Precision Pays

As the dog days of summer heat up and are still delivering too much rain in many areas of the central Corn Belt, it’s a good time to pull out the combine manual and start gearing up for Midwest corn and soybean harvest.

We spoke this week with Nick Ohrtman, technical support supervisor at Ag Leader Technology, who provided a good pre-harvest checklist that works fairly universally no matter what Ag Leader display you operate. And these same philosophies will work with other monitors; just get the specific details from your operator’s manual.

1. If you haven’t already, create a backup of your spring and summer information.
2. Make sure your display firmware, manual and all connected modules are up-to-date. Find them on the Ag Leader website under Customer Support.
3. If you have purchased a new combine or new heads, create new configurations for any setup that is different from last fall. Remove all old configurations.

Inspect the Combine and Components
1. Check to make sure all cables are properly attached and in good condition.
2. Remove flow sensor and inspect for damage.
3. Check the elevator deflector and impact plate for wear. Verify you have the proper clearance at the top of the clean grain elevator. Clearance should be between 3/8- and 5/8-inch.

Sensor Calibrations—Before going to the field
For step-by-step instructions on how to do these calibrations, consult the Grain Harvest section of the display manual.

1. Calibrate stop height. This will set the height when the display stops recording harvested area as the header is raised at the end of the pass. Stop height calibration is required for each grain type.
2. Run a distance calibration. This will calibrate the ground speed sensor connected to the display. Note: If you are using GPS speed as the primary speed sensor, you will still need to calibrate the backup sensor. Measure off 200-400 feet, drive that distance and record any difference in length.
3. Calibrate temperature. This will set the temperature offset to help provide a correct moisture reading.
4. Run a vibration calibration. The vibration calibration is used to compensate for the amount of force that is being measured by the flow sensor with no grain flow.

Sensor Calibrations—In the field
1. Calibrate moisture. This will set the moisture offset to help provide accurate moisture and yield readings. Moisture calibration is required for each grain type. Take 4-8 samples from a wagon/truck load, then plug in the average reading.
2. Calibrate grain weight. This is critical, and you need to run four to six smaller loads (in the 3,000 to 6,000 lb. range) at varying field speeds, so enlist your nearest weigh wagon owner. If done correctly, this will provide accurate yield readings across all flow ranges. Calibration is required each year and for each grain type. If your average harvest speed is 4.5 mph, then make sure you run loads at 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5 and a maximum speed. And with Ag Leader displays, you can do this at any time during harvest, because once calibrated it will back calibrate any harvest data already completed.

Have a safe harvest season.

Visit these links for more information.

Product Manuals – http://www.agleader.com/customer-support/product-manuals/

June Insights Newsletter – http://www.agleader.com/media-center/insights-newsletter/

After a season spent trying to protect yield, we all know the view from the combine seat is judgment day for hybrids, varieties and assorted management decisions. Watching that yield monitor as you open up fields gets more focused viewership than the alma mater versus the big rival on a football Saturday.

Like flat screen TVs, precision ag monitors keep getting better with more features. Thanks to software improvements, you can even watch yields as they shift among hybrid locations in the field. Ag Leader recently upgraded their SMS desktop software so it can import planting data from various planter monitor brands to export as reference files to the INTEGRA display.

“The SMS software’s ability to translate data from almost any brand of planter monitor and export it into our INTEGRA display is a great tool, as it allows the varieties to show up as different colors during harvest on the display, as well as to be used for variety tracking,” says Corey Weddle, director of software solutions for Ag Leader.

Before, if two monitors were used to plant and only one of those monitors is used for harvest, you couldn’t combine the planting data from both monitors into one. “SMS Basic and SMS Advanced Version 10.0 software can handle that task,” he says. “And it’s a simple, straight forward process to export the data.”

Read more about it here: http://precisionpays.com/2010/07/watch-hybrid-and-variety-harvest-results-in-real-time/

Visit these links for more information.

SMS Software http://www.agleader.com/products/software/

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

Yield Monitoring http://www.agleader.com/products/yield-monitor/

Long known as the pioneer of the yield monitor, Ag Leader continues to gives farmers greater features as they roll out new hybrid/variety maps for its INTEGRA display. Now farmers can see hybrid and variety results in real time during harvest.

“For a long time growers have used our yield monitor to compare varieties at harvest. However, the field had to be harvested with the same display that planted the field to see the variety map in real time,” says New Business Development Manager, Roger Zielke. “I’m happy to say this added feature gives our customers a solution, regardless of their planting display. SMS-compatible data can be read into the software to create a reference file. That file is then loaded on to the INTEGRA display to show the variety map at harvest.”

Using SMS software to generate variety maps helps farming operations with multiple precision ag displays or mixed fleets of precision ag equipment in the operation.

