Precision Pays

With rain, early freeze and overall cool summer conditions, 2009 harvest has become very challenging for some parts of the Corn Belt. This week’s Integrated Crop Management e-newsletter from Iowa State University highlights issues that need attention.

1. Corn Quality Issues:
- Frost-damaged corn often stops at 17-18% moisture (stopped at 20-22% in 2008 in Iowa). Expect low test weights due to immature kernel.
- Pay attention to stalk health, as you may want to harvest wetter corn first if lodged.
- Expect drydown costs about 5 cents per point of moisture removed. Remove 8 points down to 15% will cost about 40 cents per bushel plus weight shrink.
- Corn test weights below 54 lbs. after drying should not be stored into warm weather, and should be dried to less than 15% for storage of any duration.
- Scout for field molds problems, because they can create toxins and feed value concerns, possibly creating discounts.

2. Field Mold Issues:
- Cool, wet harvest conditions favor ear rot and stalk rot fungi. Harvest problem fields first to reduce ear loss due to ear rot and increased mycotoxin levels.
- Adjust harvest equipment to minimize kernel damage.
- Dry and cool the grain as quickly as possible to reduce further mold growth and toxin production.
- Expect end users to increase their level of grain quality grading.
- Test all questionable grain before feeding to livestock.

3. Storage Issues:
- The extra costs in additional handling and drying logistics will likely pay off in terms of avoiding spoiling losses later on.
- Check combine settings between fields for fines and cracked kernels because they accelerate spoilage.
- Fungi grows very fast in corn above 20% moisture, so get wet corn into aerated storage immediately–don’t let sit in truck or wagon overnight.
- Monitor wet corn weekly in storage. Airflow must be good, as problems can start to show up in February and March as temperatures rise.
- Options when wet corn exceeds drying capacity: 1. Dry to 17-18% then cool in storage bin; it’ll end up at 16% and good aeration can get it down to the needed 14% for midsummer storage. 2. Dry to 20%, cool in bin, hold wet corn for spring but not summer. 3. Dry in two passes–first down to 17-19% then rest of drying after harvest is over. (This requires more handling and logistics, but could be profitable if the market carry increases to encourage storage.)
- Decide which corn and bins will be kept into summer (your best corn of highest test weight that was harvested below 20% moisture).

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Using ethanol mixed with water in diesel engines could make them more efficient and reduce emissions.

National Corn Growers Association chairman Bob Dickey is also chairman of CleanFlex Power Systems, which is so new they haven’t built a website yet, but what they have done is developed a method to efficiently use ethanol in diesel engines.

Dickey started the idea a year ago when he bought a new John Deere 150-hp four-cylinder turbo diesel irrigation system engine and retrofitted it to use an ethanol and diesel blend. “It worked so well that we applied for a grant at the University of Nebraska and we’re currently doing research there to bring credibility to what we’re doing,” Dickey says.

The company has developed a new hydrated-ethanol fuel called EM60 (a mixture of 60% ethanol and 40% water) to combine with diesel fuel to power diesel engines. “Just like oil and water don’t mix, ethanol and diesel don’t mix,” Dickey said. So, they run two lines into the diesel engine. “The only time the ethanol, water and diesel are together is at the point of combustion and it really works well. The engine runs cooler, it runs more efficient and the emissions are reduced.”

CleanFlex president Ron Preston says they are talking with agricultural equipment manufacturers, railroads, and even bus companies about the idea because the EM60 fuel has the potential to help meet Tier 4 emission standards that become effective in 2011. “There are 60 million diesel engines in the United States,” Preston says. “We’ve been working with EPA and going through the proper steps to make ethanol a solution that will help them meet emissions requirements.”

Listen to a Precision Pays Podcast with Bob Dickey and Ron Preston about CleanFlex by clicking on the player below – or subscribe to our monthly podcast, sponsored by AgLeader Technology, by following this link or the sidebar link.

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Young farmers often have a drive for efficiency, and technology. North Plate, Neb., grower Nathan Kramer is no different. He knows the tools of precision agriculture can get him there. But data holds the key.

Ag Leader InSight monitor shows Trimble's AgGPS Autopilot screen

“If you don’t know where you’re at, it’s hard to tell where you’re going,” Nathan says, with regard to their lack of baseline yield data. So last fall, he and his dad Randy talked about needs with their local equipment dealer. After checking out Ag Leader and John Deere, they opted for the Ag Leader InSight system to start measuring and mapping yields last fall.

