Our Precision Pays reporters brought you a total of 380 stories, including over 80 with audio interviews or podcasts and 15 YouTube videos. The most popular YouTube video of the year was the John Deere Subcompact Utility Tractor Unveiling at the National Farm Machinery Show, which has been viewed almost 40,000 times.

Some of the most popular stories of the year on Precision Pays were:

John Deere introduces Farm Sight
Corn Choppers at Farm Progress Show
John Deere product launch
Drones tested for Ag Use
LightSquared Wireless Broadband Issues
JD Combine Can sculpture

Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed new year!

This slick 10×15 wall calendar includes dates for all the major ag-related events in 2012, along with photos each month from the 2011 events that we covered. There’s photos from the Iowa Power Farming Show, National Farm Machinery Show, Commodity Classic, Farm Progress Show and lots more.

We ordered a limited number of the calendars to give to some of our clients for Christmas, but then discovered that there are lots of other folks out there who would like to get a copy, so we are ordering more and offering them for sale.

For just $20 each plus $2 shipping/handling, you can get your very own 2012 Ag Events calendar here:

Order 2012 ZimmComm Ag Events Calendar.

Playing to their strengths, the AgChat Foundation will be a key partner in USFRA’s Food Dialogues event on September 22. The event, a simultaneous grouping of four live meetings around the country as well as online participation, will feature a series of different panels discussing different topics in key locations. The goal of Food Dialogues is to answer the questions that Americans are asking about their food. The AgChat Foundation will help engage the online agricultural community through a strategic social media campaign in order to build excitement in the weeks leading up to and during the event. To learn more about Food Dialogues, visit www.fooddialogues.com.

“Everybody loves to see equipment moving,” Sean told Chuck Zimmerman during an interview at FPS. “We have a tractor running around on a sand track with eight different row units to compare performance of the meter and then we also have a 2020 Seed Sense monitor in the cab that allows us to communicate that information from the cab so everyone can see that around the track.”

Sean says help farmers maximize production and return on investment. “Technology is not a $5,000 investment anymore,” he said. “However, the end all benefit is usually a very quick pay back” in terms of input cost savings.

Sean is also an advocate for using technology for communications and was a beta tester for the new CropNAtion agricultural social network. “In today’s marketplace, it’s important to manage risk and part of that is having information at your fingertips,” he says. “CropNation allows farmers to get connected and find out what’s going on in various parts of the country. It provides a lot of opportunity for us to network and share ideas.”

Listen to or download Chuck’s interview with Sean here. Sean Arians with Precision Planting

2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

A father and son custom motorcycle design team split up to create corn-themed choppers for two different corn seed companies – Dekalb and Beck’s Hybrids.

The relatively friendly competition produced the Beck’s Hybrids 75th Anniversary custom built Orange County Choppers motorcycles on display in the company’s tent at FPS 2011. The one on the left has a combine corn head with ears of corn for handles and both have vintage farm scenes on the gas tanks, designed by Paul Teutul Sr., CEO of Orange County Choppers.

You can stop by the Beck’s tent to enter to win one of these bikes in the We Care for Orphans Adoption Fund Sweepstakes. The drawing will be held on Feb. 22, 2012 and the winner will be announced at Commodity Classic in Nashville, Tenn., March 1 – 3, 2012.

Meanwhile, Dekalb showcased their 100th anniversary custom made chopper designed by son Paul Jr., who rode the bike ahead of the crowd as the main gate entrance opened at Farm Progress Show on Tuesday.

The Dekalb chopper will be auctioned next year with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross, after traveling across approximately 10 states on a 14-20 stop Chopper Tour around rural America following the Farm Progress Show reveal.

The build and reveal of both the seed companies’ commemorative choppers will be featured on upcoming episodes of “American Chopper” on The Discovery Channel.

Watch the opening gate video from FPS 2011 below:

2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Kreg, pictured here with University of Georgia Extension Peanut Agronomist John Beasley accepting his award as the statewide winner in the Georgia Achievement Club this year for the 100-300 acre category, credits a good part of his increase in profitability and yields to precision technology, as much as 500 pounds per acre. “We use GPS and auto steer tractors,” he told me. “What I got paid for the auto steer part of the tractor in one year.”

Kreg was also named as the Farm Press Publications Peanut Profitability Award winner for the Southeast during last week’s 2011 Southern Peanut Growers Conference. That award is based not only on yield, but production efficiency, honoring those growers who produce the highest yields at the lowest cost per acre.

Listen to my interview with Kreg from the SPGC here: Kreg Freeman Interview

This year’s winners are:

Legacy Award – Dr. Nyle Wollenhaupt, Plant Scientist, Minnetonka, MN
As a Plant Scientist, Nyle has always led first with the scientific approach to variable rate application: applying only what is needed and when, while determining those amounts based upon proven science. He has worked with farmers and custom applicators from the earliest concepts of statistical-based soil sampling to development of hardware and software tools. This allowed agronomists to add their local knowledge of agronomic practices and techniques in forms that enhanced agronomic value to their customers through practicing variable rate application of fertilizers, soil amendments and plant protection products. As additional support for using these field techniques, Wollenhaupt has worked closely with yield monitors and precision farming tools that assist in quantifying and substantiating the economic value of precision farming.

Farmer Award – Dan Forgey, Farm Manager, Gettysburg, SD
Dan Forgey is the agronomy manager at Cronin Farms, an 8,500 acre crop and cow-calf operation located in central South Dakota. He has been a no-till expert for 19 years growing spring wheat, winter wheat, corn, sunflowers, soybeans, field peas, and lentils as cash crops and numerous cover crops. He manages land for forage production for a 750 beef cow/calf operation and 12 different rotations over the 8,500 acres. Dan was a founding member of the Upper Midwest Space Consortium at the University of North Dakota. UMAC provides remote sensing (RS) imagery and collaborates with farmers to develop RS agriculture applications. He has been using RS and yield monitor data to create management zones for corn and wheat since 2003. Recently, Dan added real time kinetic (RTK) technology to map field elevations that now includes elevation to delineate zones.

Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur Award – Dave Nerpel, Director of Field Technology, Warden, WA
Dave Nerpel translates industry innovations into services for the Wilbur-Ellis Company. With his understanding of services, web-based record keeping, and telematics, Dave became the foundation of its AgVerdict program. Nerpel has a vision for the future which is coming into play as the industry recognizes that the concept of singular tools on one computer is being trumped by web-based systems that can be accessed simultaneously from multiple locations for system-wide program. Wilbur-Ellis’ AgVerdict is driving a new level of integrated solutions to a variety of needs. From proof of concept to commercial adoption, Dave has contributed to the development of multi-product rate control, software, hardware, the proliferation of high-accuracy GPS applications and steering control, moisture sensors, desktop to web-based geo-spatial records, and telematics.

Agriculture Educator/Researcher Award – Scott Beck, Atlanta, IN
Scott Beck manages and directs the Practical Farm Research facilities that promote agronomic and precision ag technologies and developments. A key goal for Beck and his group is to demonstrate new practices, including precision ag technologies, which allow growers to get a first hand view and understanding on how precision ag technology works. It also helps growers to determine if they will work for their farming operation before any capital investments are made. Scott’s Practical Farm Research program is currently testing the use of weather stations in conjunction with fungicide applications, particularly with soybeans. The program is trying to build a model to determine when it may be the best agronomic time to spray fungicides to achieve optimum performance and profitability.

Ranking Canada’s fastest-growing companies by five-year revenue growth, the PROFIT 200 profiles the country’s most successful growth companies.

Farmers Edge received similar accolades in 2010, when it was recognized as the number one fastest-growing company in Manitoba. Co-founders Wade Barnes and Curtis MacKinnon were also named Business Development Canada’s Young Entrepreneurs of the Year for Manitoba in 2009.

Farmers Edge offers complete land management solutions, from project development and crop planning to operations and harvest management. Farmers Edge offers advanced agronomy solutions, using a balance of traditional agronomy and new technology to provide value to the grower as well as the environment. To learn more about Farmers Edge, please visit www.FarmersEdge.ca.

Bertini is best known for her work as Executive Director of World Food Program for the United Nations. She used her 2003 World Food Prize proceeds to start the Catherine Bertini Trust Fund for Girls’ Education at the Friends of the World Food Program, and she has been active with many other development programs including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Humanitarian Forum.

An award presentation will occur at a breakfast co-hosted by CropLife Foundation and CAST as a side event at the World Food Prize Symposium on October 12, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. The Borlaug CAST Communication Award honors the legacies of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug and Dr. Charles A. Black, the first president of CAST. Catherine Bertini continues the tradition of communicating the importance of science and agriculture in a world dependent on safe, affordable food. As she said, we must all “support the needs of poor farmers throughout the developing world.”

