Precision Pays

Joe Nichols has evolved from watching his parents lose their farm when he was 17, to building a highly diversified 19,000-acre farm near Cadiz, KY. A recent story in theleafcronicle.com offers a fascinating look at his Seven Springs Farms. In that piece he highlights his precision farming emphasis on input savings as well as environmental protection.

He makes extensive use of precision farming technology. For instance, he uses variable rate planting, determined by soil type. “Soil type reflects the water holding capacity of the soil,” he says.

“Some soils are more productive than others, and the more productive soils get the higher plant populations. In sports terms, we play defense with our less productive fields and play offense with our more productive soils.”

He also uses global positioning and auto-steering on his equipment for swath control during planting, spraying and applying fertilizer. “This cuts down on over applying and wasting money,” he says. “We strive to protect the environment and be the best stewards of the land and water that we can be.”

As a result of his success as a row crop farmer, Nichols has been selected as the 2010 Kentucky winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award.

“The goal I started with was to build an operation from scratch that could someday be viewed as one of the best, well-managed farming operations in North America,” he says. “This overarching goal is what drives me each day.”

Read the entire story.

The technology of precision agriculture has long outpaced the agronomics needed to prove its investment value, but we’re a lot closer today than we were 10 years ago.

I read a recent piece by DTN agronomist Dan Davidson, written during the recent International Conference on Precision Ag in Denver, Colo. He stated, “But what is interesting is how the use of yield monitor data, grid soil sampling and variable fertilizer application hasn’t changed much in two decades with only about 20% adoption. But the introduction of lightbar navigation (80+% adoption), assisted steering and section control really showed farmers that there were benefits from adopting the right technology.”

Sure, this is oversimplification of a lot of complex factors, but we’re also dealing with a larger percentage of farmers near, at, or beyond retirement age who, most often, seek simplicity and reduced investment. One look at the light-speed adoption of glyphosate-resistant crops is one example this simplicity model. (Although that simplicity is now resulting in greater management due to resistant weeds.)

Yes, precision farming technology is complex, and turning data into sound management practices that improve the bottom line often takes hired experts, in the same vein as why crop scouts are hired. But make no mistake, the profitability of certain technologies has improved dramatically in the past 10 years. It just takes hard work by a grower to find what can pay on a given farm.

Growers wouldn’t pay $300 for a unit of seed corn if they didn’t see the value. They just have to work harder and smarter when it comes to investing in precision agriculture technology. But that process is getting easier.

Are you navigating your precision agriculture technologies and using data to their fullest extent? A new three-day program offered by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Precision Agriculture Practicum, is designed to help participants gain practical experience using their own field data in hands-on exercises. And you’ll have the opportunity to network with each other while collaborating on team projects.

Who should attend?
- Farmer operators wishing to get more return on their precision ag dollar investment.
- Crop consultants and industry agronomists who desire to provide more accurate information and better service to their customers.
- Corporate industry and government agency personnel needing to know and understand the technology being used in today’s production agriculture.
- Precision ag instructors.

The inaugural Late Season Session is scheduled for August 31 through September 2 at the UNL Ag Research & Development Center near Mead, Neb. Curriculum includes:
• Introduction to equipment used at UNL’s Agricultural
Research and Development Center and site-specific
management capacity; introduction to case study
fields
• Entry points to GPS auto-guidance, yield monitoring
progressing to yield mapping, Google Earth, aerial
imagery, county soil survey, Web Soil Survey, recordkeeping
• GPS principles
• Yield monitoring/mapping principles; data filtering
• Variable rate technology and control systems
optimizing autosteer and swath control.
• On-the-go soil sensing
• Collection of active crop canopy sensor data
• Develop N recommendations
• Aerial and satellite imagery
• Group exercises

Winter Session is scheduled for December 2010, with date and location yet to be determined.

Learn more at http://ardc.unl.edu/precisionagpracticum/

Enrollment is limited so act soon!

