Precision Pays

The first-ever PrecisionAg Learning Center at Commodity Classic was a big hit with growers at the trade show.

According to the PrecisionAg.com there was a steady stream of attendees asking questions, sitting in on presentations, and chatting with growers who use precision technology. Among the presenters were Idaho grower Robert Blair and Iowa grower Dennis Friest, Craig Smith from Kansas State University and Tracy Blackmer, Iowa Soybean Association Director of Research.

The Learning Center also offered growers the opportunity to register for great giveaways provided by PrecisionAg partners. In the photo to the right, Mike Olson with Ag Leader Technology is drawing the winning name for an Ag Leader InSight Display. The winner was John Kelly of Hutsonville, Illinois. Other winners are listed here on the PrecisionAg site.

Check out our previous post on the PrecisionAg profit calculator unveiled at Classic. The Guidance & Section Control Profit Calculator is specifically designed to help growers understand their return on an investment in this technology.

Thanks again to John Deere for sponsoring our coverage of this year’s Commodity Classic.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

At Commodity Classic in Anaheim, CA, Jared Hayes, John Deere, was showing attendees what the company is offering to growers in the area of precision ag.

With spring almost here and planting just around the corner I asked him what’s new from the company. Jared says one of the big things with planting which is becoming more important every year is automatic section control via their Swath Control Pro. He says this allows for a reduction of input costs while also allowing for the use of multiple products.

At Commodity Classic John Deere was showcasing their full line of AMS products. Jared says the show provides them an opportunity to find out what growers are looking for in future product offerings.

You can listen to my interview with Jared below:

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Spring is just around the corner – the time when a farmer’s fancy turns to thoughts of planting.

Growers stopping by the Ag Leader Technology booth at the Commodity Classic trade show last week definitely had spring on their minds. General sales manager Mike Olson says they talked a lot about what growers need to know to get precision farming equipment ready for the season. “The biggest thing is to get the stuff out early and start going through it,” Mike told me. “You need to bring the monitor out and download all the data from last year, make a back up, and then get it set up for this year. Make sure all your field names are in there, your boundaries, and make sure all your firm ware is updated.”

Mike says updating is important because all companies bring out new features that make things more efficient and easier. Listen to Mike’s interview below and talk to your local Ag Leader dealer for more pre-planting tips.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

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Precision is the name of the game when it comes to farming these days. It’s getting hard to find a farmer anymore who doesn’t use auto steer at the very least – and the options to save resources, time and money just keep growing.

At the New Holland exhibit at Commodity Classic, I talked to Matt Ahrens about some of the products they offer for growers and a program they have that can help farmers see exactly how they can benefit from using different types of precision solutions on their own operations. “We have a website – PutYourFarmOnTheMap – and on that website we have a cost savings calculator and you can go in and put your input costs on their, how much fuel usage per acre depending on implement width, and you can see what kind of savings you can get,” Matt said. “The good thing with that is that it’s their numbers, their input costs, so they get to see what their savings are.”

Matt also demonstrates the new AgGPS® FM-1000™ integrated display working with the Trimble Field-IQ in the video below. You can find out more about New Holland’s product line-up and more on the website PutYourFarmOnTheMap.com.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack gave the keynote address during the general session at the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California on Friday and focused on the achievements of American agriculture.

Comparing agriculture in this country to gold medal winners and hall of fame inductees, Vilsack talked about the amazing productivity of our producers. “These are people who plant 240 million acres of our land, they are the most productive farmers in the world,” Vilsack said. “They help to produce 108 billion pounds of protein a year that feed 300 million Americans and many millions around the world. In my lifetime, they have gone from one farmer feeding 20 folks, to one farmer feeding 150 folks. They’re responsible for a trade surplus at a time when we talk mostly about trade deficits.”

You can definitely give credit to farmers for taking advantage of advancements in precision technology and biotechnology for those accomplishments!

Listen to Vilsack’s speech in the player below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

Thanks to John Deere for sponsoring our coverage of this year’s Commodity Classic.

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The PrecisionAg Institute can help growers know how well it Works now with a new Profit Calculator. The organization was exhibiting at Commodity Classic and I stopped by and spoke with Director Elliott Nowels. In the photo you can see one of the educational presentations scheduled in their booth taking place.

Elliott says the profit calculator helps growers understand the actual return on investment for each element of precision application they are using or planning on purchasing. It is an online tool that asks a series of questions about field size, inputs being used and their value and then it takes that data and figures how much money you can save by using various gps guided applications like controlling individual planter boxes or spray nozzles.