AquaLiv scientists have been performing agriculture enhancement studies in Japan for over ten years. AgSmart™ has proven to vastly increase the yields and quality in several crops without chemicals or genetic manipulation. The company claims AgSmart™ is the only agriculture biotechnology solution that is also natural and organic standards compliant.

“Our rice study demonstrated a 100% yield increase on a scientist managed plot and a 32% yield increase on a working commercial farm who agreed to implement our technology,” stated AquaLiv CEOCraig Hoffman. “These increases indicate significant value to both farms and global food production.”

Based on AquaLiv’s BioT™ Bioinformation Technology, AgSmart™ maximizes crop potential by accelerating plants’ natural adaptivity while exposing them to a frequency-based information composite. The information composite includes local environment data (climate, pests, diseases) and traits of other species generally only available through hybridization. AgSmart™ does not involve the actual hybridization of plants nor does it utilize genetic manipulation.

With its territory already blanketing the entire state of Illinois and quickly expanding in states like Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Wisconsin and the Dakotas, MyWay RTK executives sought a proven industry expert to oversee the company’s continued growth.

As General Manager, Hill’s primary role will be facilitating the expansion of the MyWay RTK territory and working with industry representatives to implement the latest MyWay RTK offerings.

The awards are given in the following categories:

• Educator/Researcher Of The Year
• Legacy Award
• Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur Of The Year
• Farmer Of The Year

Award nominations must be submitted by a sponsor — any individual or individuals, company, or organization. Nominees can be working with precision technology anywhere in the world. Nominations can be made electronically or via downloadable entry form. Entries will be reviewed and scored by a three-judge panel based on the criteria indicated on the nomination forms. Winners will be invited to attend a special ceremony in their honor at the InfoAg Conference, July 12-14, 2011. Winners receive a full conference registration and are provided hotel accommodations for one night at the Crowne Plaza.

Deadline for entries is April 30. More information is available from PrecisionAg here.

According to State Conservationist Dr. William Puckett, the Precision Farming Incentive is designed to encourage the adoption of variable-rate application of nutrients and pesticides and promote the use of GPS-enabled precision agricultural technology and equipment. The goals of the incentive include improving water quality by targeting areas for reduced nutrient and pesticide application, reducing runoff and leaching of pesticides, enhancing soil quality through reduced erosion and soil compaction and energy conservation through accurate and efficient application of crop inputs. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) is partnering on this initiative.

Annually planted cropland in 38 Alabama counties – about half the state – is eligible for the incentive and April 29 is the batching period cutoff date for selecting applications for funding.

I don’t know if there are other states offering this initiative. I did some searching on the national NRCS site and around but Alabama is the other one I could find specifically offering this program, but it does sound like a good way to help especially smaller or disadvantaged farmers to make that initial investment in using technology that helps the environment while saving time and money for producers.

Kevin says there are two models, the 1023E and 1026R, which are customer designed and will accept a full range of implements. One of those is a mid mount mower deck that allows the operator to drive over it and auto connect! Also important is an auxiliary power outlet so you can keep your mobile phone charged while you’re mowing or working. They’ll be available in John Deere dealers soon.

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

The event started off with a dynamic presentation by Purdue University economist Dr. Mike Boehlji, who discussed the good news of demand for exports and biofuels, as well as the challenges for meeting that demand.

One of Dr. Boehlji’s main points is that American agriculture is facing increasing competition from other countries, so farmers need to become increasingly efficient by thinking in terms of biological manufacturing. “We’re increasingly thinking about farming the way you think about a manufacturing process,” he said. “We’re using GPS technology to not only monitor what the yield is across the field, but we’re actually using it now to change the rate of application in fertilizer and chemicals. We’re using that technology to find out where the wet spots are. We’re using a lot of information technology, we’re using sensing technology more, we’re using a better nutritional technology.” Process control technologies, like irrigation control, as well as auto steer tractors, and of course improved hybrids all contribute to running agricultural operations more like manufacturing operations.

Hear more in my interview with Dr. Boehlji here: Mike Boehlji 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.

By using GPS, we can dramatically improve efficiency.  It allows us to reduce overlap, increase speed and decrease operator fatigue.  This saves a bunch on inputs (fuel, seed, fertilizer, labor etc.) and helps us get more out of the very expensive equipment we run over our fields.  At the same time, we’re able to be a little gentler on our environment too! Below is a little video of a common device.