Special coverage of two recent Precision Ag Expo days, in Casselton and Dickenson, N. Dak., has been documented by Farm & Ranch Guide–and the webpage includes educational videos of numerous presentations. Both field days were hosted by North Dakota State University Extension Service.

You can learn about site specific hardware, history of GPS, GPS system choices, accuracy of GPS, LIDAR technology and drainage, satellite imagery, precision ag adoption in ND, and much more.

Check it out!!

As a agricultural journalist originally from a rural Iowa family farm, who now lives in suburbia close to Minneapolis, I’m always educating urban friends about farming and correcting their misconceptions.

To this end, I applaud anyone in agriculture who takes time to listen and understand consumer thoughts and feelings–without getting defensive about farming practices. If you want to learn good techniques (especially via social media), Michele Payn-Knoper is doing an awesome job educating farmers. Check out the upcoming training seminar.

Right now, as we’re fully into the county fair and soon approaching state fair time of the year, I challenge growers to seek out consumers at these events and help them better understand your role in putting food on their table. Ask questions and truly listen, rather than preach.

Farm shows are another good venue, especially if the show makes an effort to get consumers on the grounds. The upcoming Wisconsin Farm Technology Days farm show near River Falls on July 20-22 has set up special “Courtesy Tours” for consumers.

Jay Richardson, organizer of “Courtesy Tours” is excited about this unique feature of this year’s show: “We love telling our story to the 98% of our population who are not engaged in producing the food they consume. This year we are setting up special tours to educate and answer questions about production agriculture.”

The Applied Technology Education tent will serve as headquarters for a group of almost 50 dairy and crop producers that have volunteered to serve as tour guides of tent city. These producers will take small groups on guided tours along predetermined routes through tent city. Each tour will be about an hour to an hour and a half in length. During that time the participants will be able to ask questions of the guides about the equipment that is on display as well as general questions regarding modern agriculture.

The goal is to reach out to the people that may be attending in hopes of learning more about what it is that dairy and crop producers do and the tools that they use to produce the world’s safest and most abundant supply of food. Even though Farm Technology Days is primarily a show for farmers, many curious non-farmers attend as well. With the close proximity to urban areas, this year’s show in Pierce County hopes to capitalize on its location. “We want to welcome and educate those that might not call a farm ‘home!’”

Tours will leave about every 10 minutes from the Applied Technology Education Tent; starting at 9:30 a.m. with the final tour leaving at 3 p.m. each day.

For more information, please contact Jay Richardson at 715-495-8440 or Liz Doornink at 715-760-1221 or visit www.piercefarmtech.com

Time for other farm shows and country fairs to use this idea! Pass it on.

Making your farm more efficient, more profitable, more sustainable are all critical precision goals. But what about your ultimate customer, the consumer? Do they believe you are as precise with your fertilizer, manure, herbicides, animal care as you believe you are? In this age of rural and consumer disconnect, isn’t communications with your ultimate customers just as important on your chore list as precise variable-rate crop feeding? If you don’t, will they be more inclined to push more regulation, or reduce subsidies?

To this end, I’m sharing a story written by Michele Payn-Knoper, who is building and training a wonderful coalition of farmers who want to speak out and help their cause. To help reconnect rural and consumer. I hope her words stir you to join a most worthwhile effort… for your livelihood.

Mindset Matters: How will you agvocate?

Are you adept at adapting? Are your reacting or reaching out? Are you living in 2010 or 1990? Being adept at reaching out in 2010 looks very different than it did in 1990 (the pre-internet era) . As is the case in any revolution, this means exciting opportunities exist. I believe the 460 million people on Facebook and 50 million tweets per day translate to agriculture’s chance to engage.

Many people reference their birthdate when opportunities around social media are brought up. Let me share a bit of a reality check; thought leadership doesn’t come with a birthyear – nor does the proper mindset to leverage tools that just make sense for farms and ranches.

