Jerry Harbour, an agronomist and certified crop specialist with Lincoln Land FS in Illiopolis, says the objective of POMY is to get consistent 300 bushel yields on corn and 100 bushel beans. “We do a lot of corn on corn so that’s another challenge here in central Illinois to get consistently high yields as we grow into continuous corn acres,” he said.

Jerry says when it comes to gathering information, they are using lots more precision farming techniques. “Trying to be more accurate and knowing what we’re doing, instead of flags and pens and paper, we’re trying to document with GPS as well,” he said.

Nitrogen application is a big focus of the POMY trials and this year trials came out very well. “I had about six different trials and they all turned out very positive,” he said. “We did a lot of work this year with impregnated urea for a side dress application for corn – and all of those showed a profit. It seemed like everything we did with nitrogen this year was a win for the grower. Worst case was that they broke even in a couple of cases.”

Jerry says he is blessed with some very progressive farmers in his area who are willing to take some risks to improve their yields and share their knowledge with other growers. Results of this year’s POMY trials will be presented to growers at meetings in February.

Listen to or download my interview with Jerry here: Jerry Harbour Interview

USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found that some Pacific Northwest farmers can increase corn yields by using strip tillage and banding fertilizer instead of conventional tilling. Strip tillage and banding involves excavating a single row for planting about 6 to 12 inches wide and 6 to 8 inches deep with a knife-like shank that can also inject fertilizer directly below the seed.

The scientists found that using these practices increased corn grain yields on severely eroded soils st higher elevations by 12 percent the first year and 26 percent the second year. This translated into yield increases between 11 and 26 bushels per acre.

Read more from ARS here.

Photo courtesy of David Tarkalson, ARS.

One of the people working on the project with CTIC and a presenter is Harold Reetz. I visite with Harold prior to the start of the day’s activities. I’ll see him again next week in Sprinfield, IL for the InfoAg Conference. Since that’s all about precision agriculture and since that is an integral part of the BMP’s being implemented on the tour stops here we decided to call it “precision conservation.”

Harold says the project purpose is to demonstrate different best management practices for nitrogen. It’s a relatively small watershed with mostly corn and soybean crops. So the goal is to come up with practices to improve nitrogen efficiency which will reduce the amount that will get into the ground water. Local farmers have volunteered in this first year of the project to implement suggested practices and it is their farms we visited.

The project is receiving funding from a variety of sources that includes the Illinois EPA. It is a proactive approach to voluntarily manage natural resources without the need to have new regulations. That sure seems like a potentially win win situation for all parties.

You can listen to my interview with Harold here: Harold Reetz Interview

CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos

Deere’s Pauley Bradley, manager of nutrient applications, had a full house for the session which discussed nitrogen practices today, concerns that fall anhydrous application may not be around in the future, and the “Four R” approach to nutrient stewardship. “Right now, our corn stocks to use ratio is very tight, so yield is important, but we have to balance that with the environmental concerns,” Pauley said. “So we’re trying to maximize yield while having the least amount of environmental impact.”

Pauley says John Deere introduced the 2510 line of nutrient applicators a few years ago, one of which provides a way to apply anhydrous ammonia allowing for more side-dressing or in-season capabilities. “We’ve really tried to focus on the in-crop application, doing a better job of reading the crop’s needs as it’s growing and responding accordingly,” he said.

Find out more here.

Listen to or download an interview with Pauley here: John Deere's Pauley Bradley on Nutrient Management

Thanks to John Deere for helping to sponsor our coverage of the 2011 Commodity Classic!
2011 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Bruce Crapo, a grower of 6,000 acres of commercial potatoes and 2,000 acres of seed potatoes in Idaho, is a good example of how the average potato farmer looks at precision agriculture – he uses technology to reduce costs, increase output and improve profits.

Crapo isn’t thrilled at the cost of high-tech equipment such as GPS-guided tractors, but he knows it’s saving him money and there’s no way he can turn back now.

“There is a substantial initial cost involved,” Crapo said. “But I also know it is saving me money. What do you do? Go back to what you were doing before? That’s not an option.”

Crapo, who uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology on all his planters and harvesters, said the latest precision ag technology has taken farming to a different level.

“It’s light years ahead of what it was when we were doing it by hand,” he said. “We’re not going to go back to not using it, but we are wincing a little at the cost.”

Precision agriculture can loosely be defined as using new technologies such as GPS, sensors, variable rate application equipment and aerial or satellite images to make farming easier and more profitable.

Simply put, precision agriculture can help farmers improve their margins by decreasing their operating costs.

Idaho farmer Robert Blair, owner of PineCreek Precision, says the biggest benefit of precision farming is that it gives producers the ability to manage their farm on a production zone basis rather than a whole field basis. This shift, he said, allows farmers to save time and money and helps them offset the rising cost of chemicals, nutrients, fuel and fertilizer.

Blair uses a wide array of precision agriculture techniques on his 1,500-acre farm and said the technology is saving him tens of thousands of dollars every year.

Read on to learn more…

At the recent GROWMARK FS Green Plan Solutions “In Pursuit of Maximum Yields” conference in East Peoria, growers and consultants heard from two University of Illinois experts on how to maximize corn and soybean yields.

Dr. Fred Below gave his “Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World” presentation to the audience. “The seven wonders concept was designed for us to put a value and ranking behind those factors that every year impact corn yields,” said Dr. Below. “Number one is the weather, number two is my favorite – nitrogen, three is the most important decision farmers make each year – hybrid selection, number four has to do with crop the year before, number five is plant population, number six is tillage or no tillage and number seven is a new broad category called growth regulators. And these factors together can combine and maximize to produce up to 260 bushels.”