Check out his video here.

Our Precision Pays reporters were busy in 2010, posting a total of 308 stories, including 54 with audio interviews or podcasts and 15 YouTube videos. The most popular YouTube video of the year was the unveiling of the Chip Foose designed John Deere tractor at Commodity Classic, which has been viewed nearly 13,000 times. Other top videos of the year including the unveiling of the New Holland T8 & T9 Tractors, Opening Day at National Farm Machinery Show, AG CONNECT Expo Preview, and AgLeader at AG CONNECT Expo.

According to page views, the most popular stories of the year on Precision Pays were:

John Deere Unveils Chip Foose Tractor
Slingshot from Raven at AG CONNECT Expo
How CORS Network Can Fit Precision Farming
John Deere Launches New Precision Technologies
New AgLeader Vacuum Planter Electric Row Shutoff

Thanks to our readers, our sponsors and clients, our freelancers and other friends for making 2010 great! Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed 2011!

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It only takes about three minutes to fill out the survey – PrecisionPays Survey – so do it today and make Precision Pays pay off for you!

“Current projections are that the food supply will need to double over the next 30 years to feed the ever-increasing demands of the global population,” said Jim Schultz, founder of Open Prairie Ventures. “If we are going to increase our food supply by 100% in the next thirty years, this demand for growth will be fueled by safe agricultural technologies that increase crop yields on less land.”

Schultz believes that technological improvements in the last thirty years which have improved agricultural productivity are only the beginning. Among the most important areas Open Prairie Ventures has identified for future technology developments in agriculture are Quality Control Processes; New market developments; Reduced labor costs; Improved production processes; Reduced environmental damage; and Reduced energy consumption.

Combining the county agent as the traditional source of information with the internet is eXtension.org, an interactive learning environment offering researched-based knowledge from experts at 74 different universities across the country. The site includes resource areas from farming to community planning and features professional educators with expertise in those topics to provide online learning opportunities.

Check it out – eXtension.org,.

Dave Petheram of Elmira Farm Service says they’ve gone from selling about a hundred thousand dollars worth of the equipment five years ago to around 2 million dollars worth this year.

Joe Ertl has personally autographed each of the numbered John Deere B 1/16 scale toy tractors for the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Foundation. This unique tractor was specifically designed for NAFB and includes a mounted replica of a tractor radio. Only 200 of these tractors have been produced to benefit the NAFB Foundation. Numbers 6-200 have been made available to the public for sale while the first five were auctioned live during the NAFB Convention earlier this month. Only a few are left for sale.

The price per tractor is $85 plus shipping and handling and orders can be made online.

The NAFB Foundation is the nonprofit charitable and educational arm of NAFB that works to keep the quality and viability of the farm broadcasting profession and industry at the highest level through the support of NAFB education, marketing and research activities, annual student scholarships and internship grants to stations and networks.

I found this poem online that gives good reasons to give thanks today for those who produce the food, fuel and fiber that we all enjoy:

I’m Just a Farmer, Plain and Simple
By Bobby Collier

I’m just a farmer,
Plain and simple.
Not of a royal birth
But rather, a worker of the earth.
I know not of riches
But rather, of patches on my britches
I know of drought and rain,
Of pleasure and pain.
I know of the good and the bad,
The happy and the sad.
I am a man of emotions.
A man who loves this land,
And the beauty of its sand.
I know of a spring’s fresh flow
And autumn’s golden glow,
Of a newborn calf’s hesitation,
And the eagle’s destination.
I know of tall pines,
And long, waiting lines.
Of the warmth of campfires,
And the agony of flat tires.
But I am a man who loves his job
And the life I live.
I am a man who works with God,
I cannot succeed without his help,
For you see,
I’m just a farmer
Plain and simple.

In a November 14 address, the pope said that “the process of industrialization has often overshadowed the agricultural sector, which, while also drawing benefit from modern technologies, has nevertheless lost importance, with notable consequences, even at the cultural level. I believe that this is the moment for the reevaluation of agriculture, not in a nostalgic sense, but as an indispensable resource for the future.”

Calling for a “new balance between agriculture, industry and services,” Pope Benedict noted the importance of the agricultural sector for employment. “More than a few young people have already chosen this path; also many professionals are returning to dedicate themselves to the agricultural enterprise, feeling that they are responding not only to a personal and family need, but also to a “sign of the times,” to a concrete sensibility for the common good.”

Amen!