If you are a person who’s adept at adapting and have reached out to build a community to be an “agvocate”, it may be time to move your skillsets to the next level. Perhaps you have a Facebook, but you’re not sure how to fully use it to share your farm story. Or, you’re on Twitter and have found it interesting, but don’t really “get it.” There’s been a conference designed just for farmers and ranchers who are ready to move up the technology mindset ladder. The AgChat Foundation just announced an”Agvocacy 2.0 Training Conference in Chicago on August 30-31. The program includes agriculture’s best and brightest in social media, with the training set in a variety of learning formats for 50 selected people. Core areas of interest include:

• Bridging basic communications with social media
• Community Building for Twitter and Facebook
• Extending your community beyond ag
• Creating effective content for YouTube and blogs

Read the rest of this post…

UC Davis has prepared a great all-day workshop on Site-Specific Management to help increase widespread adoption of this valuable tool. It will be held July 14 in the UC Davis conference center (the day before Weed Day). Here’s a look at the program:

Workshop Goal: Present and discuss SSM concepts and applied research in order to provide the audience with a comprehensive understanding of how to identify and manage within-field variability to improve crop management.

Target Audience: Soils and crop management professionals, including UCCE Farm Advisors and Specialists, Pest Control Advisors, Certified Crop Advisers, Growers and others having an interest in improving their knowledge of SSM techniques.

Session I (8:30 AM to Noon) - Theory of SSM: Overview of concepts and techniques used to identify and manage within-field variability, Jose P. Molin, Biosystems Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Integrating geospatial technology with agronomic practices, GPS/GIS overview, methods for detecting soil and crop variability, use of sensors and yield monitors, creation of maps and variable rate input recommendations.

Noon to 1:00 PM – Lunch break

Session II (1:00 to 5:00 PM) - Applied research findings and examples illustrating the practical benefits of this technology

• Use of Precision Agriculture in the West - Rob Mikkelsen, Director, Western North America IPNI

• Site-specific methods for reclaiming salt-affected soil using electrical conductivity; and Use of Remote sensing on cotton fields for irrigation management, planning defoliation and its relationship with cotton growth and yield. Richard E. Plant, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

• Site-specific nutrient management in California orchards – identifying almond yield and fertility variability and its implication on fertility management. Patrick Brown, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

3:00 to 3:15 PM – Break

• Site-specific herbicide applications based on weed maps provide effective control. Tom Lanini, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

• Site-specific management at Bowles Farming Company – Cannon Michael, Vice President Bowles Farming Company

• Knowledge Acquired, Intelligence Applied: Tomorrow’s Technology for Today’s Crops – Jason Ellsworth, Regional Technology Specialist, Wilbur-Ellis Company

5:00 PM – Adjourn

Please contact Andre Biscaro for details: asbiscaro@ucdavis.edu  (661) 974-8825

Click here to register: http://ucanr.org/sites/paica/Registration/

Click here for flier: http://ucanr.org/sites/paica/files/13632.pdf

UPDATE MAY 3 — In case you missed this chat – visit Truffle Media who posted the entire convo.

Several farmers who use the social media Twitter are holding a one-hour chat about precision agriculture this Friday April 30th at noon Central.

According to Daren (@kansfarmer), topic will be precision ag, with a focus on planting precision-related topics and issues. We will use the #agtech hashtag for the chat. Format will be similar, although abbreviated from the standard Tuesday evening #agchat that takes place. Some guidelines on how AgChat works available here: http://michelepaynknoper.com/agchatguide.html. Everyone will be asked to give an introduction at the start, and a few minutes in we will open with first Q – give 10-15 minutes for discussion of that question, than move to the next one. Hope to see you there.

There is a regularly scheduled weekly agchat that usually attracts over 100 participants from diverse backgrounds and covers wide range of ag topics. We decided to try this more narrow-focused chat at least once. If you are unfamiliar with Twitter and do not have an account setup, you can still go to the www.twitter.com homepage and enter #agtech as the search term and see the chat as it happens.

This short chat is being organized by Daren (@kansfarmer) and Brandon Hunnicutt(@cornfedfarmer). Not a lot of ag technology activity on Twitter right now, but both Ag Leader and Raven have active accounts, have seen a handful of ag tech service providers, and several NeATA folks.

