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

No coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is complete without a video from the Championship Tractor Pull.

Officially introduced in 1969 during the 4th National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS), the Championship Tractor Pull has now been making champions for 44 years. More than 75,000 fans of the nation’s oldest indoor tractor pull pack Freedom Hall each year to experience five performances in four days.

To find out this year’s champions, check out all the results posted on the farmmachineryshow.org website.

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

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

The Ag Leader Technology exhibit at the National Farm Machinery Show has been hopping this week. Among the attractions for farmers:

The coming-soon INTEGRA™ display with planter down force monitor and control capability (pictured here); the popular “best bang for your buck” VERSA display; SMS Mobile; and OptRx crop sensor

I took a little tour around the Ag Leader booth with Russ Morman to share with those who didn’t make it to the show this year – or if you need some additional motivation to make it to the show before the end at 6:00 pm on Saturday.

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

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

It’s already time for the 2012 National Farm Machinery Show. We are here in Louisville now and tweeting with the show hashtag, #NFMS12. Here’s a little information for you.

Dates: Wednesday, Feb. 15 through Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012

Exhibit Space: Eight interconnected exhibit halls totaling more than 1.2 million square feet of indoor exhibit space and containing more than 850 agricultural displays.

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

At the National Farm Machinery Show Pete Youngblut, who works in the Ag Leader Technology software support group, brought me up to date on the new Mesa handeld rugged notebook that is SMS™ Mobile compatible.

It allows a customer to go to the field to do crop scouting, set boundaries and more, then bring it back to sync with desktop software. He says that rather than having to take a tractor to the field you can hop on your four wheeler or get in your pickup and go. The Mesa runs on new Windows Mobile OS so it also has the capability with wifi to browse the internet and check email. It also will have a built in camera!

You can listen to my interview with Pete here: Pete Youngblut Interview

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:

At the National Farm Machinery Show I visited with the AMS Group at John Deere. Aaron Bartholomay, not pictured, told me they were re-introducing the JDLink System. This system allows for wireless communication with your equipment that makes remote management possible. They also have a new website for the system.

I also had him talk about the John Deere “i’s,” as in iGuide, iSteer, iGrade. You can find more information on these i-Solutions on the AMS website. Aaron explains each of them in my interview with him: John Deere AMS Interview

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:

The home of Apache Sprayers is Equipment Technologies, based in Indiana. I spoke with Kevin Covey and Jake Ridenour at the National Farm Machinery Show and learned that they’ve created a Raven Slingshot network over all of Indiana and Ohio!

They said that using the Slingshot technology they’ve deployed base stations to provide overlapping 30 mile RTK coverage areas. This means that a customer with a Slingshot hub in their tractor will be able to receive RTK correction along with a variety of other services. Besides receiving information the customer can then send information back after completing a job. I like the idea that the hubs also include a high speed internet connection too!

You can listen to my interview with Kevin and Jake here: Equipment Technologies Interview

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:

There was a lot of precision ag on display at this year’s National Farm Machinery Show. Bruce Ristau, Precision Farming Sales Mgr., New Holland, took time to tell me what the company is doing in this sector.

Bruce says their displays are the high point of the latest products they’re showcasing at winter shows like NFMS. New Holland works closely with Trimble on precision products. Bruce says New Holland is now doing more company branding though, like on the new FM 750 Display. He says that farmers visiting the show can come by for a personal walk through.

You can listen to my interview with Bruce here: Bruce Ristau Interview

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:

At the National Farm Machinery Show I visited with Russ Morman, Ag Leader Technology about financing. We don’t talk about that a lot but it’s very important. They work with Lease Consultants offering three different plans. He says the most popular is the Precision Annual Plan that allows customers to spread the cost of the equipment over up to five years. Russ says that customers need to fill out a very simple application.

You can listen to my interview with Russ here: Russ Morman Interview

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:

It’s “like candy for pullers.” That’s the Championship Tractor Pull taking place after the National Farm Machinery Show closes for the day. I know these tractors aren’t out in the field running precision hardware/software but thought you might enjoy seeing one of them in action.

I had to spend a little time seeing the big indoor show and have some photos uploaded for you.

This invitation-only event stars the nation’s best drivers and their ground-pounding machines – Pro Stocks, Super Stocks, Modified, and Alcohol Tractors as well as Two-Wheel and Four-Wheel Drive Trucks. The drivers compete in four exciting evening performances and an additional pull on Saturday afternoon. Drivers are not only gearing up for the unequaled thrill of winning at this nationally recognized pull, but also for the chance to bring home a share of more than $200,000 in prize money.

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by: