Precision Pays

Leica Geosystems released the Leica mojoXact, the new high accuracy upgrade option for the Leica mojo3D guidance display, as well as further features for the Leica mojo3D and Leica SteerDirect. The new features include an improved look and feel, better product usability, more accuracy options and an increased coverage of Leica SteerDirect vehicle support.

Leica mojoXact
The latest RTK upgrade option for the Leica mojo3D has been designed around accuracy and ease of use. It allows users to install the product in any orientation inside the tractor cab. Integration to the Leica mojo3D and configuration only takes a few minutes. The robust product comes with class leading GNSS and inertial positioning technology for continuous precision and offers additional steering solutions like Leica SteerDirect CAN, Steer Ready Kit (SRK) and Hydraulic for further improvements to accuracy. With a steering update rate at 20Hz, twice as fast as the industry standard, the Leica SteerDirect steering solution enables exceptional steering performance at all speeds.

Leica mojo3D
The guidance display has undertaken improvements to reform the look and feel of the menu and to further increase the usability. Users are now able to save and recall vehicle setups (valid for vehicles, implements and sections) and to replay any saved guidance pattern. Operating the Leica mojo3D with the Leica mojoXact and a hydraulic kit now offers stationary and reverse auto-steer engage for selected vehicle configurations. In addition network DGPS is now available providing an accuracy improvement where a corrected position is required.

Leica SteerDirect
Updates to the Leica SteerDirect hydraulic solution proceed with three more kits covering an additional range of vehicles.

For more information about Leica Geosystems agriculture products visit www.AgGuidance.com.

AGCO is pleased to bring the AES-25 Accurate Electric Steering Wheel and the System 150 automated steering system to the market for use on select self-propelled windrowers from Hesston by Massey Ferguson and Challenger. These auto-steering products provide hay and small-grains producers with the most accurate and simple-to-operate assisted steering available in the industry for self-propelled windrowers.

Field demonstrations show these steering systems work together to reduce overlap and allow windrower operation at faster speeds, helping operators cut as much as 7 to 10 percent more hay each day than with manual steering. In fact, at the 2-centimeter accuracy level, which results in virtually no overlap, operators were able to harvest as much as 155 acres in a 10-hour day when using a 16-foot sickle-bar head, resulting in fewer passes across the field, reduced fuel use, and less operator stress and fatigue.

Free System 150 and AES-25 steering system with purchase of new SP windrower
Five popular windrower series may be equipped with the AES-25 and System 150 including Hesston Series 9000 and 9005 self-propelled windrowers from Massey Ferguson and the Challenger SP110, SP115 and SP185 Series machines. Producers considering purchasing new Tier 3-compliant machines from dealer stock and the auto-steering package will want to take advantage of purchase incentives. The offer includes a free System 150, AES-25 electric steering wheel kit and a self-propelled windrower field installation kit with the purchase of a new Challenger self-propelled windrower or Hesston by Massey Ferguson self-propelled windrower between April 1 and June 30, 2011.

Precision agriculture is playing a much larger role in helping potato growers become more sustainable, according to a recent story in Spudman.

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…

If tree lines or other obstacles sometimes cause dropped signals, you may benefit from the Russian global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) that Ag Leader’s ParaDyme automated steering system will now support.

“The main advantage GLONASS capability will offer ParaDyme users is longer run-time without losing signal due to coverage interruptions or low GPS satellite availability,” says GPS and Guidance Product Manager, Matt Leinen. “This feature will be especially beneficial to our growers that often lose satellite signal due to tree lines or other field obstacles; additional satellite availability will help them maintain a GNSS signal and keep running.”

GLONASS support is the latest functionality added to the ParaDyme automated steering system. The ParaDyme can be controlled through Ag Leader’s EDGE or INTEGRA display, and features remote service and the ability to receive RTK differential correction signals via cellular network. The ParaDyme automated steering system benefits include sub-inch accuracy, increased fuel efficiency, reduced operator fatigue and more.

Trimble offers a new Field-IQ system that controls and monitors seed and fertilizer delivery capabilities to enhance variable-rate functionality.

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.

Farmers and retailers can track the location of their vehicles with Trimble’s Connected Farm solution, thanks to new Farm Works Dispatch software and its new DCM-300 modem.

The additional functionality provided by a Dispatch service plan offers farm managers a visual tool for organizing fleet movement to save fuel costs and increase equipment efficiency. Through email alerts and on-screen maps, a farm manager can easily track the location of their equipment including sprayers, spreaders, tender trucks and harvesters.

By integrating Trimble GPS and information management solutions, managers can also be notified if vehicles are stolen or moved into unauthorized non-farm areas. The system is compatible with Connected Farm Sync wireless data management software and Trimble VRS Now Ag cellular Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS correction services.

The Dispatch software works with Trimble’s Sync wireless data management and goes beyond simple vehicle tracking by also allowing the transfer of A-B lines, yield and application maps, work orders and other maps between vehicles and back to the farm office. This creates efficiency during busy production times such as tillage, fertilizing, planting, spraying and harvest.

