Precision Pays

Friday, I wrote about how Ag Leader listened to customers of their SMS Advanced software and built a Certified Training program to give participants deeper knowledge that helps their own business.

This weekend I spoke with Justin McCuiston, who helps customers of the farmer-owned cooperative Farm Service Inc., in northeast Arkansas with variable-rate fertilizer programs, yield mapping and other precision farming practices.

“We have five locations that cover about 8 counties in this rice and soybean area, where about half of our growers now use variable-rate prescriptions. In the past we used another software program, but switched to SMS Advanced which has turned out to be hands-down the best software I’ve ever dealt with in the 16 years I’ve been doing this,” McCuiston says.

“What truly makes it valuable is Ag Leader’s Certified Training program with the small class sizes and personalized training, which allows us to optimize the software capabilities to meet the services we offer to growers. We run 14 variable-rate fertilizer rigs that cover thousands of acres, and we couldn’t do that without the capabilities and batch processing features of SMS Advanced,” he says.

McCuiston says that once growers start with variable-rate fertilizer, they stick with it. “We re-pull soil samples every three years, which helps makes true believers out of them because they see soil improvements, fertilizer savings and improved profits.”

Check these links to learn more about SMS Advanced and Certified Training.

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.

The fight for space in the tractor/sprayer/combine cab continues, especially as more and more precision farming capabilities are added to an operation.

Clutter has happened for a variety of reasons. From anxious early adopter growers buying numerous early controllers, to anxious dealers selling the latest equipment without regard to grower needs, to growers not thinking about longer term needs.

Paul Bruns, who runs a precision agriculture company called Precision Consulting Services in Canby, Minn., says cab clutter consolidation is a huge topic of conversation right now. “I’ve got a lot of customers looking into moving their planter monitor display, lightbar, variable-rate controller and more—consolidating them into one screen. This can be done, but you need to do your research to learn what monitors can and cannot do, or find a trusted, reliable dealer/consultant who knows a lot of equipment,” he says.

“With the new age of monitors, you’ll be hard pressed to find a display for less than $5000. So it pays to really think what types of applications you may want to do in the future. For example, I was recently installing a boom shutoff system for a grower, and he happened to say ‘I’d really like to consider putting clutches on the planter’ so I stopped and told him we may want to go in a different direction, especially if you may want to vary the rates down the road,” he says.

Bruns, An Ag Leader and Trimble dealer who has grown his business because he does help growers to think and plan ahead, saves money in the long run for his clients. “As in this case, it was better to spend $1,000 or $2,000 more today, than have to spend an additional $5000 down the road.” He says there’s not enough consultative selling going on among retailers to learn a grower’s long-term plans, or to help them with those decisions. “Some just sell what the grower wants today.”

Knowing the agronomic side (he also writes fertilizer prescriptions), along with his ability to service most equipment on the precision ag market—as well as sell seed for Pioneer—gives Bruns a broad perspective. “The challenge is finding the best fit for every grower, as well as advising them on what’s going to deliver ROI,” he says.

“One of the reasons I have sold many Insight monitors is because they work with all colors of equipment, and they can handle all the functions a grower needs. Ag Leader has kind of been the ISOBUS before there was ISOBUS. And now with their Integra monitor—those types of touch screen monitors offer more flexibility for future features and benefits that can be added—so you don’t have to keep changing displays,” he adds. (Click on ‘Display Comparison Chart’ under SeedCommand )

Bruns thinks we’re starting to turn the corner on getting closer to a day when the ISOBUS theory becomes a much greater reality of compliance between systems. “Deere talks about reverse compatibility with their 2600 monitor to be able to drive a red tractor that is auto pilot ready. Same thing with Trimble or Case, so they can plug in and run a John Deere AutoTrac, for example,” he says. “We’re going to start seeing more and more of this, which will also help get rid of cab clutter, and add simplicity for the grower.”

For more information:
North American ISOBUS Implementation Task Force

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.

When the term ‘crop consultant’ comes to mind, growers often think in terms of scouting, insects, diseases, soil fertility and testing, and perhaps input buying recommendations. But have you stopped to think about their value in helping you properly invest in tools of precision agriculture?

Retailers who sell precision ag equipment know the technology, but do they know your operation as well as a crop consultant might? Michael Vos, software sales manager for Ag Leader Technology, says that crop consultants often have an advantage of knowing agronomics, and that gives them a broader perspective of a grower’s operation.

Place seed, place fertilizer. “For example, just yesterday we were talking with a crop consultant who was answering grower questions about the placement of fertilizer and especially micronutrients. He says the first thing he reminds growers is not to forget the fundamentals—placing the seed accurately in the field,” Vos says. “He says that once growers do that, then they can look at using precision technology to band fertilizer and micronutrients and plant right over the top of it—reducing rates compared to broadcast.”