You can listen to my interview with Elliott below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

Thanks go to John Deere for sponsoring our coverage of this year’s Commodity Classic.

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The opening of the trade show is the real “official” start to the Commodity Classic. The exhibit hall is filled with the latest and the greatest technology and machinery for growers of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum. According to the official attendance figures, there are 4175 attendees at Classic this year, 1338 of them are growers. This is the 15th annual Commodity Classic, which started as the combined meeting of the corn and soybean growers, but in recent years has grown to add wheat and sorghum grower organizations as well. It’s an event that can benefits a grower’s farm operation and profitability for years to come.

Take a look and a listen to the official kick off and ribbon cutting for the 2010 Commodity Classic, with coverage on Precision Pays sponsored by John Deere.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

I am attending Commodity Classic courtesy of John Deere. This is the combined meetings of the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and National Sorghum Producers.

John Deere took the opportunity to unveil a very unique tractor designed by Chip Foose. It’s a 1970 John Deere 4020. The tractor will be given away to one winner as part of the John Deere Big Buck Promotion. You may find rules to enter on the John Deere website.

The uniquely designed machine, which the Foose team has been working on since last November, will tour much of the country as part of the Drive Green Tractor Experience Tour immediately following the trade show.

Chip Foose adds, “I’ve looked at tractors for years and always thought they’re narrow, they look almost like a dry lakes car or even some of the old Indy cars, so that’s the direction I took; I wanted some of that racing feel to the tractor. And with the turf tires in the back and the three-ribbed tires in the front, it carries that theme all the way through from the tires to the sheet metal work to the paint job … but it’s still a John Deere.”

I interviewed Chip right after the unveiling. He talks about how he got into automobile design and this project in particular. You can listen to that interview below. I also shot the unveiling so you can watch it as well.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

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Hats off to PrecisionAg magazine and its owner, Meister Media Worldwide, for giving away precision farming equipment to growers for the past 14 years!

The following lucky growers will soon be putting these new precision tools to work–which they won at the recent Commodity Classic in Grapevine, TX.

• David Farmer, D.F. Ranches, El Nido, CA – InSight Display from Ag Leader.
• Jeff Tate, Tate Farms, Meridiaville, AL – UC4+ Spray Height Controller from NORAC.
• Heather Mohr, Mohr Farms, Burnside, IL – DGPS Subscription from OmniStar.
• Brenton Peters, L & S Peters Farms, Bringhurst, IN – DGPS Subscription from OmniStar.
• Ray Becker, T-R Farms, Lancaster, KS – DGPS Subscription from OmniStar.
• Keith Fuller, Fuller Fertilizer, Sutter, IL – The ACCU-RATE Controller from Rawson Control Systems.
• Jeff Filinger, Cuba, KS – Centerline 230BP from TeeJet.
• Rod Gillen, Muller Farms, Boswell, IN – EZ-Guide 250 from Trimble.

“It’s certainly a thrill to bring the PrecisionAg Giveaway program to agriculture, and it really fits our mission to make precision technology understandable and accessible,” says Paul Schrimpf, group editor of the CropLife Media Group’s PrecisionAg branded media, including PrecisionAg Special Reports, the PrecisionAg Buyer’s Guide and PrecisionAg.com. “For 14 years, leading precision technology companies have participated in the Giveaway program, giving the winners an opportunity to discover the benefits of precision agriculture products and practices. We congratulate the winners and wish them the best as they integrate these products into their operations.”

At the 2009 Commodity Classic recently, Trimble Navigation was helping growers see how precision provides them with a good return on their investment.

Sid Siefken with Trimble says guidance by itself makes a grower more efficient, but Trimble’s acquisition of Tru Count late last year has increased a grower’s ROI. “Tru Count does the automatic row shutoff systems for corn planters and that coupled with guidance can really increase your return on investment,” Sid says. “We’ve had farmers come up to us at the show and said it was probably quickest pay back of any technology they ever used.’

Sid says one farmer in particular who planted 4000 acres of corn used 28 less bags of seed corn with Tru Count air clutches combined with guidance. “Very few times in agriculture that you can get that direct amount of tangible savings driven back to the bottom line,” said Sid.

Listen to an interview with Sid from Commodity Classic, conducted by ZimmComm reporter Joanna Schroeder: cc09-joanna-trimble.mp3

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You could go to school and learn about precision land management in the New Holland booth at this year’s Commodity Classic. Mike Harvey was teaching when I stopped by. He says the mobile teaching trailer provides a place for growers to see their monitors and even operate a simulator.

The trailer can be configured in various ways and is also used for dealer and operation training. The trailer has heat and air conditioning so it can be used year round.

