Precision Pays

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.

Indiana Prairie Farmer magazine wrote a recent story quoting a Franklin, Ind., precision farming consultant Greg Kneubuhler who says the next hot tool farmers want to invest in is row shut-offs for planters.

He says a savings of 5 percent can be achieved, which can deliver a payback in two years. And in some cases, with irregular-shaped fields, payback can be earned in one year.

Read the story for more details…

We like to write weekly about how growers and how company technology makes precision agriculture pay. Part of making these tools pay almost always includes time savings—which isn’t always as black and white as input dollars saved.

Today I spoke with Hannibal, Mo., grower Mark Lehenbauer about his first decade with precision farming tools on their corn-soybean operation. Mark, who farms with his dad Ronald, has always been interested in the latest technology, and bought their first yield monitor in 2000, the year he graduated from college.

“At first, we tracked yield data, and it was a big learning curve on using it the way we should. The first efficiency we saw was yield loss due to weeds, so we switched to a two-pass application—which led to the purchase of a Hagie sprayer to cut our custom application costs.”

The biggest time saver came two years ago when they invested in auto steer. “Aside from the efficiencies we gained when spraying with Ag Leader’s DirectCommand AutoSwath boom control, we gained time savings and it reduced operator fatigue,” he says.

“Before auto steer, you would become just exhausted by mid-afternoon when spraying corn because you were focusing so intensely on the rows. With auto steer, it allows us to run an extra hour or two because all we do now is turn around, push the button and go.”

Lehenbauer says auto steer saves time during planting as well. “When you’re not exhausted at the end of the day, you can still run later and plant an extra 20 to 30 acres—which really adds up when you can shorten your planting window,” he says.

Analyzing data every winter has also turned into another time saver, too. “We use Ag Leader’s SMS software, and we look at numerous year’s data for hybrids and varieties in different tillage environments. It has truly helped us reduce tillage, saving time with more no-till. And the data has helped us realize the true value of no-till fields. Those fields have saved us time during harvest, because we can get into no-till fields quicker after a rain without leaving the ruts that often occur in our reduced tillage fields. Without ruts, we don’t have to do as much fall or spring tillage,” he says.

Lehenbauer also uses the data to write his own prescription maps, based off of university recommendations. “The data helps us find greater efficiencies on a field-by-field basis, comparing fuel usage and time spent in fields, even examining varieties than can take longer to harvest if there’s issues with green stem.

“It’s the little things we’ve done over the years that have added up to a lot of time and efficiency savings. You start figuring out acres by the hours you’ve saved and multiply that by your planting or harvest window—it really adds up to much greater efficiency,” Lehenbauer says.

Sara Lee is taking a unique approach to market its 100% Natural line of EarthGrain brand bread. They are promoting wheat, known as Eco-Grain, grown by precision farming growers who use variable rate fertilizer driven by satellite imagery. And they’re calling it a movement, “Helping to preserve the earth, one field at a time.”

Horizon Milling (a joint venture between Cargill and CHS) plays the supply chain role of preserving the identity of the wheat from farmer’s fields to the bakery.

You can even meet a farmer who talks about growing Eco-Grain, as well as learn how to become an Eco-Grain grower.

Anti-agriculture activists, and I include foodies who view family farmers as ‘factory farms’ should take note how Sara Lee defines organic and sustainable farming. This is taken from the EarthGrains Website…

While Eco-Grain wheat is not organically grown, the more sustainable farming methods used to grow it have some advantages over organic farming.

• Organic farming requires about twice the acreage to produce the same amount of food, resulting in the destruction of undeveloped land.
• Consumers pay a premium for organic grain, since it costs more to grow it.

Sustainable agriculture practices use less fertilizer, conserve land, help protect ground and surface water, and result in a high-yield, lower-cost crop.

Wow, a voice of reason. This is truly agriculture’s view of sustainable farming, and organic is not sustainable.

And here are location where you can buy these breads.

As with any piece of machinery, computer, etc., there’s always a bit of a learning curve. Same goes for precision farming equipment. A good dealer with good technicians can be worth their weight in gold. But good ongoing training from a manufacturer can really help speed the adoption process.

To that end, this week I asked Jessica Reis, Marketing Communications Specialist for Ag Leader Technology, about how they approach training. I’ll let her tell you the story…

“Each summer since I’ve been at Ag Leader, I’ve conducted customer interviews and testimonials. I always ask the question: ‘Are Ag Leader products easy to use?’ The typical farmer response is – ‘there’s a learning curve, but you catch on pretty quickly.’ Then I ask them about teaching someone else in their operation and the response is – ‘a couple of times around the field and they can run it on their own, no problem; or my dad picked this up in about five minutes and he doesn’t like computers!’

“Even though Ag Leader products are simple to use – especially for those who grew up with technology – Ag Leader wants to make sure growers get as much out of their precision farming investment as possible. We want to educate them on their particular product, but also the other functionality and technology that’s out there.

“We have numerous training session options:

• Hardware Training Sessions – These are in-field sessions, sponsored by the local Ag Leader dealer. Ag Leader personnel and the sponsoring dealer offer pre-season training, typically in Feb & March; then Pre-Harvest training is offered in July, Aug, Sept.  Dates correspond with the geographic area’s time in the field.
• SMS Online Training – Various SMS software features and functionality are discussed during these online sessions; great for growers who would like to attend training in the comfort of their home/office.
• SMS Basic, SMS Advanced or SMS Mobile Training – One day trainings that walk you through the software and its features.
• SMS Certified Training – This is a 3-day, in-depth training. At the end of the training there is a test – when you pass you receive a Certified Manual and Certificate for passing the class. You can earn CCA credits for attending and its ideal for crop consultants who work with clients, allowing them to be certified in handling data using SMS software. We’ve even had some more progressive end-users attend this training as well.

“So why is this important? Although I do not want it to seem like you have to have training to use an Ag Leader product (that is far from the case), I want to let your readers know its available as a resource. One of the largest benefits is the opportunity to interact with other growers and learn about how they use Ag Leader products,” she says.

No-Till Farmer recently announced the top No-Till Products of 2009 according to a poll by readers, and the overall winner was Precision Plantings Keeton Seed Firmer.

The Keeton Seed Firmer was voted the top no-till product in the Planter/Drill Attachments category and was among 11 finalists entered in the overall Product of the Year voting. Precision Planting, the manufacturers of the Keeton Seed Firmer, also captured a second award when its 20/20 SeedSense planter monitor system captured the most votes in the Precision Tools category.

The awards were presented at the Annual National No-Tillage Conference last week in Des Moines. Here is a complete list of winners:

o No-Till Product of the Year: Keeton Seed Firmer, Precision Planting.

o Fertility: Agrotain, Agrotain International. Honorable Mention: Avail and NutriSphere-N, SFP.

o Fungicides: Headline, BASF. Honorable Mention: Quilt, Syngenta; Stratego, Bayer CropScience.

o Insect Protection: YieldGard VT Triple, Monsanto. Honorable Mention: Herculex, Dow AgroSciences and Pioneer; Warrior, Syngenta.

o No-Till Equipment: 3600 Twin-Line Planters, Kinze Mfg. Honorable Mention: Early Riser planters, Case IH; YP2425 Yield Pro planter, Great Plains Mfg.

o Planter/Drill Attachments: Keeton Seed Firmer, Precision Planting. Honorable Mention: Martin-Till WA1360 floating row cleaner, Martin Industries; 20/20 Airforce System, Precision Planting.

o Precision Tools: 20/20 SeedSense, Precision Planting. Honorable Mention: EZ-Guide 250 Lightbar System, Trimble Navigation; SmartBoom automatic boom system control, Raven Industries.

o Residue Management: Bt Crusher, Calmer Corn Heads. Honorable Mention: The Chaff Spreader, Spreader Inc.; 600C corn head, Deere.

o Seed Treatment: Poncho, Bayer CropScience. Honorable Mention: CruiserMaxx, Syngenta.

o Application Equipment: Patriot 3330 Sprayer, Case IH. Honorable Mention: 47/4830 sprayer, John Deere; RoGator sprayer, AGCO; Apache AS715 sprayer, Equipment Technologies.

o Strip-Till: Blu-Jet Strip-Till unit, Thurston Manufacturing. Honorable Mention: 2510S Strip-Till Residue Master, John Deere; Pluribus Strip-Till unit, Dawn Equipment.

o Weed Control: Roundup PowerMAX, Monsanto. Honorable Mention: LibertyLink with Ignite herbicide, Bayer CropScience; Touchdown herbicide, Syngenta; Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield, Monsanto.

Yesterday, I provided my list of the “Best of Precision Pays 2009″ for  January through June. Today’s list of stories runs from July through December. And tomorrow, look for the top product-related stories of the year.

I hope you continue to find value in the information provided. And, as always, we appreciate any and all comments from our readers.

Enjoy. And have a fun, safe and happy New Year’s Eve tonight.

July
Planter and Sprayer Controls Make Precision Farming Pay
InfoAg Speaker Promotes Fertilizer BMP Needs
Virtual Weather Technology Helps Agronomic Decisions
InfoAg Talk: Soil Management Zones Increase N Efficiency
InfoAg Talk: Understanding Nutrient Variability

August
Precision Farmers Cut Pesticide Use With Seed
Add Precision Farming Promotion To Your Chore List
Yield Monitors: Extreme Value in Precision Farming

September
Precision Farming: How To Grow Your Technology
Free Satellite Images Help Spot Field Problems
Variable Rate Precision Farming – The Next Big Thing
Precision Farming And Water Quality Efforts

October
The Power Of Harvest Data
Researchers Using GPS To Cut Erosion With Waterways
Precision Soil Sampling Made Easier
Harvest Data That Keeps On Giving
Talk Precision Farming With Your Seed Dealer
Can Precision Farming Cure World Hunger
GPS Accuracy – How Accurate Is Accurate

November
Think About Saving Seed Input Dollars In 2010

December
Precision Farming Adoption And Payback
Precision Agriculture Starts At The Soil Level
Precision Farming 2009 – What We Learned
Technology Helps Farmers Plant And Fertilize More Precisely

Precision guidance, autopilot and other precision agriculture technologies can give farmers yield advantages and input savings when implemented into certain cropping systems, said a Purdue University agronomist.