Vos says consultants that they work with often dovetail that discussion into asking, ‘Well, then how are you going to make sure you are applying fertilizer accurately?’ “That’s when they talk about the value of a controller monitor like our InSight or INTEGRA models, that not only control rates (flat rate or prescription variable rate), but it monitors the rates and records them to help improve future decision making. And, in combination with a guidance system like our ParaDyme, they can optimize seeding and fertility in a strip-till system.”

See the big picture. “Crop consultants understand the breadth and depth of the entire farming operation—from agronomics to technology to marketing. That allows them to see the weaker links in an operation, and help point growers in the best direction to improve their efficiency,” Vos says.

Not only can they help correct the inefficiencies, a good crop consultant can also help growers prioritize their precision farming investment. “Some farmers may be better off starting out with a precision ag tool for their planter. Others may get a quicker payoff by adding technology to their sprayer. Still others may want to start with a guidance system,” he says.

Other resources:

Why Hire A Crop Consultant? (Corn & Soybean Digest)

How to Choose a Crop Consultant (Citrus & Vegetable)

How to Choose Your Crop Consultant (AgProfessional)

What a Consulting Engineer Can Do For You

National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants

American Society of Agricultural Consultants

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In our final installment of looking back at the top stories of 2009, here’s a list of newsworthy stories that featured new or updated products. I list the stories starting with the most current from December, working back to January of 2009. No ranking of importance is included…but feel free to post your comments about these products.

Lindsay Adds Remote Irrigation Pump Control

Trimble Adds Harvest Capabilities to Monitor

Ag Leader Welcomes Dealers To New Facility

Leica Offers Cost-Effective Lightbar Guidance

New RTK Module Receives Tower or Cell Signals

Topcon Launches On-The-Go Crop Nutrient Sensor

Six New Products From Ag Leader Technology

Raven Buys Interest in SST Software

Trimble Adds Modem To Enhance RTK Signal

Take Command of Planting With SureStop

New SMS Software From Ag Leader Technology

Deere Adds New AutoTrac Guidance Products

Trimble Expands Capabilities of FmX Display

Trimble Buys Farm Works Software

Trimble Acquires NTech and Greenseeker Technology

Deere Dealers To Offer Raven Products

Smart Nozzles Aid Precision Application

Raven Adds Planter and Sprayer Control

New GreenSeeker Precision Products To Save Fertilizer

Trimble and Tru Count Increase ROI

Technology Makes 120-Foot Planter Possible

Growers Learn More About APEX Software

RowSense Makes Sense

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.

In general, the past year in the world of precision agriculture has been one of consolidation among industry players. “We’ve really streamlined into 4 or 5 major players in precision ag,” says Matt Darr, Iowa State University Ag Engineer.

“Rather than a lot of companies that offer a segment of products, we’re getting down to a core set of companies offering full-service solutions—products for every type of ag operation,” he says

For example, Darr cites the recent Ag Leader and AutoFarm partnership. “And Trimble purchased numerous smaller precision ag companies to fill out their portfolio of products (like Farm Works software, NTech GreenSeeker and Tru Count).”

From a technology introduction standpoint, there haven’t been a whole lot of truly new products in 2009, according to Darr. “The largest growth segment of products has probably been in the area of CORS-compatible GPS equipment. Trimble, Topcon, AutoFarm—they all have CORS-based capabilities,” he adds.

Impact of CORS? There’s more and more grower interest. “I always tell growers that CORS isn’t going to provide a better RTK solution, as the accuracy of a single base solution is still governed by the distance to the base station, just like traditional RTK. What it does is bring coverage to every farmer in the state Iowa (and in other states that have CORS network),” Darr says.

It wasn’t but a couple years ago that it cost $50,000 for an RTK system—not even including the cost of auto-steer. Today, you can get a complete CORS auto-steer system in the tractor for $15,000 to $17,000.

Coming in 2010. Darr says we’ll continue to see expanded interest in CORS network products. “Auto-steer will continue its rapid adoption, because the efficiency, the savings and intrinsic benefits of less stress and greater productivity in the cab will drive sales.”

As the price of agricultural fertilizers begins to increase again, he sees an increased interest in nutrient management and variable-rate products. “There continues to be a need for real-time sensing of nutrients. These products—GreenSeeker (Trimble), OptRx (Ag Leader) and Crop Spec (Topcon)—are still very young in their developmental stages. These technologies have huge potential to make an impact on both the economic and environmental aspects of agriculture,” Darr says.

“The perpetual rising price of seed will continue rapid adoption of the DirectCommand AutoSwath-type products that provide pretty immediate payback on seed and chemical savings. A $300 bag of seed equals $120 per acre seed costs. An auto-steer system and planter unit control will save a minimum of 2 percent (not including possible variable-rate seeding savings), which equates to $2,400 per year over 1,000 acres,” he adds.