Among the items they have for sale on-line are hats, hooded sweatshirts, t-shirts (youth & adult), tote bags, travel mugs – and the collectible IH544 toy tractor with a 2-point mounted sickle mower is available for the first time ever. The tractor is being sold exclusively through the 2011 Marathon County Farm Tech Days and only 1,000 will be produced. Proceeds will support the 2011 Marathon County Farm Tech Days. The only catch with the tractor is that you can buy it now, but it will not be available until the show in July.

Wisconsin Farm Technology Days is the largest agriculture exposition in Wisconsin that showcases the latest improvements in production agriculture. Each year, the three day event is held in a different Wisconsin county on a different host family farm. With over 600 exhibitors, the show draws 60,000 agriculture and rural visitors from Wisconsin and surrounding states.

The July 12-14, 2011 show will be held at the Ken & Karen Seehafer farm north of Marshfield. The 3rd generation family farm was originally purchased by Ken’s grandfather in 1930 consisting of 80 acres. The farm grew to 200 acres by Ken’s parents, Alma and Elmer Sr., and were milking 36 cows when Ken joined the operation in l968. He purchased the farm in 1972 and it continued to change throughout the years to its existing 750 acres owned plus 100 rented and 250 milking cows.

Here’s all you need to do. Click on this link to complete the survey that will help the blogging team bring you more stories that are of interest to you. Once you’ve answered all the questions, enter to win $250 in cash. Each month, one winner will be chosen from all of the survey’s entrants. Non winners will be put into the drawing for the next month so there is no need to fill out the survey multiple times.

And while you’re at it, send us your thoughts on our monthly poll question. Which precision farming tools do you currently use in your farm operations? You can sound off by posting a comment to this story, or sending your response to PPPoll@hotmail.com. Select answers will be used in an upcoming story for the blog.

Ready to win?  Then click here to begin.

So what you’re encouraged to do is go to the webpage where you’ll find images for your Twitter accounts and other web purposes. Tweet with the hashtag, #foodthanks, especially on November 24.

Remember that all this week is National Farm-City Week, always the week before Thanksgiving, to celebrate the important partnership between farm and urban residents in providing the nation with a bounty of food, fiber, fuel and a growing list of other other products. Chuck Zimmerman, president of World Dairy Diary’s parent company ZimmComm New Media, took part in a panel discussion to kick off Farm City Week held Thursday in Lancaster, PA. The panel addressed the urban media’s coverage of agriculture in the annual Farm-City Week Symposium “Agriculture: A Growing Story” and explored ways to promote the positive news about farming and ranching.

The symposium was broadcast live on AgriTalk and can be viewed here:

The museum assembled and used the 77 foot wide plow at the Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede. The first plowing pass used five 30-60 E Rumely steam tractors to pull the monster plow across a field north of the Reunion grounds. Then they used a single 535 HP New Holland 4 wheel drive tractor with ATI tracks to see if modern agriculture could compete with century old technology – and it did quite well!

“We were excited to break the record for the world’s largest usable plow with 30-60 E Rumely OilPull tractors as they originally created this record in 1911,” said Erron Leafloor, the plow’s chief engineer.

See more photos from the event on Facebook and read more about it from the World Records Academy. Pretty cool!

A great feature for the Kansas City Star spotlights precision farmers with an appropriate sense of awe. “The final frontier isn’t space, but the corn, soybean and wheat fields of the Midwest. Farmers across the heartland are using GPS-based precision agriculture to boost efficiency, increase yields and protect the environment.”

That includes tractors that drive themselves and tell when they need service, instantaneous wireless communications for marketing, and data management tools.

Someone who has not set foot on a farm in the past decade or so probably would be surprised at how high-tech farming has become. The change is similar to the way personal GPS devices have replaced road atlases for navigation. “If you know where you are going, GPS will direct you there,” said Barry Nelson, manager of media relations for John Deere at its marketing center in Lenexa. “Research shows that in the past, a farmer may have as much as a 10 percent overlap in field operations. By using a GPS system, a farmer can get to sub-inch accuracy and eliminate that overlap. This reduces the number of passes over the field, which saves fuel, makes better use of horsepower, and reduces the environmental footprint and operator fatigue.”

Nice article!

Much is being made about this year’s election, with many calling it one of the most significant in our lifetime. Fact is, every election year is significant. Voting is the single most important act we can perform as citizens of a free country.

Take advantage of it and VOTE – NOW!