“We chose the InSight for several reasons. My dad’s not a big computer guy, so we really liked how easy it is to use, yet it can handle the complex future jobs I want to try such as variable rate seeding and fertilizer application. And, even though we run mostly Deere equipment, we went with Ag Leader due to its versatility to work easily in different equipment brands, just in case we switch combine or tractors,” Kramer says

Since half of their 2,200 combined acres (they farm their own ground and share equipment) are dryland, Nathan believes he can find added efficiency in varying his seeding and fertilizer rates on fields where soils and topography are most variable. “We feel that perhaps variable-rate seeding will pay off faster in dryland than on our irrigated acres. And we hope for a similar payoff with fertilizer. We may not use less of either one, but we’ll hopefully increase efficiency across the field.”

The Kramer’s next step into precision farming is drilling wheat next week using their newly purchased auto steer with RTK accuracy. “We’re looking forward to planting more acres per day due to less fatigue,” Nathan says.

Once fall harvest is in the books, and yields on maps, Nathan plans to spend some time this winter talking to neighbors experienced in precision farming, and working with a consultant to develop some prescription maps and test protocols for next spring. “We expect a lot of trial and error with different practices we want to try—everything from planting populations, fertilizer rates, hybrids and irrigation rates. It’s difficult to keep up with all this technology, that’s why it’s important to have good local service and expertise,” he adds.

Many of you corn growers using precision technology are very aware of the challenges we’ve had in the ethanol business, especially battling groups with an agenda to distort facts and misinform the public. Growth Energy is a group that was formed to battle that problem on Capitol Hill.

Here at the Farm Progress Show, Gen. Wesley Clark, Growth Energy, announced a new initiative. The organization is calling for country of origin labeling for fuel. I would call that the “COOL for fuel” initiative! Hey, we do it with food, why not fuel?

General Wesley Clark, Co-Chairman of Growth Energy, today called on the United States Congress and the White House to take action to dramatically enhance the market transparency of the nation’s fuel supply by requiring a national standard of country of origin labeling (COOL) for fuel.

Clark also unveiled Growth Energy’s labelmyfuel.com, which showcases the costs of American dependence on foreign oil, and serves to rally grassroots support for Congressional action on COOL for fuel legislation.

So what do you think about this initiative? Good idea?

You can listen to the press conference here:

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Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by: .

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John Deere adds a new economy-sized, versatile 4630 self-propelled sprayer to it’s 30-Series lineup that is wired to add valuable precision farming tools.

The new 4630 Sprayer is ideal for cotton farmers who want a low-cost, comfortable, and productive machine that’s simple to operate. It’s also ideal for corn, soybean, or small-grain producers that want a productive yet comfortable machine with advanced options. The 4630 Sprayer replaces John Deere’s discontinued 6700 Sprayer.

For more details you can visit with your local John Deere dealer, or go online and visit the company’s Web site at www.JohnDeere.com.

One important item on your list of daily chores should be to help educate our customer, the consumer. To that end, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has a site called Corn Farmers Coalition. Not only does it highlight growers using precision agriculture tools that help reduce environmental impact (see “Farmer Innovations” tab), it also features excellent corn facts.

It was designed to help educate policy-makers in Washington D.C.

Check it out, and pass it on!

As we’re well into the dog days of summer, Midwest corn and soybean harvest is looming larger. If you haven’t started combine prep already, it’s time to dust off those owner’s manuals to fine-tune the machine and its data-gathering electronics.

Ag Leader Technology, a sponsor of PrecisionPays.com, offers some good advice in a pre-harvest checklist for owners of their InSight and EDGE displays:

• Create a backup of your spring information.
• Select Copy All Files to save the spring data to the memory card.
• Make sure your display firmware, manual and all connected modules are up-to-date.
• Firmware and manual updates can be found on its website under Support. If you have purchased a new combine or new heads, create new configurations for any setup that is different from last fall. Remove all old configurations.

Combine Inspection
• Check to make sure all cables are properly attached and in good condition.
• Remove flow sensor and inspect for damage.
• Check the elevator deflector and impact plate for wear. Verify you have the proper clearance at the top of the clean grain elevator. Clearance should be between 3/8” and 5/8”.

Other items on the Ag Leader checklist include: sensor calibration, header stop height, distance calibration, temperature and moisture check and grain weight. Consult your manual in all cases. And if you’ve lost it, you can find them on the website.

For more information on pre-harvest preparation, Check out these links:

Yield monitor calibration: Garbage in garbage out – Purdue University.
Yield monitor calibration tips – Ohio State University.
Tips to cut combine breakdowns – Corn & Soybean Digest.

A good story that appeared recently in Wallaces Farmer magazine highlights farmer efforts to continually improve precision fertilizer application. In fact, it reports that the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico has shrunk and that Nitrogen delivery has been reduced by 21 percent.

