Category Archives: agronomy

New feature for Optimizer 2.0

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optimizer2An agronomy firm whose smartphone application projects corn yields on a daily basis will launch a new function on the app to increase accuracy and reduce data entry.

The new function from Advanced Ag Solutions LLC, models anticipated irrigation to reduce data entry for farmers and their crop advisors. It is part of the company’s Optimizer 2.0 app, which recently unveiled the ability to download variable rate files to control seed and nitrogen rates within the field.

The app utilizes weather forecasts and soil moisture levels along with crop needs and common practices of area farmers to estimate when the farmer may have turned on or off his irrigation pivot. The software then allows the user to easily edit irrigated rates and timing in cases where estimates of irrigation might be off. Because water is a major component of crop yield the result is a much greater accuracy with very little effort from the user.

See Your Machine in the Field

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Kathy Michael John Deere“Machine & Agronomic Data Management: Maximizing Your Productivity” is the title of a Commodity Classic WIN session sponsored by John Deere. One of the presenters was Kathy Michael, Senior Product Manager, John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group.

The way that John Deere is helping farmers maximize their machine and agronomic data is with JD Link, their telematic platform, which is based on wireless communications available on mobile devices as well as table top computers. “Our goal is to make it easier for our customers to collect the data in the field, to see their machines in the field, to see their operators in the field and bring it in to one spot.” Kathy says feedback from customers includes “the more we know about what’s going on, the less phone calls, the less CB radio connections and running out to the field that they need to do.”

Listen to my interview with Kathy here: Interview with Kathy Michael

2013 Commodity Classic Photo Album



Precision Pays Podcast: Preparing for 2013

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Part of producing efficiently is also being prepared for the unknowns.  As farmers 2012 began – there were hopes of high yields and a bountiful harvest.  As the drought set in – the crops started to deteriorate and it became more obvious this would be a year where we would need to expect the unexpected.  As we enter a New Year – we again have hopes for a good growing season and high yields.  

In this Precision Pays Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology, Purdue University ag economist Chris Hurt talks about his thoughts on the markets and what growers can expect as we enter in to 2013.

Precision Pays Podcast

 

You can subscribe to the Precision Pays Podcast here.

The Precision Pays Podcast is sponsored by Ag Leader Technology.

GROWMARK Excited About N-Watch

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If farmers could determine the concentration, form and location of plant-available nitrogen, deciding when and where and how much to apply would be that much easier.

That’s the goal of N-Watch, which started this year as a small scale, pilot program by GROWMARK in partnership with FS Member Cooperatives. The objectives of the program are to quantify the form of available, soil-applied nitrogen (N), where it is located, and what happens to the concentration of available N over time in the upper 0-12 and 12-24 inch profiles of the soil.

“We go out after harvest and take an inventory of plant available nitrogen,” explained GROWMARK Agronomy Services Manager Dr. Howard Brown. “Once we have that determination, we take composite samples after that every 2-4 weeks, track the nitrogen until it freezes, then after it thaws in the spring we’ll continue to pull the samples to see if the residual nitrogen is still there.”

Brown says it’s not an exact science, “but it’s a move in the right direction, this is what we need to be doing.” GROWMARK has over 45 sites in Illinois now and they are now moving in to new sites in Iowa, where we heard about the program last week during a GROWMARK media tour.

GROWMARK is so excited about the N-Watch concept that they want it to spread quickly. “We came up with the phrase (N-Watch) but we gave the license to the Illinois Council for Best Management Practices so that it can be utilized in the Midwest,” said Howard. “It would be great if everybody used N-Watch.”

Listen to Howard’s overview of N-Watch here and watch him in the video below: Dr. Howard Brown, GROWMARK

GROWMARK Iowa Media Tour Photos

Winfield Solutions’ R7 Agronomy Tool Voted Top in Technology

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In May, ARA invited members to nominate technologies and/or presenters to be featured during the Technology Breakout Session during the ARA Annual Conference & Expo. The 11 nominees were then presented to ARA membership for voting. Voting concluded on Thursday, October 18 with WinField Solutions’ R7 Tool winning with 173 votes.

The R7 Tool is a comprehensive precision farming solution that enables variable-rate prescriptions for seed, crop protection and crop nutrient applications. Click here to learn more.

The winner will be allowed 30 minutes to present their product and receives a complimentary trip to the conference. Additionally, AgGateway will travel to the winner’s home office to present a check for $1,000 to the charity of the winner’s choice.

Celebrating National Co-op Month

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Each October, cooperatives across the United States celebrate the cooperative difference, business model and the contributions of cooperatives to their communities during National Co-op Month and this year continues the celebration of 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives with the slogan “Cooperative enterprises build a better world.”

As one of the nation’s largest cooperatives, GROWMARK has been celebrating all year long, so we talked with president and chairman of the board Dan Kelley about why co-ops are so important for agriculture, both nationally and globally. Kelley says he was surprised to learn this year that nearly a billion people around the world are members of some type of cooperative. In addition to celebrating a year and a month dedicated to cooperatives, Dan says GROWMARK has been celebrating 85 years of existence as a cooperative.

