Precision Pays

Just call it the “biggest bang for the buck in the precision ag industry.”

It’s the Ag Leader Technology VERSA display, which has all of the most popular year-round precision tools – including guidance, auto-steering control, SeedCommand planting control, DirectCommand application control, yield monitoring and mapping – in one small package.

“For growers who are just getting started in precision ag or for growers who need a second monitor, this is definitely a great option,” said Ag Leader’s Russ Morman at last week’s National Farm Machinery Show. It was the first time most farmers at the show had been able to see the monitor, because it is basically brand new. “We introduced it late last year and we actually just started shipping them in the last week or so.”

Russ says response to the new monitor has been very good. “I’ve had numerous guys come by and say “hey, I ordered one of these I just wanted to see what they looked like in person.”

Response to all things Ag Leader has actually been very good from farmers everywhere. “We’ve expanded our presence everywhere,” said Russ, noting that Ag Leader is celebrating its 20th anniversary in precision ag this year. “Canada, the south, east and west – and all over the world, for that matter. We’re actually opening offices overseas right now.”

Find out more about VERSA and Ag Leader in this interview with Russ: Russ Morman Interview

Thanks to Ag Leader Technology for helping us provide coverage of the 2012 NFMS and for their support of the agriculture industry!

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Executives of the GROWMARK system are very pleased with response to the FS Green Plan Solutions program to help growers discover new methods that will help them attain maximum yields.

GROWMARK CEO Jeff Solberg (left) and Vice President of Agronomy Jim Spradlin both attended the Pursuit of Maximum Yields (POMY) grower event last week in Collinsville, Illinois. Solberg says the program is designed to help growers meet the challenges of feeding a growing world population. “We believe that the production that we have to have to feed the world is so important,” says Solberg. “The way that you go about it is through good, sustainable, environmentally-sound practices which allow us to farm with freedom, to do it in the right way, and to make sure that we get the yields to feed all the people we’ve got coming at us in the next 30 years.”

Listen to my interview with Jeff Solberg here, where he also talks about the International Year of the Cooperative and GROWMARK’s big anniversary this year: GROWMARK CEO Jeff Solberg

Instead of taking a bird’s eye view, one-size-fits-all approach, the POMY program works with individual farmers to find out what works best in their own operations. “That’s been a very exciting concept,” said Spradlin. “Our crop specialists, which number between 400-500 throughout our system, have really embraced the idea of seeing what we can do on farmer fields, answering farmer questions.”

Spradlin says the growth in the system has been tremendous since it began just three years ago, starting with just about 200 trials to over 600 in 2011.

Listen to my interview with Jim Spradlin here: Jim Spradlin Interview

Photos from Illinois Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Division of Ag Education, Farm Safety and Farmland Preservation has teamed up with several organizations to promote farm safety to National Farm Machinery Show attendees this week. As you can see in the photo, they have a tractor rollover educational display to show the difference in a rollover with the ROPS bar up and down. In the photo this farmer “dummy” is the victim of the unsafe practice of not using the ROPS bar.

Dale Dobson, Safety Administrator for the Department, and Scott Cedarquist, Director of Standards & Technical Activities, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), were working the exhibit at NFMS to provide a very visual farm safety message.

Dale says the message is pretty simple – “Roll bars and seat belts work only if you put the roll bar up and you click the seat belt. It’s your choice. It’s life and death.” Scott says that ASABE has a major focus on safety as the standards setting organization and they have committees for specific safety components like lighting and marking.

Listen to an interview with both Dale and Scott here: Promoting Farm Safety Interview

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

**UPDATED with audio and video from National Farm Machinery Show**

Ag Leader Technology is excited to announce the INTEGRA™ display will soon feature planter down force monitor and control capability, allowing the display to monitor and adjust down force based on field and soil conditions. Planting seed at the optimum row unit down force is an important factor in good crop germination, and ultimately, yield.

The heart of the system is a hydraulic down force actuator (as compared to other pneumatic airbag systems), engineered by Dawn Equipment. The actuator is the fastest on the market, allowing the INTEGRA display to make quick row unit down force adjustments.

Ag Leader was giving growers a preview of the new system at the National Farm Machinery Show this week, where we spoke with Russ Morman about when it will be available, how it works, and the benefits for growers. “The adjustments we’re going to be able to make to our down pressure will be a lot quicker than the other systems on the market and this being a metal system rather than an air bag it won’t have the risk of puncturing,” said Russ.