Listen to my interview with Dr. Fred Below here: Fred Below Interview

Dr. Vince Davis discussed how it takes a total management approach to increase soybean yields. “In soybeans, increasing yields is a really tough game to get into,” Vince told me. “About 10 bushels, 9 and a half bushels an acre is about what we were able to obtain in our large plots, and that’s about what I’ve seen as a maximum level that we can increase. If you can put up 10 extra bushels at $13 beans, that’s a lot of extra money.”

Vince urges farmers to get as much information as they can and experiment to find out what works on their own operations and he had praise for GROWMARK and FS Green Plan Solutions agronomists working with producers. “We worked with one of our local agronomists at the Illini FS location and they are doing a great job getting on the farms, finding out what growers are interested in doing, what does and doesn’t work on the farm, and do it all from the standpoint of economics,” he said.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Vince Davis here: Vince Davis Interview

FS Green Plan Solutions, an integrated, solutions-based approach designed to help producers enhance farm profitability by providing complete agronomic recommendations from a trusted team of FS specialists.

Today, Ag Leader Technology, Inc., a leader in the development of precision farming solutions, announced the release of the North American Wheat algorithm for OptRx, a crop sensor used for mapping, data collection and real-time variable rate nitrogen application. OptRx crop sensors determine a vegetative index reference value based on a plant with sufficient nitrogen and prescribe nitrogen rates based on plants’ crop vigor, taking into account field variability and crop conditions.

“Using OptRx for nitrogen application in wheat can help prevent yield loss commonly due to overapplication, especially in early growth stages,” says Roger Zielke, Product Manager. “Another major factor that OptRx can help account for is the variability in organic matter within fields. Variable rate nitrogen application with OptRx can compensate for these differences in organic matter, and our field trials have shown that it will help maximize profit potential by delivering the right amount of nitrogen to the right plant.”

OptRx can help improve nitrogen efficiency by scanning and measuring the impact of growing conditions on a plant, ultimately helping growers improve environmental stewardship and maximize profit potential. Nitrogen application on wheat can occur anytime between tillering and stem elongation, and any top-dress applicator can be used with OptRx for nitrogen application. Because OptRx uses a light-sensing technology that is not dependent on ambient light, OptRx can be used to apply nitrogen, whenever optimum conditions are available day or night. OptRx crop sensors are also available for nitrogen application in corn.

Research agronomist at MU’s Greenley Research Center in northeast Missouri Kelly Nelson says that ag operations in the U.S. create 58 percent of the world’s nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes 300 times more to global warming than carbon dioxide. His work is focusing on the placement and source of fertilizers to reduce that nitrous oxide number.

“The fertilizer placement for a no-till system would be, for dry fertilizers, would be broadcast applied over the soil surface. We thought with a strip-till system we can till a small area, usually about 12 inches wide, usually less than 30 percent of the field, and maintain good soil cover, and apply that fertilizer in a band right under the plant so it has easy access to the fertilizer.”

He says using an enhanced-efficiency polymer coated urea and non-coated urea, they were able to test in a clay pan soil, where there is very poor internal drainage and fertilizer loss can be substantial.

“We saw that over the entire growing season, we were emitting about 2.4 to 3.8 percent of the nitrogen applied as nitrous oxide.” Nelson says that while it doesn’t seem like a big number, it shows how much greenhouse gas can be emitted into the atmosphere. Plus, he says this system was able to increase yields. “We were seeing that our strip-till system was increasing yields by about 50 bushels to the acre (in corn), compared to our no-till system.” And it reduced greenhouse gas emissions by about 25 percent, compared to no-till systems.

Nelson admits that they didn’t compare the amount of emissions for running the extra equipment in the strip-till versus no-till operation, but that would be a comparison of CO2 emissions, and as stated earlier, much less impactful when you are considering greenhouse gases. Plus, the increased yields should help make up any differences by increasing the amount of carbon sequestration going on in the higher yielding strip-till operations.

He credits new, advanced precision agriculture equipment and practices for even making this kind of work possible.

“Getting the right product at the right time in the right place, that’s what we’re working toward. Precision ag is moving us in that direction.”

Listen to my interview with Kelly here: Kelly Nelson, MU research agronomist

The Field-IQ system pairs seamlessly with the guidance capabilities of the Trimble FmX integrated display or CFX 750 touch screen display, which both run Trimble’s unique overlap detection technology. Farmers using the Field-IQ crop input control system for seed placement have reported average savings of 5-10 percent from reduced seed input costs and less waste.

Trimble’s Field-IQ system is compatible with a wide variety of crop and application equipment, providing monitoring for planters, air seeders for small grains, or granular strip till systems. Seed monitoring on row crop planting systems allows operators to obtain information related to how their seeding system is performing. This includes factors such as singulation, skips and multiples, and quality of spacing for an entire planter average or detail by individual row. For fertilizer, variable rate application capabilities can be driven by a prescription map or real-time with Trimble GreenSeeker sensors.

The Field-IQ system is easy to install on application equipment from a broad range of manufacturers, allowing farmers and custom applicators to use and enhance the performance capabilities of their existing equipment without having to start from scratch.

“The new Field-IQ enhancements optimize planter operation by delivering more accurate seed placement, giving the operators more confidence in their planting applications,” said Erik Arvesen, vice president and general manager of Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “With the addition of rate and application control for up to six different materials, the system now manages functions that span the entire growing season.”

The new seeding and multi-rate capabilities for the Field-IQ system are expected to be available in March 2011. Contact a local Trimble dealer at www.trimble.com/locator for more information.

I caught up with Katie Beeler yesterday, Ag Leader’s marketing communications coordinator, to talk about their presence at the show. Aside from being a major sponsor at the three-day event, the company will conduct three educational sessions during the show.

