Support Manager, was on the floor interacting with attendees when I stopped by.

The Ag Leader booth was one of the ones displaying the “New Product” banner. I asked Mike what was new. He says there have been several new products released recently by the company including their new INTEGRA display. The 12.1 inch screen combines the operation control options Ag Leader is known for, with a built-in full-featured steering and guidance system including an on-screen lightbar.

Mike says most of the growers he spoke with know they need to implement precision technology but are asking questions about how they can use it in their operation.

You can watch or listen to my interview with Mike below:

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

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This story was prepared by ZimmComm reporter, Joanna Schroeder.

During the AG CONNECT Expo last week, I spoke with Nathan Faleide, sales and marketing for Satshot. The company offers a GIS online system for the agricultural industry that handles and manages satellite imagery and other data for use in variable rate technology with a fertilization, seed and chemical all-in-one online mapping system. The system can be managed from anywhere in the world with online access.

I asked Faleide what types of information a grower who uses this precision ag technology would see and he explained, “What the imagery works out is the vegetative biomass or the vegetative reflectiveness of the plant which correlates to yield and productivity in the field.”

This imagery, said Faleide, shows the higher points of the growth yield potential or lower points that don’t yield as much. Ultimately, this is an advantage because farmers can focus on areas with higher yield potential and put less inputs on areas with lower yield potential, increasing the productivity and profit of the grower.

The company also provides a worldwide elevation model and when combined with their other technology can, “really pinpoint the best areas in the field to maximize efficiency,” said Faleide.

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

Listen to my interview with Nathan here.

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Here’s the next installment of our coverage from AG CONNECT Expo which was held last week in Orlando, FL. ZimmComm’s Joanna Schroeder was on the floor talking to precision ag companies and we’ll be featuring stories throughout the week. Here’s her story from visiting with Trimble.

When Trimble launches a new product it’s available worldwide and this week Trimble will be launching several new products. I tried to coerce Guillermo Perez-Iturbe, the regional manager for Latin America, to give me a scoop during the AG CONNECT Expo, but he held out. Good for Trimble – bad for me.

Today, the company has a suite of precision ag products available including GPS guidance systems. One of their new products is the EZ-Steer assisted steering system which takes over the steering while the farmer focuses on steering, spraying and more. There are three versions of the EZ-Steer system including the AgGPS FmX Integrated Display. This display has 3D land leveling capabilities and the technologies in the pipeline will add even more options to the current products.

In the past year, Trimble has acquired several key companies in order to, “close the cycle of the ag precision space,” said Iturbe. The company has a worldwide presence and Iturbe noted that other countries are in very different places in their adoption of precision ag technologies.

The Trimble Team: Sergio Lucas, Vilson Hansen, Guillermo Perez-Iturbe and Rafeal Bull

For example, Argentina started precision farming 14 years ago with lightbars and has yet to adopt the higher levels of precision technology while Mexico has adopted the most advanced precision ag technology available but doesn’t use something as simple as a lightbar.

Today, Trimble is working with its customers to better help them identify the best precision ag technologies for their farms, and this is important to the company because they understand that no farmers’ operations are the same.

Listen to my Precision Pays exclusive interview with Guillermo Perez-Iturbe here.

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Precision agriculture technology is on display all over the AG CONNECT Expo show floor. I don’t think I’ve seen quite so many exhibits outside of a show dedicated to this growing technology application. Raven Industries is one of the companies exhibiting something new here at the show.

I spoke with Marketing Manager, Ryan Molitor,about Slingshot. He says Slingshot represents a breakthrough in connectivity, online services and hardware. It can deliver advanced RTK correction signal technology and high speed internet using wireless in the cab.

You can listen to my interview with Ryan below:

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

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TeeJet Technologies, announced their new guidance system that offers guidance and live video displayed simultaneously. The news about the Matrix Guidance System with RealView Guidance Over Video was announced during the AG CONNECT Expo in Orlando, Fla. and comes in two screen sizes: 570G Model and 840G model with options for four or eight cameras. We’ve got a number of interviews and stories to post for you from the show like this one over the coming days.

In an AgWired exclusive interview with Rich Gould, vice president and guidance business manager at TeeJet Technologies explained that the really unique feature of the system lies in its ability to connect to a video camera and show real-time video images and in addition to show the guidance information overlayed on the video image. In other words, you are seeing your field on the screen.

Known as precision agriculture, this type of technology helps farmers to become more efficient whether planting, fertilizing or harvesting their crops. Ultimately, this information leads to reduced costs and higher profitability.

TeeJet has applied for a patent and Gould notes that, “This technology is applicable to anyone driving back in forth across a field.”

It can be used on any machine, manufactured by any company, in any country. This is an advantage for growers in developing countries in that they have the ability to jump ahead and adopt the latest technology immediately.

You can see photos from AG CONNECT Expo in our Flickr album and listen to the interview with Rich Gould, conducted by our Joanna Schroeder here.

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If you’re headed to Orlando next week to catch the first-ever world-class AG CONNECT Expo, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn about the latest precision technologies from around the world, as well as ‘kick the tires’.

New products and technologies will be showcased during the January 13-15 trade show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. You can also check out some of these products posted on the show’s Web site, where you can even rate the products.

Many educational sessions led by industry experts are scheduled every day. Topics range from top tech trends, top shops, trading machinery, crop marketing, robotics and more. And you can also register to attend smaller interactive educational breakout sessions on such topics as energy, technology, farm management, family business management, risk management, high yield and a plan for success workshop.

We’ll have reports from the show, so stay tuned. And if you’re into the social media tool Twitter, you can follow along with everyone who posts at #agconnect.

Post Update: Listen to a show preview with ZimmComm’s Chuck Zimmerman in his weekly podcast, the ZimmCast below:

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January in Orlando is looking pretty good right now to most of us in the frigid Midwest.

So if you have not made plans to attend AG Connect Expo 2010 in Orlando on January 13-15, take this snow day to get on line and make your reservations.

Besides offering the opportunity to get away to a warmer climate, Expo 2010 will provide a world-class event for the global agriculture industry—bringing together the latest in equipment, technology and ideas. The show was developed by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) with the support of a variety of industry organizations and companies, including Precision Pays parent company ZimmComm New Media.

Listen to an interview here with AEM vice president of agricultural services Charlie O’Brien, conducted by ZimmComm reporter Joanna Schroeder, about what AG Connect has to offer producers – in addition to the escape from winter!

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