Listen to Russ explain the new system here: Interview with Russ Morman

Watch Russ do a little video demo at NFMS here:

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

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There’s a lot new products from New Holland on display at the 2012 National Farm Machinery Show. We visited with John Elliott, New Holland Director of Marketing NAR, to get a bird’s eye view of it all. John says there are product launches at NFMS in all New Holland segments – residential, commercial, municipal units, the dairy/livestock units and the cash crop segment.

The new products list includes:

• New Holland Narrow Row Tractors Pack More Power in Orchards and Vineyards
• New Holland T6 Series Mid‐Range Tractors Feature ECOBlue™ Engine Technology
• High‐Clearance Tractor
• New Holland ‘Lean & Mean’ TS6 Series Tractors
• MegaCutter™ Triple Disc Mower‐Conditioners Cut 29’ 6” of Hay in a Single Pass
• ProRotor™ Rakes Promote Higher Quality Forage
• Boomer™ Compact Tractors
• Telehandlers Offer High Lifting Performance in Compact Package
• Enhanced Clean Energy Website

Listen to an interview with John to learn more about all the new products being introduced by New Holland: Interview with John Elliott

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

University of Illinois Professor of Plant Physiology Dr. Fred Below is always excited to point out to growers how seven factors work together for high yield corn – weather, nitrogen, hybrid, previous crop, plant population, tillage and growth regulators.

Dr. Below talked about his seven wonders of corn yield research at both the Iowa and Illinois Pursuit of Maximum Yields (POMY) events organized by FS Green Plan Solutions. He says of the seven factors, only one is really beyond the control of growers. “The largest factor affecting corn yield is obviously the weather,” he said, adding that his research has assigned a value of 70+ the impact of weather on bushels per acre.

On the other hand, Below says good fertilizer nitrogen management can have almost as much impact as weather and it’s the one that farmers have the most control over. “70 bushels is the current average for getting it just right,” he said.

For much of the Corn Belt, 2011 was one of those bad years for weather, but we still saw some good yields. “The weather worked against us in 2011 and we were geared up to grow 300 bushels right out of the ground. It looked pretty good,” he said. “If our management had not made yield by the third week of June, we were pretty well done.” Still, over at his research plots in Illinois, Below says they managed to get better yields with high tech management. “Even under those poor conditions, by managing from the very beginning and planning for high yields, we managed to eke out an extra 26 bushels in a bad year,” he said.

Dr. Below has been researching how to get higher corn yields for a couple of years now and even has a website about the “7 Wonders of Corn” and this coming year is will be doing some complementary research on soybeans. With no nitrogen component to soybeans, there will only be six wonders for soybean success.

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

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – start your engines. Fastline AgRacer is on track to be the next big farm-themed game.

Fastline Publications unveiled AgRacer at the 2012 National Farm Machinery Show. This game app is available for the iPhone/touch/iPad and Android devices for just 99 cents.

AgRacer combines the fun of racing with farm equipment and the thrill of competing for prizes every month. Choose from seven vehicles to race and earn points by winning and driving the biggest vehicles that help generate the most points to climb the leader board.

Racers can use three different camera angles to race and a leader board keeps track of racer positions. Scores move up and down as racerws compete with family and friends locally and all over the world. The top racers will have the chance to win prizes valued over $1,000 each month. “AgRacer was developed to help expose more people to our great agricultural market and allow people of all ages have fun with farm equipment in a whole new way,” said Fastline president Tim Hess.

Chuck interviewed Tim Hess this morning at NFMS. Tim says Fastline has been working on the game for almost a year as a way to expand their brand into a younger market. The game is here live on the iPad in the Fastline booth. As an extra incentive, Fastline is offering a dollar to everyone who downloads the 99 cent app at NFMS.

Listen to the interview with Tim to learn more about AgRacer: Interview with Tim Hess

AgRacer can be download in the Itunes Store and the Android Market for $.99. Upgrades and updates are planned to further expand the game after the initial launch. Join the Pit crew and stay up to date on new releases at agracer.com. AgRacer… The race is on.

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

The 47th annual National Farm Machinery Show is bigger and better than ever, according to Corinne Fetter, Director of Expositions for the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville. Corinne is pictured here AgriTalk host Mike Adams during a break in the live broadcast of the show Wednesday.

Corinne says they had a waiting list for the 47th annual show with some companies still trying to get in as of yesterday! This show is the biggest one held in the facility and brings in over $21.5 million to the local community. She says many people make the show part of their vacation. They can get some “work” out of the way during the day and relax and enjoy the tractor pull in the evening.