• Tuesday, February 1 at 11:30am, Ag Leader’s Chad Huedepohl will talk about the OptRx Crop Sensor system. You’ll learn how they measure and record data as you drive through the field—providing information on crop health, while allowing you to apply prescription nitrogen rates based on plant need.

• On Wednesday, February 2 at 10:45 am, Jeff Bentley from Ag Leader will help growers understand its ParaDyme Autosteer system and CORS networks. Come learn about the most advanced guidance system, and how it has the capability of using built-in cellular signals for remote service and connection to the CORS network.

• Also Wednesday at 12:15 pm, Ag Leader’s Michael Vos will discuss the power of all the data that can be collected during a cropping season, and show how the company’s SMS software can work the data to help improve management decisions.

Click on ‘Seminars’ at the Iowa Power Farming Show website for the entire rundown.

And if new products excite you, Beeler says Ag Leader will be talking about three new precision farming tools at their booth, along with their full product line. “Come learn about our new Advanced Seed Monitoring through the SeedCommand system that improves planter performance monitoring and control through the INTEGRA display. We’ll also showcase the new GPS 2500 all-in-one antenna and GNSS Receiver that can utilize GLONASS satellites and differential correction from WAAS/EGNOS and OmniSTAR XP/HP/VBS. And we’ll have the new Mesa Rugged Notepad at the show running our SMS Mobile software so growers can check out this valuable in-field tool,” she says. Ag Leader will be in Booth #306 in the Polk County Convention Complex.

The Iowa Power Farming Show is sponsored in part by Farm Credit Services of America, Ag Leader Technology, Bayer CropScience, Stine Seed, and The Stewart-Peterson Group. The show is owned and managed by the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association (I-NEDA). I-NEDA represents over 400 agricultural, outdoor power and industrial equipment dealers throughout Iowa and Nebraska. For more information about the show and a list of show exhibitors, visit www.iowapowershow.com.

Visit these links for more information.
Iowa Power Farming Show http://www.iowapowershow.com/

New Advanced Seed Monitoring
http://www.agleader.com/2010/12/03/ag-leader-announces-advanced-seed-monitoring-functionality-for-integra™-display/

New GPS 2500 GNSS Receiver
http://www.agleader.com/2010/11/01/ag-leader-announces-new-gps-2500-gnss-receiver/

New Mesa Rugged Notepad
http://www.agleader.com/2010/11/01/ag-leader-offers-new-hardware-option-for-sms™-mobile/

Ag Leader dealer locator http://www.agleader.com/dealer-search/

This agreement creates an alignment of Valley Irrigation dealers with the latest in agronomic technology to provide growers true precision irrigation with center pivots. Valley Irrigation with VRI Zone Control, and CropMetrics with automated agronomic VRI prescription services, are also proud to announce their AE50 awards for 2011 as a top 50 innovative new product produced in 2010.

“Precision Irrigation starts with building a precise water management plan,” said Craig Malsam, Valmont Irrigation Vice President of Engineering. “Applying the optimum level of water and nutrients through a center pivot is more important than ever. We’re excited to be the first in our industry to supply a whole new dimension of precision irrigation through our agreement with CropMetrics and their optimization service available through our Valley dealers.”

“As our single most valuable natural resource, applying excess water is an unnecessary cost. Apply too little water, and yield potential is now lost as well. Our solution is to optimally apply water specific to soil type,” said Nick Emanuel, CropMetrics President. “We’re excited to work with Valley dealers and offer Valley customers the ability to take Precision Agriculture to the next level with our unique precision agronomic solutions and data services.”

CropMetrics specializes in full-service data collection, processing, and advanced yield analysis. The company supplies all proprietary web-based software and large-scale data processing so agronomists, crop consultants, ag retailers and Precision Ag specialists can focus on providing fast, reliable and profitable Precision Ag programs for variable rate irrigation, nitrogen and seeding.

Valley Irrigation VRI Zone Control provides individual sprinkler or span control and is fully compatible with all new and existing center pivots equipped with the Valley Irrigation Pro2 control panel. The Pro2 panel uses power line communication to remotely manage as many as 30 VRI Zone Control units. This allows each individual control unit to be easily positioned at any point along the pivot span. Because the new VRI Zone Control utilizes the on-board computing power of the Valley Irrigation Pro2 panel in combination with power line communication, the added VRI equipment cost is very reasonable.

“We believe that combining Valley Irrigation control technology with CropMetrics precision services is the future of mechanized irrigation,” said Malsam. “Producers with pivot irrigation have always been able to control how much water is applied to a field. But this technology allows producers to control how much water, fertilizer and other crop management products are variably applied based on precise agronomic data.”

The AE50 awards will be announced during a presentation at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference (AETC) in Atlanta, Ga. on January 6 as part of the AG CONNECT Expo. Representatives from CropMetrics and Valley Irrigation will be available to demonstrate the new VRI technology in the Valley Irrigation booth at AG CONNECT.

“We’ve said for a few years now that ‘accuracy is addictive.’ Well farmers are proving that as this has been a year driven by higher precision—a move to more RTK accuracy.”

The big deal. Darr cited the widespread nature of expanding RTK networks, both public and privately owned. “These networks are pushing us towards RTK becoming a standard commodity, which will help drive down the costs and give more growers the potential to achieve high-end accuracy. And that is a big deal.”

The CORS network has had a strong run over the past three years. Indiana is now online as the most recent, along with CORS networks in Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri. “I see this growth slowing down, but we’ll continue to see greater stabilization and improvement in the signals,” Darr says.

In the private sector, we’re seeing greater expansion from Trimble’s VRS network and from John Deere’s StarFire 450 MHz radio system, as well as other smaller companies building systems across the Midwest.