Precision farming techniques are driving growth in soil sampling say Midwest soil labs, according to a report in Midwest Producer.

“At the peak of the season we’ll test 20,000 samples each day,” says Kennard Pohlman of Omaha’s Midwest Labs. “We always test the organic matter in the sample and the pH. You want to verify the nitrogen carryover and the level of phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and zinc. I can almost tell you, by looking at the soil sample results, what the farmer has been doing in the past and how good the farm is. That’s how much information is available in a soil sample.”

Grid sampling is Oldham’s specialty and he said a growing number of producers, especially those growing corn, are realizing the benefit of managing input costs and improving yields by testing their soil quality in single or multiple-acre grids.

“Sometimes producers believe the cost of sampling is greater than the cost savings or increased yield they see,” Oldham said. “Actually, the investment in the sampling analysis generally isn’t even recognizable in contrast to the combination of savings on inputs and the increased yield. If you’re analyzing just a few samples from your field, you obtain information about the averages in soil quality for that field. Getting samples from every 2.5 acres or less really allows you to combine that information with a variable rate prescription that allows for the best management of inputs and maximizes yield.”

For more details, read the story.

Precision communications to consumers is every bit as important as your precision farming. Check out how these farmers are joining together to help other farmers like you communicate your story.

Twitter. Facebook. YouTube. LinkedIn. More frequently, these are services being accessed from the turnrow, tractor’s seat and barn. Farmers are tapping into social media services more frequently, especially since the weekly streaming conversation called AgChat was founded on Twitter last year. As many offices closed Friday for holidays, farmers launched the AgChat Foundation online. Hundreds of people talked about the new website and the mission to empower farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms.

Farmers Jeff Fowle of California, Darin Grimm of Kansas, Mike Haley of Ohio and Ray Prock of California were strangers a year ago. They built friendships and began doing things that supported each other’s farming segments after meeting in the online AgChat discussion.

“I’d say the effort Ray and I spearheaded to raise awareness in the economic crisis for dairy farms was where we began to realize how well we could do in telling our stories online. It’s also the first time some of us really focused toward a common goal,” Haley explains. “We think AgChat Foundation will help other farmers share their experiences as we learn from each other about how to put the true faces and stories of American agriculture.”

Prock explains, “We’ve had these ideas and after tossing them around for months, all of us agreed, if farmers didn’t take ownership for moving this forward, we couldn’t really expect anyone else to. And as we worked on our ideas, a number of others have offered suggestions and a lot of time of their personal time to help us realize this vision.”

The Foundation has four program areas focused on social media:
• Agvocacy 2.0 Training: Educate farmers through basic, mid-level & expert training to move mindsets up the technology ladder.
• Strategic Agvocacy Coordination: Empower agriculture’s voice through coordinated industry-wide efforts.
• Data Analysis: Provide tools to assist agvocates with targeted community efforts.
• Technology Scholarships: Equip farmers with infrastructure to enable full use of social media.

Each of the founding farmers believe in these four areas and social media so deeply, they each have elaborated on them by shooting videos that can be accessed through the Foundation’s new website http://agchat.org, by going to http://youtube.com/agchat or through the links above.

Fowle points out that the programs are meant to be broad. “It becomes very apparent through social media that there is a great diversity of farm stories. My family runs our ranch one way and we may have a neighbor across the valley that makes very different choices. The real value of social media comes from farmers telling their own story from their own perspective.”

Michele Payn-Knoper admits that when she started AgChat a year ago, she had no idea how quickly it would grow. “The talent and dedication the farmers and ranchers who helped bring the AgChat Foundation to fruition is absolutely inspiring. All of them have applied their technology skills and commitment to the betterment of agriculture in ways that set them apart, but we are all confident this is a common thread among farmers who raise our food, fuel, feed and fiber.”

Volunteers have been part of AgChat on twitter for a long time, providing moderation of discussions, etc and adopting more ways to reach out to both members of the ag community and the general public as well.