Listen to or download Chuck’s interview with Corinne here: Interview with Corinne Fetter

We’re collecting photos from this year’s show here: 2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Growers want to hear what other growers have to say, so the grower panel was most popular at the two FS Green Plan Solutions Pursuit of Maximum Yields (POMY) events in Iowa and Illinois over the last two weeks. The growers on the panel were Phillip Hartke (left) and Steve Sondgeroth, both from Illinois.

Phil is a crop and livestock producer from Teutopolis who got involved in pursuing maximum yields at the start of the program about three years ago. “Historically, we’ve tried different things as they come down the pike through the FS System, so we were more than glad to participate,” Phil said, noting that his interest was piqued when his crop specialist talked to him about multiple applications of nitrogen. “We were already applying nitrogen in the fall then we came back in the spring and applied with a little anhydrous,” he said. “We went with two more applications of nitrogen, one with our chemicals and then another time with urea with Agrotain in it. So we did four applications of nitrogen and I think that’s been key to feeding that plant as it grows.”

That has helped him get a 189.5 bushel five-year average yield, about 35 bushels an acre better than the county average. “We’re in livestock so 65-70% of the corn we raise goes to the hog operation and with the extra yield that gives me more to sell in the market,” Phil says. “I like to have that cash flow.”

Listen to my interview with Phil here: Phillip Hartke Interview

Steve Sondgeroth grows corn and soybeans in Vero County Illinois and 2011 was the first year he participated in the Pursuit of Maximum Yield program, specifically on his soybean crop. For him, it was all about removing stress. “Pursuit of maximum yield means just that and I just pulled out all the stops,” he said. “I think I hit the home run this year. My soybeans averaged 82.4 bushels an acre.”

Steve says some of the things he did were a little outside the box. “I have not inoculated soybeans since I was a little boy, but this year I did,” he said. “I wanted to make sure we had plenty of rhizobia bacteria to increase the nitrogen fixing.”

What really excites Steve about the POMY program is how it allows farmers to share practices that work with each other. “It’s most unusual in the sense that there is real openness and willingness to share ideas,” he said. “There’s not too many businesses that I know of where you actually share the information that is most vital to your operation.”

Listen to my interview with Steve here: Steve Sondgeroth Interview

Photos from Illinois Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

“You may not be interested in global macroeconomics, but it’s interested in you.”

That is one of the main messages that Virginia Tech economist Dr. David Kohl had for growers attending the FS Green Plan Solutions Pursuit of Maximum Yields event in Collinsville, Illinois today.

Dr. Kohl talked about the importance of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to U.S. agriculture. “You have an agriculture economy that is doing extremely well because they’re connected with the BRICS nations that are demanding food, fiber and fuel,” he said. “It’s important to keep an eye on those BRICS nations more than just the U.S. economy in developing your agricultural plans.”

Dr. Kohl says U.S. agriculture has been in a “super cycle” for nine years, which is unprecedented, and the two main reasons are exports and ethanol. He also talked about “black swans,” mega trends, top challenges, and the connectivity of agriculture.

My favorite quote from his talk is “The best crop you can raise is your children.”

Listen to my interview with Dr. Kohl here: Dr. Dave Kohl Interview

Photos from Illinois Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

The hashtag #FSMaxYield was everywhere at the Pursuit of Maximum Yields event last week in Bettendorf, Iowa encouraging people at the event to “be part of the buzz.”

“We’re excited to have a hashtag at the event,” said GROWMARK Electronic Communications Specialist Heather (Miller) Thompson. “We’ve given every grower and crop specialist a little card about how to tweet from the event and if they don’t have a Twitter account, how to create one.”

Heather says the FS Green Plan Solutions crop specialists are finding Twitter to be a quick and easy communications tool to get information out to growers and they are seeing more and more adopt it every day.

She and the rest of the GROWMARK communications team were also actively promoting CropNAtion, which is a social site introduced last year for farmers and ranchers to ask questions, share information and photos, and grow connections with others in the ag industry. “That’s still really in it’s infancy,” Heather said. “We’re trying to get word spread about it to get a base and also waiting for an iPhone and Android app that should be out any day now.”

GROWMARK and FS are also making good use of other social media and smartphone tools, like Facebook and QR codes.

Listen to Heather talk about it here: Heather Thompson Interview

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

GROWMARK Manager of Agronomy Services Dr. Howard Brown may have started the FS Green Plan Solutions Pursuit of Maximum Yields (POMY) program, but he doesn’t like to call it “his baby” – he gives all the credit to MOM.

