Pioneer Field360 Select Software

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Talia

DuPont Pioneer is bringing the next generation of powerful Web-based field management tools to growers with the introduction of Pioneer Field360 Select software. This new subscription service combines field-by-field data with real-time agronomic and weather information to help growers make informed management decisions.

With a subscription to Pioneer Field360 Select software, growers can transform farm data into timely and actionable information. Multiple digital tools for monitoring and predicting field progress and growth stage, plus interactive field maps come together in the Pioneer Field360 Select software offering.

Pioneer Field360 Select software can provide growers substantial information about a field without the grower ever setting foot on the ground. This program is backed by soil, weather and precipitation data spanning many decades. It is also supported by Pioneer Agronomy Sciences data trials to determine growth stages of Pioneer brand corn hybrids.

Precision Pays Podcast: The future of crop scouting

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Meghan

iPads are becoming a great tool for scouting fields. Purdue Extension has recently released their Corn and Soybean Field Guide in an interactive app format. Bob Nielsen, Purdue Extension corn specialist says the app makes it easier for a farmer to diagnose problems in the field because of the in-depth resources available at their fingertips.

In this Precision Pays Podcast we’ll talk to Kevin Smith – part of the apps development team about how the app can better assist farmers and crop professionals in the field.

Precision Pays Podcast

You can subscribe to the Precision Pays Podcast here.

The Precision Pays Podcast is sponsored by Ag Leader Technology.

Farmers Field Test Monsanto FieldScripts

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Cindy

We first told you about Monsanto’s FieldScripts last fall at Farm Progress Show. Now we will be hearing much more from farmers using it on a trial basis in the field.

This planting season, more than 150 farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota are trialing the first offering from Monsanto’s Integrated Farming SystemsSM (IFS) research platform – FieldScriptsSM. With FieldScripts planted on more than 8,300 acres in Illinois, Ground Breakers® farmers there are impressed with how FieldScripts revolutionizes variable rate planting.

FieldScripts integrates Monsanto’s understanding of hybrid performance with the data farmers provide about their individual fields to identify the best hybrids and provide a variable rate planting prescription for each field. The process is led by FieldScripts Certified Dealers, delivered through the FieldView® Plus app on the farmer’s iPad®, and executed with precision equipment on the planter.

Ground Breakers farmer Mark Sturtevant in Carroll County, Ill. has planted several fields with FieldScripts and is excited about bringing together Monsanto’s knowledge of hybrid performance in multiple yield environments with the latest planter technologies, “If we can harness this technology, we’ll be able to increase our yield and profit potential. We’re working to put the right seed, at the right amount, on every acre. FieldScripts is a step in the right direction for the industry.”

While many farmers own variable rate planters, there has not been a simple and accurate way to utilize them. Traditionally, variable rate seeding has been based on soil type or normalized yield, but these methods fall short of revealing the true picture of what is happening in the field or providing a means to plant accurately using that information.

FieldScripts allows the farmer to accurately plant a lower seeding rate in lower-yielding areas of the field, and a higher seeding rate at higher yielding areas of the field, maximizing the yield potential of every seed. Monsanto research has shown that FieldScripts delivers a 5-10 bushel per acre yield advantage across the field as a whole, as compared with fields not planted with FieldScripts. In 2014, Monsanto plans to launch FieldScripts that will be delivered to farmers through FieldScripts Certified DEKALB® seed dealers.

WineHawk Labs Becomes Precision Hawk

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Talia

Unmanned aerial systems and remote sensing company Winehawk Labs announced they will release a new model of their successful UAV platform in May of 2013 to coincide with company re-branding. The change in company name, from WineHawk Labs to Precision Hawk, reflects a change in focus from specifically viticulture to broader agriculture where there is a great need for precise data collection and cost-effective platforms for farmers and surveyors.

The new UAV model, the HawkEye Lancaster Mark III, has a fully integrated sensor suite that provides more flexibility in data collection than the previous model. The small and lightweight fixed-wing platform, weighing only three pounds and measuring three feet nose to tail, is completely autonomous, running on the ‘fly and forget’ method. The user-friendly platform allows users to walk out of their back door, toss the platform, wait for it to come back and instantly have the data transfer to a preferred software location. The hyper-intelligent sensors allow for the collection of data on anything from plant research to crop production and protection and account for the current weather conditions to ensure reliable and complete data.

Precision Pays Podcast: Adaptive nitrogen management

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Meghan

What if there was a way to know if too much nitrogen is applied one year or not enough the next year – before the application is ever made?

Cornell University professor of soil science Harold van Es says by utilizing adaptive nitrogen management they’re trying to account for the many factors that influence how much nitrogen a corn crop will actually need.

In this Precision Pays Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology, we’ll talk to Harold van Es of Cornell University about Adapt-N.

Precision Pays Podcast

You can subscribe to the Precision Pays Podcast here.