“Dispatch software was designed to give farm managers an all-in-one solution for tracking the movement and productivity of their machinery fleet,” said Erik Arvesen, vice president and general manager for Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “With more information at their fingertips, it will be easier for managers to see where additional efficiency can be gained. These capabilities can mean more efficient production, less wear and tear on equipment, or more efficient use of inputs such as fuel, fertilizer and chemicals.”

The Trimble Farm Works Dispatch asset tracking software is expected to be available in March 2011. Contact a local Trimble dealer at www.trimble.com/locator for more information.

An new multi-use DCM-300 modem from Trimble provides access to its VRS RTK signal plus handle wireless data transfer between field and farm or retailer office.

The new modem can be used to access Trimble VRS Now Ag RTK correction service and to enable Connected Farm wireless field data transfer. The DCM-300 modem is also compatible with the new Farm Works Dispatch asset tracking software, an expansion of the Connected Farm solution. Dispatch software uses wireless communications and Global Positioning System (GPS) to manage vehicle movement and productivity.

The DCM-300 modem is available in two models for use on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) cellular networks, such as AT&T, or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular networks, such as Verizon. The modem is available with a single data plan subscription, which will be provided by Trimble, offering farmers a cost-saving solution to consolidate data plans under one subscription.

The DCM-300 offers efficient access to both Connected Farm and VRS Now RTK sub-inch accurate correction service. Job orders, coverage maps and A-B lines may be transferred wirelessly to multiple vehicles in different locations for follow-up operations, or within the same field for accurate overlap protection. Farmers can save time without the need to hand-deliver electronic data cards or jump drives from the farm office.

“The DCM-300 is an expansion of Trimble’s goal to continue to develop solutions that simplify a variety of farming applications taking place, often simultaneously,” said Erik Arvesen, vice president and general manager for Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “The new modem enhances the data transfer and guidance capabilities of the Trimble FmX integrated display as well as the CFX-750 touch screen display, putting the Connected Farm within reach of anyone who has a reliable wireless data carrier signal.”

The Trimble DCM-300 modem is expected to be available in March 2011. Contact a local Trimble dealer at www.trimble.com/locator for more information.

Topcon, which recently launched its new System 350 that features the new all-in-one X30 control console and its AGI-3 receiver for autosteering, has formed a strategic relationship with DICKEY-john.

DICKEY-john, based in Auburn, Illinois, serves the agriculture, off-road equipment, public works and analytical instrumentation industries worldwide. They will be adding Topcon’s revolutionary X30 machine control display as a next-generation console to their current product line-up. The X30 is a virtual terminal that offers complete compatibility, not only with DICKEY-john sensors, monitors and control systems, but also any ISO 11783 compliant product.

Ray O’Connor, Topcon president and CEO, said, “DICKEY-john is a globally recognized company with an exemplary reputation for its expertise in planting and application control. The company is well known for their reliable sensor technology and dedication to customer service; the X30 will be a strong addition to their industry recognized product line. We are excited to work closely with this first-class company on mutually rewarding programs and projects.”

DICKEY-john’s vice president of marketing, Art Tsubaki, stated, “Topcon’s strength in technology, such as ruggedized virtual terminals, GPS and steering technology, provides another product option for our customers. Our ISO tradition and expertise, in combination with the X30, provide a great platform for OEM and aftermarket opportunities.”

The X30 console has a large (12.1 inch) display with an icon-based user interface, dashboard and interaction keypad for ease of use.

Its prominent features include:

– Compatibility with DICKEY-john control ECU’s

– Autosteering using the Topcon AGI-3 receiver

– ISO virtual terminal compatible

– Manual guidance via lightbar system

– Coverage mapping, as-applied maps

– Import of XML prescription maps

– 24 languages available

The fourth largest indoor farm show in the country is prepping for it’s 56th annual show in Des Moines, Ia., on February 1-3. It continues to break attendance records now for seven years in a row, with around 19,000 attendees spread out among six floors in the three buildings that comprise the Iowa Events Center (Hy-Vee Exhibit Hall, Wells Fargo Arena and Polk County Convention Complex). This year you’ll find around 640 companies exhibiting their products and services.

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/

Don’t miss the upcoming February 9-10 NeATA conference in Grand Island, Neb., as it promises a technology extravaganza, along with other valuable topics such as precision Nitrogen management, social media, building consumer trust and much more.

The Nebraska Agricultural Technologies Association (NeATA), founded in 2001 by innovative Nebraska farmers, ranchers, agribusiness representatives and the University of Nebraska Extension, has compiled another great conference.

Need a technology makeover? How about using Nitrogen more wisely? Do you want to learn how to tell your story and share your values with consumers? How about learning a better way to select crop genetics? Check out the upcoming program, and book your trip now.

For Facebook users, find NeATA here and add them as a favorite.

Leica Geosystems just launched a full suite of new products for steering guidance, as well as new features to its mojo3D and mojoMINI displays.