Even Grimm finds himself amplifying their voice online. “My friends and family would be surprised about how vocal I’ve become online cause I’m somewhat of an introvert, but I’ve seen a lot of power from farmers sharing their stories and am trying to do the same. Most of us think our story is pretty boring but you find that some of the most common things we do on the farm are some of the most interesting to people in cities and suburbs.”

Data shows that almost 300 people sent messages on Twitter Friday and driving more than 1,500 people to access AgChat.org and reaching almost a quarter of a million people in the 1.4 million impressions.

The AgChat Foundation seeks to involve all sectors of agriculture in this effort, encompassing diverse viewpoints such as conventional, organic, small and large operations. Our focus is to bring agriculture together, rather than segment and diminish our industry by focusing on size, region or production differences. The board of directors of farming represents diverse types of family farms across North America.
• Chris Chinn, Farmer
• Jeff Fowle, Rancher
• Mark Gale, Agribusiness Liaison
• Eliz Greene, Consumer & Healthcare
• Darin Grimm, Farmer
• Mike Haley, Farmer
• Shaun Haney, Seedsman
• Michele Payn-Knoper, #AgChat Founder
• Ray Prock, Farmer
• Dr. Chris Raines, Extension
• Dr. Katherine Swift, Veterinarian
• Tricia Braid Terry, Check-off Representative
• Chuck Zimmerman, Agribusiness Liaison

The advisory committee provides perspective from agricultural organizations, farms, consumers and technology experts. The AgChat Foundation is a registered Indiana non-profit seeking 501(c)(3) status. The Board of Directors maintains all fiduciary responsibilities and oversees the programming.

The Furrow magazine, produced by John Deere, profiled several growers on their use of precision farming management zones in a story called “Farming In The Zone” in their March 2010 issue.

Broadwater, Neb., grower Frank Lussetto says zone management helped him accomplish three broad goals of being agronomically sound, economically smart and environmentally safe. He uses zone maps for phosphorous, nitrogen and seeding rates, grouping six to eight soil types in a field into three to five zones. And he used elevation and electrical conductivity as the primary drivers in zone development.

The story also featured Enterprise, Kan., farmer Larry Hottman and his use of zones, derived more prominently from yield maps collected since 1998. He too used electrical conductivity readings to map soil properties along with grid soil sampling.

University of Nebraska agronomist Richard Ferguson says they are seeing a $26 per acre benefit using site-specific nitrogen application and zone management.

For more details, read the story.

Agriculture.com, one of the longest running ag websites powered by Successful Farming, has a social network for young and beginning farmers called Farmers For The Future. One of the recent topics centered around precision farming talks about a move into RTK and the CORS network.

The challenge is dealing with all ages and different colors of equipment. Sam asks…We have three green combines 1 newer the 2nd is 10-11 years old and the other is a dinosaur and the newer one being the only one with yield mapping through waas signal using original brown box from JD ( never right ). Next we have 2 Planting tractors both have 20/20 seed sense systems from precision no GPS. Sprayer we have a XLRD 1000 Pull Type pulled by a JD 4430 with a INSight and an EZ-Guide 500 waas signal. Spreader truck we have a Insight along with EZ- Guide Plus. Now I must say that it looks like we just put a down payment on a 06 Apache with auto steer by Raven. Also a new red combine is probably coming this fall 8120 Case and we are talking about buying a new corn planter also.. we put a lot of tile in we bought a tile plow.. No GPS also we have a 8530 JD autosteer ready for doing a lot of tillage and side dressing corn with anhydrous. 9520 T John Deere does a good majority of the tillage and also runs the tile plow. Now you see my situation figure out a plan for that to move into RTK.

Several growers have responded here.  Take a visit and weigh in with your advice.

Give farmers a piece of technology and they find inventive ways to use it to benefit their operation. In the case of Newton, Iowa farmer (and Ag Leader SeedComand product specialist) Will Cannon, it all started with the yield monitor and mapping hybrids.