Crop sensing. Another big push is on to figure out how to use active crop sensing to provide financial benefit. “With the addition of Ag Leader’s OptRx system, along with the Greenseeker from Trimble and CropSpec from Topcon, growers have the potential to unlock another area of profitability. It’s not as simple as auto guidance, and it may not work for everyone,” Darr says.

This technology offers a natural fit in wheat, since growers are used to topdressing in the spring. “Anytime you can automate N applications, you’re looking at both economic and environmental benefits. A reduction in the over-application of N is a big deal,” Darr says.

“The challenge for Midwest corn growers is that not every producer uses sidedressed N when corn is 12 to 18 inches tall, which is where this technology needs to be used. So you’re asking growers to change production practices as well as adopt new technology, so these challenges will slow adoption. But it offers huge potential,” he adds.

The future. “If you look back 4 or 5 years, and think about the automation technology that has come out—from auto swath to auto steer—all the easy things, relatively speaking, have been automated. Future automation gets tougher. We now need to circle back to data and press that information into greater knowledge. That’s what we’re after. We must gain knowledge from all this data to improve our operations,” he says.

GPS World offers a look at their top five events in GPS/GNSS for 2010, so check it out, too. http://www.gpsworld.com/survey/top-5-events-gpsgnss-2010-a-year-end-review-10854

Visit these links for more information.

CORS Network
http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/CORS/GoogleMap/CORS.shtml

Learn How CORS Network Can Fit Precision Farming
http://precisionpays.com/2010/01/learn-how-cors-network-can-fit-precision-farming/

Lessons in Differential Correction
http://www.agleader.com/2010/07/02/lessons-in-precision-ag-differential-correction-part-2/

RTK Network Options
http://farmindustrynews.com/precision-guidance/rtk-network-options

Ag Leader dealer locator
http://www.agleader.com/dealer-search/

Automatic section control (ASC) has been one of the most adopted precision ag technologies in recent years. This technology has the ability to save producers on input costs by minimizing application overlap at headlands, point rows, or other odd-shaped areas of fields. Our research suggests a 2% to nearly 30% savings in fields when using ASC and guidance technology. Further, ASC can improve on-farm environmental stewardship by eliminating application in environmentally sensitive areas (e.g. grassed waterways, buffer strips, etc) or outside field boundaries. Frequent comments by those who have adopted ASC is that they want to implement on all their application technology (sprayer, planter, side-dress unit, etc.) and it reduces fatigue over long work days by automating the on and off of sections.

To help producers and others interested in ASC, the Alabama Precision Ag Team has put together 3 publications providing a general overview of ASC, needed components, and company information for planters, sprayers and spinner spreaders. Many times the expense to purchase ASC for a machine is relatively small compared to the savings it provides on crop inputs. We hope this information can help those looking to purchase ASC during this off season. Please let us know if you have any questions or we can assist in anyway.

The following provides direct links to each of these publications.

ASC for Sprayers
ASC for Planters
ASC for Spreaders

For more information, please visit www.alabamaprecisionagonline.com.

Fertilizer production costs will be substantially higher in 2011 than they’ve been for the past couple of years. When you look at the numbers, remember that commodity prices also have increased significantly.

If you are a shrewd marketer, you have taken advantage of crop pricing opportunities that will help offset the higher production costs. You may still be able to find a few holiday bargains for pre-paid fertilizer, however, most of the good deals ended in November. Following these tips can help you achieve a profitable fertilizer program for 2011

10 Tips for Getting the Most from Your Fertilizer Investment

• Follow a good soil testing program to know macro and micronutrient levels.
• Use the most efficient methods to apply phosphorus (starter or strip-till application) and timing options/methods/sources for nitrogen.
• Take deep soil samples for residual nitrate to fine-tune N rates.
• Set realistic yield goals. Expected yield is the major factor in determining the nitrogen rate for corn. Use a proven five-year average corn yield plus 5% (to account for hybrid and management improvements).
• Credit N from previous crop residue or legume crops. Soil tests will not show legume or crop residue credits as the residue or nodules must break down during the growing season. Credit N for corn after soybean, sugar beet, alfalfa, and dry beans.
• Value and use manure sources properly. Manure is an excellent nutrient source for nitrogen, phosphorus, and micronutrients.
• Not all fertilizer recommendations are the same. UNL fertilizer recommendations may seem conservative compared to some commercial labs. UNL suggestions are based on research and on-farm verification. They are generally the most economical rates, even for high yield situations.
• Consider replicated strip trials to determine the effect of lower or higher rates on yield. Fine-tuning fertilizer use needs to be an on-going process.
• Comparison shop. Look at different products and do your “fertilizer arithmetic” to compare the actual cost per pound of nutrients.
• Work with a reputable dealer who can provide quality product, price assurances, timely delivery, and well-maintained equipment. Remember, service after the sale is also important.

Gary Hergert, Extension Soils Specialist
Panhandle REC, Scottsbluff

See more recommendations for surviving high input costs.

Such was the case with central Nebraska farmer Kurt Kroeger. Now Kroeger is a fairly advanced precision ag aficionado, playing with many things on his 1,250 acres. He’s a big fan of Ag Leader because the tools work well with all colors of equipment that he owns. And he’s become a whiz at SMS Advanced software to write his own variable-rate (VR) seeding and fertility prescription maps.

Another technology that has intrigued him since the late 1990s is the nitrogen crop sensor. “I followed the GreenSeeker sensor since it came out. Then I watched the Holland sensor become Ag Leader’s OptRx technology—and became one of the first to buy them.”