“Automatic guidance gives producers precision farming capabilities throughout the growing season by allowing them to map tillage operations and crop planting, spraying and harvest, and can help tailor fertilizer and chemical applications to avoid waste,” said Tony Vyn.

The most precise form of automatic guidance, real time kinematic, or RTK, is especially helpful to guide planting in strip-till corn systems. RTK guidance can help achieve precisely parallel strip-till passes in the fall or spring. The same guidance system can ensure the corn planter is centered on the strip-tilled berms, even if the planter is wider than the strip-till unit itself, and even if the berm positions are difficult to see in spring. Planting in the center of the berms helps achieve higher yields, especially in high-residue situations like corn after corn, Vyn said.

“When we’re talking about preplant nitrogen application in the form of urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) in either no-till or strip-till systems, precision guidance allows producers to plant corn either directly on top of the fertilized bands of the soil or at a precise distance away to reduce the risk of corn or seedling injury when higher UAN rates are applied,” Vyn said. “When preplant UAN exceeds 50 pounds per acre, it is safer to plant corn at least 4 to 5 inches to the side. This is another area where automatic guidance gives an advantage because it offers precisely parallel planting abilities.”

But automatic guidance isn’t the only precision agriculture technology that can increase producer efficiency. Take, for example, yield monitors, automatic planter row shut-off and automatic sprayer boom control.

Data from yield monitors can prove a need for tiling and show how it will pay off in specific fields. Both automatic planter row shut-off and sprayer boom control prevent overlap, and thus help producers improve the bottom line by decreasing waste.

The most important aspects of the advanced guidance and other precision technologies are more than just cost alone.

“Sometimes with precision technology, the challenge is for farmers to stay sufficiently alert in the tractor or the combine,” Vyn said. “Although automatic guidance helps farmers to work longer days, and although the improved ability to monitor implement functions helps farmers make fewer mistakes, the guidance technology is no substitute for doing all field operations with sound agronomy.”

When choosing an automatic guidance system, or any other precision technologies, there are a few tips Vyn said producers should keep in mind:

* Assess the farming operation before investing in precision agriculture tools. Decide what level of precision is needed for each field operation, both within a season and from year to year, and what financial benefits the technologies will bring to a specific cropping system.

• Make sure the system purchased has upgrade capability, as new technologies continue to come into the market.
• Less expensive systems won’t save producers as much as the higher quality guidance and monitoring systems.
• Review the compatibility of the precision technologies with the current equipment and planned replacement equipment.
• Look for a dealer with experienced precision farming technicians who can assist with any questions or issues producers may have.

All agricultural technology enthusiasts are invited to attend the 10th Annual Nebraska Agricultural Technologies Association Conference (NEATA), January 27-28, 2010 at the Midtown Holiday Inn, Grand Island, NE.

Pre-conference programs will focus on Optimizing Pivot Irrigation Management (9:00 to 4:00) and Social Media Applications in Agriculture (1:00 – 4:00) will be offered the afternoon of January 27.

The conference opens Wednesday evening with Dr. Raj Khoslo, Precision Agriculture Specialists, Colorado State University, discussing Precision Nutrient Management on Site-specific Management Zones, followed by Bill Kranz, Irrigation Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln addressing Monitoring Irrigation Water Application with Computerized Controllers.

Thursday morning opens with international guest and precision agriculture expert, Sam Tengrove, Australian farmer, sharing Adoption of Precision Agriculture by Australian Grain Growers. Additional general sessions offered include Broadband: Who Needs It?, Mapping Evapotranspiration with High Resolution and Internalized Calibration (METRIC), and Global Perspectives of Site-specific Weed Management.

Twelve concurrent sessions addressing a variety of emerging agricultural technology topics will also be offered on Thursday. The concurrent sessions in the Ambassador room will be hands-on workshops. See the conference brochure.

Up to 8 CCA credits are available for conference participants with an additional 6 CCA credits available to those who attend the Optimizing Pivot Irrigation Management pre-conference workshop.

More information is available at http://neata.org.

Yield monitor data, auto-guidance and planter/sprayer section controls are helping growers improve their bottom line, according to Indiana farmer Doug Davenport–as reported in Indiana Prairie Farmer.

Speaking on a precision farming panel discussion, Davenport highlighted his list of precision efficiencies:

• Yield monitor data proves need for tiling, and how it will pay
• Auto-guidance allows for needed long days of planting, yet keeps you refreshed
• Automatic planter row shut-off and sprayer boom control to prevent overlap are no-brainer technology investments to save money.