“It’s all about MOM,” Brown said at the POMY event Thursday in Bettendorf, Iowa. “It’s about Maximizing yield, Optimizing nitrogen utilization and Minimizing environmental impact.”

This is the third year for the program and the second year that they have gotten growers together to share the knowledge the program is helping to generate. Last year they held one grower meeting in Peoria. This year there are two meetings – the Iowa meeting last week and another one coming up in Belleville, Illinois on Tuesday. Between the two, they expect to reach at least 500 farmers with an educational and entertaining program that includes great speakers like Dr. Fred Below with the University of Illinois and growers who have participated in the program.

Brown is pleased with how quickly the on-farm discovery program has caught on with growers. “It has grown very fast in a large area,” he said, noting that he just made presentations about the program in Ohio where farmers are anxious to participate. “A lot of them have already been doing it, they just never formalized that approach and we’re going to offer that to them.”

Listen to my interview with Howard Brown here: Dr. Howard Brown Interview

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

A familiar face to Iowa growers was the host for the Pursuit of Maximum Yields event organized by FS Green Plan Solutions Thursday in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Mark Pearson is long-time host of the Iowa Public Television program “Market to Market”, as well as being a farmer himself, and he was thrilled to be part of the event and excited about the whole Pursuit of Maximum Yields concept. “The exciting part of what FS is doing is instead of offering a product, they’re offering a system,” he said. “And I think that’s going to be more of a template for agribusiness, being more of a partner.”

Pearson says the whole point of working toward maximum yields for corn growers is meeting that growing demand. “We’ve got a growing world middle class, we’ve got growing or at least stable demand for ethanol, we’ve got a product that’s in big demand overseas,” he said. “It’s exciting what GROWMARK and FS Services are doing because we need the production.”

Pearson says he is proud of the way farmers can get together in a forum like this to help each other do a better job of feeding the world. “Because good farmers are more than willing to share what they’re doing and hear what you’re doing,” he said.

Listen to my interview with Mark Pearson here: Mark Pearson Interview

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

In a world where crop yields need to continue growing to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for food, what can farmers do to manage and protect the environmental resources that will support those higher yields?

That was one of the main questions that Delaware-Maryland Agribusiness Association Executive Secretary Bill Angstadt addressed at the Pursuit of Maximum Yields event organized by FS Green Plan Solutions in Bettendorf, Iowa Thursday. He noted several examples of pressures being placed on growers to produce more with less. “There are several initiatives, one called “Food to Market,” where food companies like Coca-Cola, General Mills, Walmart have come together,” he said. “What Coca-Cola originally wanted was to be able to put a label on their bottle that says ‘the corn syrup that was used in making this product did not harm the environment.’ Those kinds of concepts are out there.”

Angstadt also discussed the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Limit (TMDL) requirement by EPA in his area of the country that would limit nitrogen and phosphorus used in the region. “This public policy of trying to established when and how to quantify that a farmer is meeting water quality standards and how can a farmer verify this as an assurance to EPA is the debate that we’re in right now,” he said. The proposal is currently facing a legal challenge by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Listen to my interview with Bill Angstadt here: Bill Angstadt Interview

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

Over 250 growers from around Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and even Canada learned more about the Pursuit of Maximum Yields from an event organized by FS Green Plan Solutions in Bettendorf, Iowa Thursday.

Because the whole concept of pursuing maximum yields is based on the population growth expected in the future, it was fitting that New Mexico State University economist and futurist Dr. Lowell Catlett was first on the program. One thing Dr. Catlett sees in the future is more crap. What he calls “The Crap Factor” is higher disposable income to buy more crap. “The quality of our life has gone up dramatically and the price to have (the necessities) relative to our income has gone down,” he says. That allows people to buy more extras, and in the case of developing countries, it means they have more income to buy more protein.

As for the future of agriculture, Catlett says it’s not so much in precision agriculture now as in prescription agriculture. “It’s part of the reason that these farmers are in this room because they’re doing small plots on their farms to see what they can do,” said Catlett. “Getting a prescription for a farm is what will get maximum yields.”

Catlett also talked about how smart phones are helping farmers. “You’ve got the ability to take that mobile technology and do plant diagnostics with it,” he said. In the future, he sees the use of open source hardware (not just software) and 3D assembly that could allow manufacturing to actually be done on site with local materials, like building tractors on farms in developing nations.

Listen to my interview with Lowell Catlett here: Lowell Catlett Interview

Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event