So, this past spring he mapped out a good test in a couple fields under pivots. “In one section of the corn field I applied a high rate (44 lbs./acre) of 32 percent nitrogen plus thiazole as a high yield check. In the second section I applied 32 percent based on the OptRx sensor, and in the third section I applied the nitrogen according to my fertilizer supplier’s best VR map based on soil type and fertility,” Kroeger says.

Then, that unplanned ‘fluke test’ happened, as he calls it. “The coolest thing in the world happened. When the corn was a foot tall, my mini-corner pivot got stuck all night and watered one spot heavily. As you can imagine, in another couple weeks when I applied the fertilizer, I had a nice and visible section shaped like a Nike swoosh mark in the field where all the nitrogen had leached away,” he says.

The OptRx sensors recognized the deficient plants in his ‘swoosh’ area and applied 50 to 56 gal., which was quite a bit higher than the whole field average of 34 gal. And compared to the 36 gal. on the retailer VR section, the OptRx not only saved 2 gal. it produced more yield too. These results not only sold Kroeger on the OptRx technology, but it changed his whole point of view on fertility in his sandier soils.

“The OptRx produced more uniform and higher yields, based on a philosophy of feeding all plants that need more fertility, which is different then the soil map VR philosophy that feeds the good areas and starves the poor areas of a field. It makes the whole field more uniform. I want every acre to pay for itself.”

Needless to say, Kroeger is sold on using the OptRx on all his corn next year. “If I had achieved the same results across my whole farm as I did in the plots, the system would have paid for itself this year alone,” he adds.

His next learning challenge…figuring out a way to use it on his sprayer to apply N using drop nozzles.

Visit these links for more information.

The OptRx Crop Sensor
http://www.agleader.com/products/directcommand/optrx/

Blog posts on OptRx technology
http://www.agleader.com/category/optrx/

SMS Advanced software
http://www.agleader.com/products/sms-advanced/

Ag Leader dealer locator
http://www.agleader.com/dealer-search/

Sent to over 400,000 growers as a supplement to the November issue of Successful Farming magazine, the 28-page guide is a valuable resource for growers striving for next-generation yields, as well as a great sales tool for Mosaic’s retail customers.

The guide features new thinking on building a well-balanced fertility program and highlights the latest research on topics like uncovering the nutrient requirements of today’s new hybrids, real experiences of producers implementing innovative best management practices and facts on the latest advancements in fertilizer.

“It’s with a pioneering spirit and quest for better information that The Mosaic Company brings you the Balanced Crop Nutrition supplement to Successful Farming,” said Rick McLellan, Mosaic’s senior vice president of Commercial Operations. “Technology continues to evolve and promises higher levels of crop performance, but to maximize this potential, fertility strategies also must move forward. Fertilizer is the foundation on which all high-yield crop systems must be based.”

To view the guide and order additional copies visit: www.back-to-basics.net.

Veris Technologies, a pioneer in this EC technology, offers a look into why researchers and growers are using this technology in more than 40 states and 25 foreign countries.

Also, take a look at several new products they have introduced. The compact Quad EC1000 that can be pulled by an ATV. And the new ATV-mounted PH Detector that can map several hundred acres per day.

In the piece he writes… “But, for the foreseeable future, technology will be the key to boosting yields and avoiding billions of acres of forests and grasslands morphing into farmland.

Having said that, I’d add that improving yields isn’t the only contribution agriculture should make to the environment. The dictator also wants to maximize soil health and minimize runoff and input use.

Can technology-driven non-organic agriculture do that? There are reasons for hope. GPS, GIS and other tools of precision agriculture enable farmers to use only what’s absolutely needed in the way of seeds, fertilizers, chemicals and fuels. And the high price of inputs motivates farmers to realize precision agriculture’s potential.”

Read the rest of the piece here.

“We talk to each producer that we work with, and they are the ones telling us that they sure use less chemicals on a field than they used to because of the (precision farming) technology they have,” he said. “I think from those discussions, most are figuring they are saving between 5 to 10 percent on a field with GPS technology.”

Metzger likes to mention the story of a farmer who has been enrolled in the Farm Business Management Program for several years. When ordering herbicide for his total crop acreage he always added five percent to what he had figured and ended up using the entire amount each year. However, the year he added a sprayer with GPS and boom control to his operation he took the entire extra five percent that he always ordered back to the chemical dealer because he didn’t need it.

With the average chemical cost for wheat today at $31.23 per acre, Metzger said there is the potential for great savings.

“If you start looking at saving $2 to $3 an acre on chemical on a couple thousand acres of wheat, it doesn’t take very long before the savings can add up to $5-, $10- or $20,000 on an average farm,” he said.

“And as the costs increase, there is even more of a desire to save all the time,” he continued. “If we didn’t have the GPS units we might still be over-applying by going around sloughs twice, doing the headlands twice – those types of things. But with the GPS and the automatic shutoff, those areas of over-application are taken care of.”

And the savings doesn’t end with chemicals. The five major costs associated with crop production–chemicals, fuel, repairs, seed and fertilizer–can all be trimmed back. Read on for more details.

This new functionality enables control of up to three channels of granular product or a combination of one channel of seed and two channels of granular product. The new Air Cart support provides the benefits of SeedCommand and DirectCommand to broad-acre seeding.

“Support for air carts for seeding and fertilizer application is something our growers have requested, and Ag Leader now provides a valuable precision farming tool for broad-acre operations,” says John Howard, Product Manager. “The calibration enhancements, meter prime feature and support for meter circuit clutches provide benefits such as AutoSwath, data logging and mapping and variable-rate seeding or fertilizer application for these operations.”

Additional features of the air cart support include tables for referencing stored meter calibration values to reduce the chance of error; variable rate control by product for more efficient use of inputs; support for bin level and fan speed sensors; and an automatic meter shut off option if fan speed falls below a minimum setting. The air cart support is available with Ag Leader’s INTEGRA display.