“We take great pride in the number of precision ag products SMS can read and manage data from. Now we can integrate variety map data from multiple collection devices and make those maps available on the INTEGRA display to use in harvest operations,” says Corey Weddle, Director of Software Solutions. “Users with the following precision ag equipment brands can take advantage of this feature: Ag Leader, AGCO ISO-based displays, Case IH, DICKEY-john, Flexicoil, John Deere, KINZE, Mid-Tech, New Holland, Raven, RDS, Trimble and any ISO11783 display using the XML file format. That’s an extensive list; we’re excited to facilitate this data exchange among multiple brands in order to help growers get the most benefit from their precision ag equipment.”

This new feature is available in the recent INTEGRA firmware release, Version 1.5; SMS Basic or SMS Advanced Version 10.0 (released in May) is required to export hybrid/variety reference maps to the INTEGRA display. The update is available for existing INTEGRA owners to download at www.agleader.com, under “Customer Support”.

Cutting input costs are driving more growers to invest in precision agriculture and guidance systems. And once they have auto steer available, they are finding ways to use it they had not considered, such as mowing hay, says Amy Winstead, Auburn University, in a recent Southeast Farm Press story.

“In the last year or two, we’ve seen large increases in first-time buyers of precision agriculture technology. These have included livestock producers, forage producers and row-crop producers.

“The increasing cost of inputs has caused everyone to think about how they can save money, and precision agriculture figures into that.”

The benefits of using guidance systems are numerous, she says.

“It decreases skips and overlaps — that’s one of the biggest advantages. It also minimizes driver error and eliminates guess rows. In row crop situations, we’ve seen up to an 8.5 percent decrease in overlapping. In a pasture situation, we would expect that to be much higher because you obviously would have no rows to go by.”

A guidance system increases efficiency, allowing the grower to operate at faster field speeds. “You can cover more area with fewer hours of operation, and you’re able to reduce per-acre fuel consumption because you reduce overlaps in the field,” says Winstead.

To learn more about non-cash benefits, ease of use and costs, read the story.

Added features to existing precision farming monitors can truly benefit owners and prospective buyers alike. Such is the case with Ag Leader’s dual product application upgrade for its mid-range, economical EDGE display.

Owners of granular spinner-spreader fertilizer rigs and anyone with a sprayer will benefit thanks to new dual product control. “Fertilizer applicators can now variable-rate apply both P and K, or apply a fertilizer blend along with micronutrients at the same time,” says John Howard, DirectCommand Product Manager with Ag Leader Technology. “The EDGE has the ability to precisely control the speed of the spinners to deliver spread pattern accuracy.”

For sprayers, dual control means you can control both a liquid carrier and a direct-injection pump. “With our DirectCommand system’s AutoSwath control, and the interface to the Raven Sidekick chemical injection pump, growers and retailers gain complete control of both products,” he says.

Howard says that fertilizer retailers who seek an economical monitor with just the right functionality for their needs will be pleased with this new addition to the EDGE display—especially with the auto steering guidance control features added last December. “We continually strive to provide practical and economical solutions, while helping users upgrade as seamlessly as possible.”

Current EGDE display owners can download this firmware upgrade to their monitor. http://www.agleader.com/customer-support/downloads/

For more information, visit
http://www.agleader.com/2010/04/28/ag-leader-adds-dual-product-application-control-to-edge™-display/

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

Difference between EDGE and INTEGRA monitors:
http://www.agleader.com/products/displays/

Agriculture.com, one of the longest running ag websites powered by Successful Farming, has a social network for young and beginning farmers called Farmers For The Future. One of the recent topics centered around precision farming talks about a move into RTK and the CORS network.

The challenge is dealing with all ages and different colors of equipment. Sam asks…We have three green combines 1 newer the 2nd is 10-11 years old and the other is a dinosaur and the newer one being the only one with yield mapping through waas signal using original brown box from JD ( never right ). Next we have 2 Planting tractors both have 20/20 seed sense systems from precision no GPS. Sprayer we have a XLRD 1000 Pull Type pulled by a JD 4430 with a INSight and an EZ-Guide 500 waas signal. Spreader truck we have a Insight along with EZ- Guide Plus. Now I must say that it looks like we just put a down payment on a 06 Apache with auto steer by Raven. Also a new red combine is probably coming this fall 8120 Case and we are talking about buying a new corn planter also.. we put a lot of tile in we bought a tile plow.. No GPS also we have a 8530 JD autosteer ready for doing a lot of tillage and side dressing corn with anhydrous. 9520 T John Deere does a good majority of the tillage and also runs the tile plow. Now you see my situation figure out a plan for that to move into RTK.

Several growers have responded here.  Take a visit and weigh in with your advice.

Give farmers a piece of technology and they find inventive ways to use it to benefit their operation. In the case of Newton, Iowa farmer (and Ag Leader SeedComand product specialist) Will Cannon, it all started with the yield monitor and mapping hybrids.

“I like knowing exactly to a row when hybrids and varieties start and stop—especially when you have to switch near the end of a field—so when you analyze yield results you know why the yields went up or down,” Cannon says. “That practice led to conducting strip trials across whole fields. And I often plug in all my hybrid/variety numbers into the monitor before I head to the field so changing numbers and fields is simple.”