The second largest division of GROWMARK is their agronomy division with the FS Seed and FS Green Plan Solutions brand, which provides fertilizers, seed and crop protection products and advice for producers. Kelley says while 2012 has been a challenging year for farmers thanks to the very hot and dry conditions during the growing season, cooperative members remain optimistic. “The future of agriculture is bright and the future of agricultural cooperatives is bright,” he says. “We have a great opportunity as we think about the growing economies in the world and the growing population that we have to feed.”

GROWMARK‘s core cooperative membership is in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, but in recent years have expanded into other states including Colorado, Pennsylvania and Maryland and a solid membership in Canada as well.

Listen to an interview with Dan Kelley here: GROWMARK President Dan Kelley

Using Long-Term Trends as Planning Guide for 2013

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There was a lot of talk during the Farm Progress Show this year about the epic drought and how it was impacting growers across the country. Brent Wilson, DuPont Pioneer technical services manager, was out interacting with growers and when talking with them heard quite often that they just want to put the epic drought of 2012 behind them.

But making a seed selection based on just the past year is not a sound strategy, said Wilson. Rather growers should look at long-term weather trends as a guide for making 2013 growing decisions.

That leads to the question, what should growers be doing to get prepared for 2013? Wilson responded by putting together a list of key things DuPont Pioneer agronomists are doing to help growers prepare for next season. One question that was asked and answered during the press conference was, What impact will the drought have on product positioning for 2013?

A product getting a lot of buzz during the show was Pioneer® brand Optimum® AQUAmax™ products. Wilson said while they were originally developed for the Western corn belt where you see lower yields, the product lineup can also offer top-end yield potential in optimal growing conditions.

Some other issues Wilson brought to the field to think about included understanding maturity issues, knowing what trait packages as far as insect and disease and herbicide resistance are available and learning about the newest genetics that can be incorporated into a growers lineup that will help to increase overall yield potential.

While I have simply posed the questions Wilson suggests asking, he also answered them. To hear more details about the key things growers should consider when planning for the 2013 growing season, listen to the full press conference: Key Tips for 2013 Growing Season.

2012 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the 2012 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John Deere and AgLeader

Learning More About Fungicide Use

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The use of fungicides for overall plant health has been a new growth area for agriculture in recent years. As that occurs, farmers and crop consultants continue to find out more about best times to apply and best ways to use them during the season.

“There was a time not that long ago, when to consider applying a fungicide post-emergence to corn or soybeans was almost unheard of,” said GROWMARK Insect/Plant Disease Technical Manager Kevin Black who notes that the strobilurin class of fungicides have been game changers. “Because they not only have activity against fungi but also seem to have some growth regulation effects, we’ve seen some remarkable results in the field.”

Speaking very generally, Black says they have found that about two-thirds of the benefit from fungicides comes from a VT application and about one-third from a V5 application. “The VT or R1 timing of application typically is much more consistent in providing returns,” he said.

Black says university research and on-farm discovery work continues to look at new ways to use fungicides in combination with insecticides and micro-nutrients in tank mixes, but he believes it’s important to be sure there is a solid benefit before doing so. “If we start to get to the point where we’re just mixing up these soups and saying ‘there’s got to be something in there that’s good’ then I have to part company,” said Black.

Listen to my conversation with Kevin Black here: Kevin Black Interview

Maximizing Corn and Soybean Yields

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Precision agriculture means more than just the use of equipment and technology to save time and money, it also means the “application of technologies and agronomic principles to manage spatial and temporal variability associated with all aspects of agricultural production for the purpose of improving crop performance and environmental quality.”

At the recent GROWMARK FS Green Plan Solutions “In Pursuit of Maximum Yields” conference in East Peoria, growers and consultants heard from two University of Illinois experts on how to maximize corn and soybean yields.

Dr. Fred Below gave his “Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World” presentation to the audience. “The seven wonders concept was designed for us to put a value and ranking behind those factors that every year impact corn yields,” said Dr. Below. “Number one is the weather, number two is my favorite – nitrogen, three is the most important decision farmers make each year – hybrid selection, number four has to do with crop the year before, number five is plant population, number six is tillage or no tillage and number seven is a new broad category called growth regulators. And these factors together can combine and maximize to produce up to 260 bushels.”

Listen to my interview with Dr. Fred Below here: Fred Below Interview

Dr. Vince Davis discussed how it takes a total management approach to increase soybean yields. “In soybeans, increasing yields is a really tough game to get into,” Vince told me. “About 10 bushels, 9 and a half bushels an acre is about what we were able to obtain in our large plots, and that’s about what I’ve seen as a maximum level that we can increase. If you can put up 10 extra bushels at $13 beans, that’s a lot of extra money.”

Vince urges farmers to get as much information as they can and experiment to find out what works on their own operations and he had praise for GROWMARK and FS Green Plan Solutions agronomists working with producers. “We worked with one of our local agronomists at the Illini FS location and they are doing a great job getting on the farms, finding out what growers are interested in doing, what does and doesn’t work on the farm, and do it all from the standpoint of economics,” he said.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Vince Davis here: Vince Davis Interview

FS Green Plan Solutions, an integrated, solutions-based approach designed to help producers enhance farm profitability by providing complete agronomic recommendations from a trusted team of FS specialists.