To that end, I spoke today with John McGuire, owner and tech guru of Simplified Technology Services in Montpelier, Oh., who is helping growers in northwest Ohio figure out their fields with the help of powerful Ag Leader SMS Advanced software. McGuire works with growers on ways to optimize yield data collection, build management zones, conduct field research and help turn all that data into profitable management decisions.

“The first issue we help growers with is obtaining quality yield data with tools I developed to make yield monitor calibration easier. Once we have the data, then we sit down with growers and review each field with a LCD projector on a white board so the farmer can circle suspect areas of fields,” McGuire says.

He then takes all that information to set up management zones based on patterns they see in the fields then develop soil sampling plans from that. And as farmers obtain more data—such as Veris soil electrical conductivity, elevation data, planting data, product application data—he relies on the computing and analysis power of SMS Advanced software to layer all this data with yield and management zones.

“SMS allows us to look at many different comparisons, even point-by-point in a field, in order to look at many ‘what if’ scenarios to help figure out different approaches to try to solve problems areas of fields,” McGuire says. “And no matter what type of precision farming equipment a farmer uses, we can handle many data formats with SMS.”

Once farmers get comfortable with understanding what the software and data comparisons can do, then some will take it a step further and want to build strip trials into fields in order to make better management decisions. “We have a handful of growers who are conducting strip trials to compare hybrids and varieties, fungicides, seed treatments, nitrogen, P & K, seed populations and more. And as we add these data layers of results, the analysis tools in SMS Advanced really help growers make management decisions that save money and add profits,” he says.

“I’ve been working with SMS for almost ten years. I’m impressed with how much time Ag Leader spends polishing and continuing to tweak this already powerful software, constantly listening to users and providing superior analysis tools. It doesn’t get any better than SMS, as far as I can tell,” McGuire adds.

When not immersed in dealing with data, McGuire also works as a sales and service guy for Nester Ag Management, a precision agriculture equipment sales company.

Visit these links for more information.

SMS Advanced http://www.agleader.com/products/sms-advanced/

SMS Basic http://www.agleader.com/products/sms-basic/

Nester Ag http://www.nesterag.com/

Previous story on SMS and in-field scouting
http://precisionpays.com/2010/06/how-software-helps-in-season-scouting-and-management-zones/

Producers were impressed with the concept, but found current manure application technology fell short of the challenge. The potential agronomic/economic benefit would be increased yields in more productive areas of the field by applying more nutrients to these areas and, therefore, decreasing the environmental risk of nutrient leaching to bodies of water.

In the study, manure was applied using the drag hose application method. Application rates were varied based on global position satellite field maps indicating different nutrient requirements for different parts of the fields. Satellite imagery identified zones using different light bands to create a vegetative index of better growing parts of the field. The zones were then individually soil tested to determine the reasons for the variability across zones and establish the optimal nutrient application rate.

Project leader Scott Dick with Agra-Gold Consulting, Ltd. says an increasing number of producers are adopting VR application with commercial fertilizer to tailor application rates to the varying nutrient requirements on different sections of a field. That technique can produce better nutrient utilization by the crop, higher yields, lower costs and reduced environmental risk of excess nutrients contaminating water supplies.

While adapting variable-rate techniques to manure application would seem to have good potential, there still needs to be some refinement in the application of the technology, he says.

“Producers accepted the methodology used in creating the different management zones, but they weren’t ready to embrace this precision approach yet,” Dick reports.

Read why they came to that conclusion…

PepsiCo announced plans to roll-out its new i-crop farming technology on a global basis. The web-based tool, which was developed by PepsiCo in conjunction with Cambridge University, United Kingdom, is a crop management system that will enable PepsiCo’s farmers around the world to monitor, manage and reduce their water use and carbon emissions, while also maximizing potential yield and quality.

Trials of i-crop are currently underway at 22 farms in the U.K., where PepsiCo yesterday announced ambitious plans to reduce carbon emissions and water usage by 50 percent across the farming of its core crops in the next five years.

The technology will be rolled-out in Europe in 2011. The company hopes to take it to India, China, Mexico and Australia by 2012.

As one of the world’s largest food and beverage businesses, with brands including Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo is a major investor in global farming. In 2010, the company announced 15 global goals and commitments to guide its work to protect the Earth’s natural resources through innovation and more efficient use of land, energy, water and packaging.

In the U.K., the company is the largest purchaser of British potatoes and one of the largest purchasers of British oats and apples, using 100 percent British produce in Walkers crisps, Copella English Apple juice, Quaker Oats, Oatso Simple and Scott’s porage.

Richard Evans, President of PepsiCo U.K. and Ireland said, “Farming is in the DNA of our business – we rely on fresh produce every day. Finding ways to produce more food with less environmental impact is essential to our future.” He added, “i-crop has the potential to revolutionize the way we farm, enabling our farmers to save costs and water and carbon consumption, while at the same time improving their yields. I am immensely proud of this innovation which I hope will also benefit PepsiCo farmers around the world.”

In its first Sustainable Farming Report published yesterday, PepsiCo U.K. outlined how it is working in partnership with its 350 British farmers to reach its aim of ’50 in 5′. Other initiatives announced include trials of new low-carbon fertilizers and plans to replace more than 75 percent of PepsiCo U.K.’s current potato stock with varieties that will significantly improve farmers’ yields and decrease wastage by 2015. A full copy of the report is available for download at www.pepsico.co.uk/farming.

Commenting on the PepsiCo U.K. sustainable farming report, Richard Perkins, Senior Commodities Adviser at WWF said, “The food industry is starting to recognize that in order to fully embed sustainability and biodiversity in its business practices, a large part of the focus must be on the agricultural supply chain. In this respect PepsiCo U.K. has taken a leadership role in recognizing that it is, at its heart, an agricultural business. The focus of the business on improving its key environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions – in the field and on the farm – is most welcome.”