“I like knowing exactly to a row when hybrids and varieties start and stop—especially when you have to switch near the end of a field—so when you analyze yield results you know why the yields went up or down,” Cannon says. “That practice led to conducting strip trials across whole fields. And I often plug in all my hybrid/variety numbers into the monitor before I head to the field so changing numbers and fields is simple.”

And Will does a lot more than just track yields. “Last year we conducted alternate strips across a field to compare no-till and strip-till soybeans. We set up and mapped alternate passes of strip-till in the fall, came back in the spring, locked in with auto-steer to fertilize and plant into the strips, then no-till plant in-between those passes,” he says.

Cannon likes having all that mapped in the spring, because come harvest he doesn’t have to worry about where the combine is in the field. “I can just harvest and not worry about anything else, because I trust the monitor and data gathering.” Then during post-harvest into winter he crunches data. “I really like the capabilities of the SMS software. There are great tools I can use to select which passes across the field I want to analyze and compare. And I learned a lot about what tillage systems work best in specific fields.”

Another data layer is tracking his refuge management acres. I see this as becoming more and more important, as different hybrids change percentage of refuge acres, plus if I get audited I can direct them exactly to where they need to take tissue samples. And exact location is a big help if I need to apply insecticides on those acres,” he says.

Cannon continues to be impressed with the flexibility built into today’s software and data recording capabilities. “You have a lot of features to document things, so you don’t have to remember it all. And as more growers learn the capabilities, they figure out new ways to use it—because what appeals to one grower may be the opposite of what another guy wants. And the history of data that you build up is invaluable in the future.”

Is sustainability reshaping agriculture? Will it affect your operation? That debate was front and center at a Case-IH sponsored forum during the recent Ag Connect Expo.

“We recognize sustainability is a huge buzz word, it means a lot of things to a lot of people, and one panel discussion won’t answer all the questions surrounding this issue,” said Jim Walker, Case IH vice president, North America. “But we need to have the conversation. Sustainability is at the core of a national debate about how we meet demand for food, feed and fuel while maintaining consumers’ trust in agriculture.

“At Case IH, we recognize that ag sustainability is a balance between agronomics, economics and the environment. And we’re committed to helping North American farmers create more value from sustainable farming systems,” Walker added. “That’s why we brought together a top-notch panel of nationally known experts to provide their unique perspectives on how sustainability will affect farmers.”

Expert panelists included: Annie Weber, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Roper Public Affairs of GfK Research North America; Bruce Knight, Principal and Founder, Strategic Conservation Solutions; and Jim Nussle, President and CEO, The Nussle Group.
Read the rest of this post…

GM crops and precision farming benefits are being pushed back onto the national agenda in the UK, with the focus to help beat climate change, according to a report in The Guardian newspaper.

Former cabinet  minister Chris Smith, now chair of the Environment Agency, addressed farmers at the annual conference of National Farmers’ Union, saying that “climate change will create new demands on land and environmental resources–and could provide opportunities for novel crops and systems.”

Intense lobbying by food companies, the growing significance of climate change, recent international food crises and shortages and a major independent Royal Society report have all helped to give the government the authority to put GM back on the national agenda. The controversial technology was the focus of intense campaigns including destruction of GM crop trials by environmentalists in the 1990s, and last month came under renewed attack from academics and organic food campaigners at the Oxford Real Farming Conference.

Lord Smith will say: “We can already see wildlife following climate change – the mayfly is now found some 40 miles further north than before and warmer winters and wetter summers are thought to be a major factor in the rapid decline of pollinating insects with UK bee populations, in particular, falling by 10-15% over the last two years.

“The reliance on seasonal weather patterns means that farming will follow climate change too. My own personal view is that we probably need to be readier to explore GM options, coupled of course with proper environmental safeguards, in adapting to the changes that the climate will bring.”

The GM industry now involves 14 million farmers in 25 countries who are growing 134m hectares of GM crops around the world. This is a 7% increase compared with last year.