The “hypoxia zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is significantly smaller this year than scientists predicted it would be, and conservation efforts by farmers upstream in states like Iowa and Illinois are a key reason, say officials with the Iowa Farm Bureau, the Iowa Corn Growers and the Iowa Soybean Association.

The hypoxia zone, or ‘dead zone’ as it’s sometimes called, in the Gulf of Mexico is 65% square miles smaller than originally predicted, according to a new report from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Louisiana State University.

“This was surprisingly small given the forecast to be among the largest ever and the expanse of the dead zone earlier this summer,” said Dr. Nancy Rabalais, commenting on the report last week. She is one of the scientists who made the earlier prediction.

The decision about what strategy to take to solve the “dead zone” problem has ramped up as the Obama administration considers using a regulatory attack on the issue. Suzanne Schwartz, who directs a division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that is working on the dead zone issue, says the federal government and Louisiana researchers are checking to see whether the pollution violates water quality standards. If it does, “The state of Louisiana could set standards for what comes in, using the legal authority of the Federal Clean Water Act,” Schwartz said at a conference in late July.

The possibility of the Environmental Protection Agency regulating how much nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer farmers can apply to cropland is drawing fire from agricultural interests in Iowa and other states along the Mississippi River—including farm organizations, commodity groups and fertilizer dealers.

“What this shows us is that Mother Nature has as much to do with the size of the hypoxic zone as anything, but Iowa farmers are doing their part to use soil and water conservation measures to reduce nitrates and phosphorus run-off.  We’ve already seen a 21% decline in nitrogen delivery to the Gulf. That’s why Iowa Farm Bureau nominated the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa Farm Service Agency for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Gulf Guardian Award last year for its Iowa Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program,” says Rick Robinson, environmental policy adviser for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

Robinson adds, “We still have more work to do, but the key thing is farmers are taking action to reduce runoff.  While we cannot control Mother Nature, we can target and coordinate federal and state conservation matching funds used for cost sharing – it’s a continuous effort.”

The report of the shrinking hypoxia zone comes as welcome news to Iowa farmers, who this year, have planted a record corn crop and are expecting a record corn yield. “Thanks to advances in seed genetics, better in-field conservation measures being put into place on the land by farmers, and the development of new precision farming methods and other technology, farmers can feed the world, while continuing to protect it,” says Robinson.

Southern growers interested or already involved with the efficient tools of precision agriculture should take part in the upcoming January conference in Tunica, Mississippi.

The Southern Precision Agriculture Conference will be held January 12th and 13th, 2010, at Harrah’s Tunica Convention Center in Tunica. It will be part of a joint meeting with the National Conservation Cotton and Rice Conference, the Southern Corn and Soybean Conference and the newly formed Southern Field Crop Alliance (SFCA).

The SFCA conference will examine issues across crops and precision agriculture technologies. And it provides a chance to network with growers and industries from across the south. For more information on SFCA, contact Angus Catchot at acatchot@entomology.msstate.edu or B. Rogers Leonard at rleonard@agcenter.lsu.edu. Conference details are found at http://nctd.net/.

GM seed helps feed the world through higher yields and fewer chemical inputs which helps the environment. Photo courtesy of NCGA.

While the anti-agriculture activists spout misinformed data about how genetically-modified grains have not boosted yields nor reduced use of fertilizer or chemicals–those of us living and breathing modern precision agriculture know the truth.

In my hundreds and hundreds of interviews I’ve done over the years with progressive farmers (in stories that have appeared in Progressive Farmer, Farm Industry News and other magazines), these guys and gals achieve regular yields that greatly surpass the state corn average (sometimes by 100 bushels and more). And when activists cite average yields to build their cases on, they fail to realize the true benefits of these crops.

Every farmer attributes these astounding yield gains to better genetics that help reduce plant stress while allowing use of fewer expensive fertilizer and chemical inputs. And the tools of precision farming–from GPS-guided auto steer and planter/spray boom control to intelligent prescription maps and software that delivers laser-focus fertilizer application by field management zones–help achieve awesome environmental stewardship.

For example, Mazon, Illinois farmer Donna Jeschke has cut her pesticide use by 80 percent thanks to seeds that grow into corn that resist bugs. “Since we have been using this genetically modified seed,” Donna says, “we have never had to spray for corn borers on either GMO seed or on refuge,” which is non-modified corn farmers grow so beneficial bugs can survive.

Donna uses global-positioning-satellite technology, or GPS, to make sure her tractor plants razor-sharp, perfect rows. This more precise farming saves her 10 percent in fuel and also means she can apply fertilizer without waste, which not only saves money but is better for the environment.

“Obviously the land is the greatest natural resource that farmers have,” she says. “Without that resource, we would not be in business. So we must be careful stewards of the land.”