For further information about i-crop visit: www.i-crop.com

i-crop will be rolled-out to the following markets in 2011:

Holland
France
Germany
Belgium
Spain
Portugal
Turkey

The TalkingFields initiative is now showing how to combine satellite observation with satellite navigation to benefit European farmers.
Sustainable food production and food security are critical challenges. TalkingFields will help by using precision farming methods to produce crops more efficiently. For instance, by optimising farmers’ use of fertiliser and giving early warning of plant disease risks, both costs and environmental impacts can be reduced.

“There are existing services variously employing Earth observation data, satellite navigation, farm management software and crop growth models, but TalkingFields is the first to combine them all,” said ESA’s Tony Sephton.

“We’re setting up an end-to-end service that is simple to use and sufficiently cost-effective to be self-sustaining.”

How does it work? The farmer requests the service for an area defined using satnav. Satellites gather information on the land’s potential – observations over several years can reveal variations in crop growth through soil changes – as well as current crop status.

These results are combined with information from field sensors such as weather conditions and soil moisture. The farmer adds in his own knowledge, and in return receives detailed satnav instructions on where and how much fertiliser to spray, for example.

A variety of satellites can be employed, although priority will be given to free data sources such as Landsat and ESA’s forthcoming Sentinel-2 satellites, due for launch in 2012.

“Ideally, we might have weekly satellite acquisitions, but cloud cover makes that unfeasible,” explained Dr Sephton.

“Instead, we need only two to four satellite images per growing season, which are fed into a sophisticated crop growth model.

“With TalkingFields the emphasis is on service: we’re not giving raw satellite data straight to farmers. Instead, we advise them directly on actions to be taken throughout the growing season.”

Read more

Just in time to begin soil sampling in preparation for the 2011 growing season, FieldRx is bringing crop consultants and agricultural dealers a more user-friendly program for writing custom fertilizer prescriptions. Designed by ag professionals for ag professionals, FieldRx was created to eliminate the frustrations with existing precision ag software programs while providing concise grower reports and smaller controller files.

“We’re really excited about bringing FieldRx to market because of the solutions and time-savings it’s going to bring to crop consultants and dealers,” said David Krueger of Ag Software Designs. “FieldRx will streamline the process for using VRT data and making custom recommendations to growers.

A highlight of the FieldRx engine is the ease of uploading field borders and sample points. In addition, lab results can be imported directly into FieldRx from some labs without the user having to manually obtain and upload the data.

“Our goal in developing FieldRx was to put users first by saving them time and eliminating the potential for human error that can arise from manual data input,” said Lance Ramthun of Ag Software Designs. “A lot of VRT programs currently on the market are extremely time-consuming to set up, and one wrong click while inputting data can be very costly for dealers.”

FieldRx boasts a minimal learning curve for users, who only need access to the web to get started. Furthermore, users don’t need a high-level of computer proficiency to operate the program.

“We know software and new technologies can be very intimidating to users, especially if there is a lot of potential for error,” said David Hydrick of Ag Software Designs. “People are going to be extremely satisfied with how easy FieldRx is to use.”

In addition to soil test recommendations, the FieldRx engine has the power to support many other variables for prescription writing in future releases. Other capabilities include web services that are available for other vendor’s software tools to upload data directly to FieldRx.

For more information about FieldRx, please visit www.fieldrx.com or call (888) 336-0029.

We’ve shared with you in this forum on many occasions that increased regulations and legislation are headed your way. And in this case, some farmers and applicators might be asking for it. It is too early to be fall applying nitrogen. Environmental extremists are documenting, right now, everywhere they can find, individual cases of N being applied at inappropriate times. Is the rush to get field work done worth costing everybody in the industry fall applied nitrogen? That’s not an exaggeration and the outcome is nearer than you might choose to believe.

We’ve all been victims of “one bad apple spoiling the whole basket.” Years of responsible fertilizer application and nutrient management plans by thousands of farmers in Illinois will be undone if irresponsible behavior is undertaken and we turn a blind eye.

Take a lesson from what happened in the state of Florida. Legislation via litigation ended up costing farmers in that state after extreme environmental groups pushed their agendas through the courts. Illinois is next on their hit list. This means you. The loss of fall applied nitrogen will cost Illinois agriculture billions of dollars.

You may not be fully aware of how imminent this situation is. But take this as your notice. You will lose the opportunity to include fall applied N as a management tool in your nutrient plan if as a whole, we don’t do what’s right. We’ve talked the talk. Now it’s time to walk the walk.

Illinois farm organizations and the Illinois EPA have been in your corner, supporting your access to fall N. Not following best management practices for nitrogen undermines everyone’s credibility and will soon cost you this option.

The future of fall applied N in the state of Illinois depends on YOU. Do what’s right.

• The IL Fertilizer and Chemical Association recommends using nitrogen stabilizers for ALL fall applied N.
• Wait until after October 15th before even considering N application.
• Only apply N when the soil temps are in the low 50’s and the longterm forecast is for sustained cool weather.
• If you choose NOT to use an N stabilizer, only apply N when soil temps are below 50 degrees and will stay that way.

I checked in with Ag Leader’s Chad Huedepohl yesterday, and he reminded me of the many benefits of controlling these product applications with their DirectCommand system linked with either the INTEGRA or EDGE displays.

“Whether growers are applying granular fertilizer with a spinner spreader, liquid fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia, or a combination on a strip-till toolbar, DirectCommand can control variable-rate application for each product,” he says.