Leica’s SteerDirect Solutions. With many new SteerDirect solutions available, Leica Geosystems now steers a broad range of tractors, combines and sprayers across all major brands.

The new SteerDirect Hydraulic option is a compact, integrated solution designed to work with the Leica mojoRTK auto-steer console. This unique hydraulic kit was designed with a number of cost-saving features, including a single bracket and a simplified design to streamline installation – saving time and money.

“When we decided to expand our steering platforms to include a hydraulic solution, we knew we wanted to develop a simple, easy-to-install solution that would be affordable for our customers,” says Rob Doncon, product manager at Leica Geosystems.

New Leica mojo3D. The new Leica mojo3D guidance display has been upgraded with a number of new features, including the new Ultimate Curve guidance option, Boundary Recording, and the ability to upgrade to GLONASS satellites.

The new and improved Leica mojo3D is a smarter precision guidance system designed to help farmers large and small create a customized solution to fit their individual needs.

New Leica mojoMINI. The Leica mojoMINI also has a number of new features, making this entry-level display a must-have for any farm operation. The Leica mojoMINI is a great solution for anyone looking for an affordable way to start saving money in the field by enhancing driver accuracy and reducing overlap. Plus, with new features like Boundary Recording, Coverage Mapping and Continue Field, the Leica mojoMINI is even more useful.

“Adding these new features to the mojo3D and mojoMINI takes these displays to the next level in ag guidance,” says Peter Bailey, product manager at Leica Geosystems. “We’ve worked hard over the past year to deliver some significant new features that make the products easier to use in a wide range of applications.”

To learn more about the available SteerDirect options and all of the Leica Geosystems agriculture products, drive straight to your local dealer or visit us online at www.AgGuidance.com

The Alabama Precision Ag team has compiled three good publications on automatic section control (ASC) for sprayers, planters and spreaders.

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.

Take a look at a story in Indiana Prairie Farmer that selected ten different agricultural technologies of interest this year.

They listed:
- Raven Sling Shot system
- Connected Farm concept
- GSI Binspector
- Grain entrapment rescue tubes
- Votivo nematicide seed treatment
- SmartStax corn
- Agrisure Viptera trait
- Surveillance sunglasses
- Vertical till revolution
- Kixor herbicide technology

Read on to learn why.

GPS/GNSS drift, or how accurate your guidance system is over time, is explained in a new piece on www.AlabamaPrecisionAgOnline.com.

The Alabama Precision Agriculture Team discovered that some users of GPS/GNSS-based technologies were not optimizing the GPS/GNSS correction services for their particular field operations (e.g. using the WAAS correction service for planting). It is imperative to understand the different accuracies associated with GPS/GNSS correction services so one can maximize benefits of their precision ag technologies.

GPS/GNSS Drift
Upon returning to the field, a producer may notice discrepancy between what he/she knows to be the crop row where an AB line was previously established, and where the guidance device is suggesting the AB line is located. WAAS and sub-meter correction services may seem accurate during one field operation but be off-track when the operator returns to the field. This result is because there is typically large ambiguity between pass-to-pass accuracy and year-to-year accuracy or GPS drift.

 GPS/GNSS Drift / Year-To-Year Accuracy (Y2Y) / Long-term Accuracy: Drift can be defined as GPS/GNSS receiver (guidance system) accuracy over time. Causes of drift are changes in satellite configuration, operating near trees or other obstacles, and satellite data errors.

 Pass-to-Pass Accuracy (P2P): Represents the short-term (<15 min.) relative accuracy of a GPS/GNSS receiver but does not necessarily reflect long-term accuracy (which includes drift). One can think of this as the accuracy between adjacent, parallel passes made within 15 minutes of one another.

Since manufacturers typically report pass-to-pass accuracy, it is generally used for equipment purchasing decisions. However, this accuracy may not reveal how the guidance or GPS/GNSS-based system will perform relative to the last operation or over the course of time if previously established AB lines are re-used. This result is especially true when AB lines are established for planting and re-used for harvesting.

As mentioned above, GPS/GNSS drift is largely due to the changing GPS/GNSS satellite constellation patterns used by the guidance device to derive positional information. GPS/GNSS satellites are in continuous motion orbiting the earth twice per day in a repeated pattern. It is assumed that the GPS/GNSS satellite constellation and environmental conditions will not drastically change within a given 15 minute time span, thus derived positions using the same satellite constellation and environmental conditions will be closely correlated relative to each other. However, the GPS/GNSS satellite constellation and atmospheric conditions change over just short time periods resulting in different satellites in varying geometric configurations. Therefore, the magnitude of drift expressed by your device is dependent on the correction service used. Using WAAS, potential range of drift is plus or minus 4.7 feet. With sub-meter accuracy, it’s 2.3 ft.; with decimeter it’s 1.7 ft.; and with RTK it’s 1 inch.

Read on to learn solutions…

In the North Dakota Farm Business Management Program, coordinator Steve Metzger says producers are telling him they are using far less chemicals, saving money and the environment thanks to the tools of precision agriculture, according to a recent story in Farm & Ranch Guide.

“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.