When it comes to this year’s Classic Mike says interaction with growers was great. He says they’re really impressed with the ability to look at a machine in their booth and then come into the trailer to learn about all the controls.

You can listen to my interview with Mike here: cc-09-harvey.mp3

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The John Deere DB120 was too big for the John Deere booth at Commodity Classic this year, but there was still lots of interest in this new machine that offers standard technology features that can help growers be more productive than ever before

The DB120 has 48 row units, 30 inch centers and is a full 120 foot wide. Base technology equipment includes Central Commodity System (CCS) with Refuge Plus™, Variable Rate Drive, RowCommand™, SeedStar™ 2 Monitoring, and Pneumatic Down Force.

John Deere seed division marketing manager Rob Rippchen says the CCS and Refuge Plus™ provides 125 bushel of seed capacity for the planter. “You can plant somewhere between two and a half and three hours before needing to refill,” said Rob. “SeedStar™ 2 Monitoring was our upgraded monitoring system that was introduced last summer that gives growers a good interface in the cab and controls the majority of features on the planter from the seat of the tractor.”

Technology is making it all possible, said Rob. “If auto guidance wasn’t available, you probably wouldn’t see a 120 foot planter. If RowCommand wasn’t in the market place, where you can shut off individual row units automatically, you probably wouldn’t see a 120 foot planter. So, it’s really the technology that enables us to take that next step in planter productivity.”

All this for only $345,000 list price. Not a bad deal for large volume growers who are planning on adding more acreage.

The DB120 was introduced at the National Farm Machinery Show last month, where we shot a little YouTube video you can view here.

Listen to Rob talk about the DB120 at Commodity Classic here: cc09-jd-rippchen.MP3

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A new tool to measure sustainability shows how precision technology and practices have helped improve the efficiency of U.S. farmers.

The Fieldprint Calculator was introduced last week at the Commodity Classic by Field to Market, The Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture.

“I do have to say that I like this tool for many reasons,” said Doug Goehring, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat in North Dakota. “First and foremost, it demonstrates how U.S. ag production measures up when it comes to sustainability. In some respects, we’re probably at the top of the game globally.”

“It’s amazing,” Goehring says. “Just looking at technology – we have variable rate seeding, variable rate fertilizer application, variable rate chemical application, we have GPS, new tools and equipment being designed that are much more efficient in the field.”

“When you look at our industry overall in the United States, for what we produce and the amount of energy that we consume to do that, we are very responsible,” said Goehring.

The Fieldprint Calculator was developed with input from a diverse group of grower organizations, agribusinesses, food companies, economists and conservation groups, to help farmers evaluate natural resource use on their operation compared to industry averages. These measures could help improve production efficiencies and profit potential.

The calculator will be available at www.fieldtomarket.org beginning March 15 for grower testing and feedback.

Listen to Doug’s comments at Commodity Classic here: cc09-goehring.mp3

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A record number of growers are attending the biggest ever trade show at the 2009 Commodity Classic this week in Grapevine, Texas. No economic crisis here!

John Deere Ag Management Solutions representatives have stayed busy talking with growers interested in upgrading – or even just starting out – with precision technology that can help them save money on input costs and increase productivity. One way to do that is with APEX software which allows producers to visualize farming practices and productivity of past years and use that information to make important decisions for the next production year and beyond.

I did a little YouTube video with Sarah Davis of John Deere AMS explaining some of the ways the APEX software can help producers.

With seed costs getting higher every year, it pays to be precise when planting to avoid wasting any of that precious potential profit.

Rob Rippchen, division marketing manager for John Deere’s seeding group, was the planter go-to guy at the 2008 Commodity Classic and he was so busy talking to interested growers that I had trouble getting him away for an interview. When I did, he told me what was new this year and the key word he used was “precisely.”

“What’s new this year is we have a central insecticide system for our Pro-Series row units that allows us to precisely place insecticide treatment for rootworm in corn,” Rob told me. “The other improvement that we made was to our vacuum meters to allow growers to more precisely place seed corn in the ground.”

He says growers are looking for even emergence and even spacing for corn. “It’s not only having the accurate spacing between the plants but having the proper depth control that’s done with the row unit,” he says.

Through John Deere Ag Management Services, they also can add the auto shut-off capabilities to the planter. “Another way to save some seed costs as well as eliminate the yield drag that happens when you double plant corn.”

Check out what’s new in seeding and planting equipment on-line here.

You can listen to my interview with Rob from Commodity Classic here: Rob Rippchen Interview (2:30 min. mp3)

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