Huedepohl, sales manager for DirectCommand, says growers are cutting application costs by 5 to 15 percent due to reduced overlap with AutoSwath control. “It can control up to ten sections on a boom, or even control spinner spreaders. Growers can also inject N-Serve into anhydrous or Instinct nitrogen stabilizer into a manure application,” he adds.

Use the INTEGRA display to control, adjust and record up to 5 different products in one application, or the EDGE display to handle two products. Both displays offer easy-to-use controls with on-screen guidance showing actual map coverage, and it’ll monitor up to three outside-the-cab pressure gauges.

With the INTEGRA display, all application details are captured on a Smart Report to easily generate PDF files that can be used as government certified application maps. And all data is easily transferred into SMS software for analysis and future year input needs and budgets.

Visit these links for more information.

DirectCommand http://www.agleader.com/products/directcommand/

INTEGRA http://www.agleader.com/products/integra/

EDGE http://www.agleader.com/products/edge/

Extension educators were inspired to secure the same advantages for the southwest Alabama livestock producers.

“Much like row-crop farmers, livestock producers use fertilizers and herbicides to make their pastures more productive, but they often have trouble making uniform applications,” says Ken Kelley, a regional Extension livestock educator.

In the case of fertilizers, Kelley says, the end result of uneven fertilization turns out to be alternating light and dark green patches throughout the field.

Chuck Madaris, a purebred and commercial producer who also sells hay, benefitted from the grant and initially used his GPS device to spread chicken litter, which serves as his sole fertilizer source.

“When we spread litter in the hayfield, it was just about impossible to do a good job because the fields are cut smooth and it’s almost impossible finding tracks,” he says.

“GPS definitely offers an advantage.”

Madaris also adapted the GPS device for use with spray applications, which seemed to work more effectively than the foam markers previously used.

He says he has not been disappointed.

For more details, read the rest of the story.

I spoke the other day with Iowa farmer Tim Palmer, who also is president of the Conservation Districts of Iowa—a group of 500 county commissioners who are responsible for carrying out state laws and programs within district boundaries. Palmer had just returned from their annual conference where the theme was ‘Mastering Conservation 101.’

“Our whole conference was all about topics focused on improving water quality. If we can keep soil in place, water quality automatically improves,” he says. “We discussed many ways to help educate growers on conservation methods; about how there’s more to soil quality than organic matter and yield. And we offered breakout sessions on planter adjustments, managing no-till residue, precision farming, value of no-till, livestock grazing management and other topics.”

Chad Huedepohl, DirectCommand sales manager for Ag Leader Technology, spoke to the group about how precision farming tools can help promote conservation practices. He addressed three areas during his talk:

1. Auto guidance: “I talked about the myth that auto steer only works in fields with straight rows. Our SmartPath technology tracks the contours in a field as you drive the first path, then it takes over the steering during subsequent paths—which helps growers farm fields differently to keep erosion in check. And auto guidance eliminates row marker trenches that can turn into highly erodible gullies during heavy rain events,” Huedepohl says.

2. Efficient nitrogen application: “Our OptRx crop sensor system can help growers reduce excessive nitrogen application by reading the crop and applying only the amount needed, instead of applying a flat rate of nitrogen across whole fields.”

3. Reduced chemical and seed over-application: “As growers adopt more contour planting to reduce soil and water movement and erosion in square fields, they create more point rows which can lead to over-application of seed and chemicals,” he says. “With auto guidance and row/boom shutoff, that problem is eliminated. Our AutoSwath technology combined with planter row shutoff devices not only provide less corn lodging and herbicide over-application, it saves on seed and chemical input costs, too.”

Visit these links for more information.

Conservation Districts of Iowa http://www.cdiowa.org/index.html

Iowa Soil and Water Conservation District Annual Conference
http://www.cdiowa.org/AnnConf10/Ann%20Conf%202010%20Program%20draft.pdf

Ag Leader SmartPath http://www.agleader.com/2010/07/08/smartpathtm-“drive-and-guide”-guidance-pattern-introduced-by-ag-leader/
http://www.agleader.com/products/guidance/guidance-patterns/

Ag Leader OptRx http://www.agleader.com/2010/02/15/optrx/
http://www.agleader.com/products/directcommand/optrx/

Ag Leader AutoSwath http://www.agleader.com/products/directcommand/

If you’re going to the show, Ag Leader Technology has a special free t-shirt offer with a chance to win an EDGE display. Before you go, just visit the Ag Leader Facebook page and click on the invite under the tab ‘EDGE Giveaway.’ Then fill out the survey and bring it to the Ag Leader booth (Lot 517).

While at the booth, check out the live demonstration of the OptRx Crop Sensor. A Hagie sprayer, complete with the OptRx sensors, INTEGRA display and ParaDyme steering system, will be gathering crop condition data on live corn plants.

Also check out the new SMS Mobile PC software that will be available this fall for PC-based devices such as laptops, netbooks and tablets that run Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.

And stop inside the tent to learn more about all the products from Ag Leader—from displays and guidance to planter/sprayer controls and software that handles all the data. Product experts will be on hand to help you learn what can best fit your operation.

Visit these links for more information.

Farm Progress Show Website http://www.farmprogressshow.com/

Ag Leader Precision Point Blog: Calling Farm Progress Show Attendees!
http://www.agleader.com/2010/08/23/calling-farm-progress-show-attendees/

Ag Leader Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/AgLeader?v=app_4949752878

Survey for Free t-shirt and EDGE drawing http://www.agleader.com/mirror/FB-EDGE-Survey.pdf

OptRx Crop Sensor http://www.agleader.com/products/directcommand/optrx/

Fall Release of SMS Mobile Software http://www.agleader.com/2010/07/19/ag-leader-announces-fall-release-of-sms-mobile-pc/