And Will does a lot more than just track yields. “Last year we conducted alternate strips across a field to compare no-till and strip-till soybeans. We set up and mapped alternate passes of strip-till in the fall, came back in the spring, locked in with auto-steer to fertilize and plant into the strips, then no-till plant in-between those passes,” he says.

Cannon likes having all that mapped in the spring, because come harvest he doesn’t have to worry about where the combine is in the field. “I can just harvest and not worry about anything else, because I trust the monitor and data gathering.” Then during post-harvest into winter he crunches data. “I really like the capabilities of the SMS software. There are great tools I can use to select which passes across the field I want to analyze and compare. And I learned a lot about what tillage systems work best in specific fields.”

Another data layer is tracking his refuge management acres. I see this as becoming more and more important, as different hybrids change percentage of refuge acres, plus if I get audited I can direct them exactly to where they need to take tissue samples. And exact location is a big help if I need to apply insecticides on those acres,” he says.

Cannon continues to be impressed with the flexibility built into today’s software and data recording capabilities. “You have a lot of features to document things, so you don’t have to remember it all. And as more growers learn the capabilities, they figure out new ways to use it—because what appeals to one grower may be the opposite of what another guy wants. And the history of data that you build up is invaluable in the future.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more information:
North American ISOBUS Implementation Task Force

As I talk to many growers about their adoption of precision farming equipment and tools, I always like to find out what technology they could eliminate from their operation—if they were forced to give up something.

Well, as you can probably guess, almost everyone who has auto steer would never go back to steering again. Who can blame them. However, the other day I spoke with central Ohio grower Gary Piper, who told me, “I’d give up auto steer in favor of my planter row control.”

This Centerburg producer, who farms 5,400 acres with his two brothers, just finished his third season using Ag Leader SeedCommand on their Insight monitor that controls Tru Count clutches on their 16-row planter. Piper admits to being skeptical when he first installed the units—about the reliability of the clutches and how soon he might recover his investment. But he figured with smaller, odd-shaped fields, ‘like one 24-acre field with eight corners,’ that it would pay off eventually and help control costs.

“The first year running them, I was very impressed. I saw first hand the results since I do all the corn planting. It wasn’t just the seed savings, but it really improved harvestability not having to deal with doubled-up rows that combine like a weed patch,” Piper says.

One-year payoff. It wasn’t until last year that he kept track of exactly how much seed he saved. “After planting 2,500 acres, we saved 38 bags, or about $7,600 worth of triple-stack hybrids—enough to easily pay for it in one year. And with SmartStax hybrids running $300-$350 this coming year, you can save even more.

Another benefit he liked had to do with comfort, under weather-stressed times. “Last spring we had challenging weather, which forced us to spend three long nights running the planter. As an operator I could not have physically done that and still kept the precision I demand—which the SeedCommand gave me.”

Yield loss. The other savings not often considered is yield loss from double-planted rows. “I never realized how dramatic that can be until I helped a neighbor combine last fall, who had double planted point rows—and I watched the yield monitor drop to about one-third the normal yield.”

After hearing that, one begins to understand why Gary won’t part with his planter row control system. Just plain common sense.

If you’re interested in a precision agriculture decision-making spreadsheet tool developed by Kansas State, look under ‘Decision-Making Tools’ called KSU-GPSguidance at this link:
http://www.agmanager.info/farmmgt/machinery/default.asp

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

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

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

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

“We have numerous training session options:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other resources:

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

How to Choose a Crop Consultant (Citrus & Vegetable)

How to Choose Your Crop Consultant (AgProfessional)

What a Consulting Engineer Can Do For You

National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants

American Society of Agricultural Consultants

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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

Lindsay Adds Remote Irrigation Pump Control

Trimble Adds Harvest Capabilities to Monitor

Ag Leader Welcomes Dealers To New Facility

Leica Offers Cost-Effective Lightbar Guidance

New RTK Module Receives Tower or Cell Signals

Topcon Launches On-The-Go Crop Nutrient Sensor

Six New Products From Ag Leader Technology

Raven Buys Interest in SST Software

Trimble Adds Modem To Enhance RTK Signal

Take Command of Planting With SureStop

New SMS Software From Ag Leader Technology

Deere Adds New AutoTrac Guidance Products

Trimble Expands Capabilities of FmX Display

Trimble Buys Farm Works Software

Trimble Acquires NTech and Greenseeker Technology

Deere Dealers To Offer Raven Products

Smart Nozzles Aid Precision Application

Raven Adds Planter and Sprayer Control

New GreenSeeker Precision Products To Save Fertilizer

Trimble and Tru Count Increase ROI

Technology Makes 120-Foot Planter Possible

Growers Learn More About APEX Software

RowSense Makes Sense

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November
Think About Saving Seed Input Dollars In 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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