The Precision Pays Podcast is sponsored by Ag Leader Technology.

New Version Of Cloud-Based Monitoring Software

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Talia

Onset announced a new, enhanced version of the company’s HOBOlink web-enabled software platform that provides 24/7 data access and remote management for Onset’s web-based HOBO U30 data logging systems.

HOBOlink now makes accessing building performance and weather data faster and more convenient than ever. It enables users to schedule automatic delivery of exported data files, in CSV or XLSX format, via email or FTP. And, users now have the flexibility to configure the data export in a highly customized way. For example, a user who has four HOBO U30 systems measuring multiple parameters may configure HOBOlink to automatically export temperature data only – and within a specified time range. This speeds up data analysis time and enables users to focus only on the data that’s important to them.

Backup Today and Don’t Become an April Fool

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Chuck

Happy Easter which is falling on World Backup Day. Have you taken the pledge to back up your data?

The World Backup Day Pledge

I solemnly swear to backup my important documents and precious memories on March 31st. I will also tell my friends and family about World Backup Day – friends don’t let friends go without a backup.

It is very important that you should not only do this today but very regularly. With all the talk we’re hearing about “big data” keep in mind that is only useful if you have it. Catastrophes happen. Don’t let it happen to your data. Here at ZimmComm New Media, we are backup fanatics and archive the masters of all our photos, audio and video files.

I get asked about this quite a bit and have been meaning to write about it. World Backup Day reminded me to get it done.

Here’s our work flow for backing things up.

1. Local computer backups

Each of our computers has a local backup of all data. For our PC’s I have them automatically backup to our shared server. The server is a computer itself that resides on our office network system. We’re currently using an HP Home Server unit that has a capacity of about 4TB of data. Each computer is backed up weekly or in the case of a laptop, whenever it is connected to the network after being on a long road trip. The server has built in syncing software which allows us to create custom settings for each machine’s backup. You can use other software on your computer to sync straight to an external hard drive. I use a program called SyncBack for this.

For our Macs I use Time Machine, which is part of the Mac OSX operating system. Time Machine backs up to a small local hard drive. I have tried many of them and the most reliable seem to be Seagate external hard drives. I travel with one that holds up to 500GB of data. This small hard drive also serves as a great place to temporarily store photos/audio/video until I archive them which I’ll go into later.

Regardless which type of smart phone or tablet you’re using today, this local backup can play an important role with them, not just your computer itself. If you’re using an iPhone or iPad then make sure you sync with iTunes often to keep your device backed up. I can just about guarantee you’ll be glad you did. The same goes with your Android device or whatever you may be using.

2. Cloud computer backups

Besides this local backup we use BackBlaze to back up computer data regardless of being PC or Mac. It is less expensive than other options and very simple to use. Some of those other options include Apple’s iCloud, which I use for syncing all my Mac/iPhone/iPad data, Google Cloud Storage, Dropbox, which we use for sharing all kinds of files easily, and of course services like Carbonite. There are lots of choices for cloud backups today. Their benefits include the fact that your data can be available from anywhere, anytime, if you need it. Continue reading →

Introducing FarmLogs

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Cindy

The minds behind the development of Farmlogs received word that they were getting a financial boost of seed money for the start-up company the week before the recent Iowa Power Farming Show, so they were enthusiastically getting folks to sign up for a one month free trial.

We talked to Co-Founder & CEO Jesse Vollmar (left in photo) at the show, and he said the additional capital is helping expand the company.

“[It will] help build out the team, pick up the pace. We want to reach as many farmers as we can, so the seed funding helps us do that,” Jesse explained.

The rural Michigan native grew up farming, and he said they are finding a way to merge information farmers get in their fields with the public information about other factors that affect their operations. “Pricing data, weather data and how that’s impacting their farm is something we pull all together in one place. A dashboard for farmers to manage all that information online.”

Jesse concludes telling us that you need to farm smart, and that includes smart apps from Farmlogs available to be sent straight to your smartphone. “There’s a lot of decisions that go into being a profitable farmer, and you need to make sure you’re making the right decisions.”

Find out more in this interview with Jesse: Interview with Jesse Vollmar

2013 Iowa Power Farming Show Photo Album

Put Your Data to Work for You

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Cindy

Many farmers who have been adopting precision farming technology over the last 20 years may have a gold mine of data that could help increase productivity – if they just knew how to organize and analyze it.

Luke James with Ag Leader Technology is doing an educational session at the Iowa Power Farming Show today about how farmers can get more value from their data. “Data can be really powerful if you can put it to use,” he says. “Anything that has to do with how something impacted yield – then you can take it even further and look at profitability.”

James says the Ag Leader SMS software can help growers organize and analyze the data collected from the combination of planting, fertilizer, spraying and harvest.

Find out more in this interview: Interview with Luke James

If you’re at the Iowa Power Farming Show you can find out even more by attending the Ag Leader educational session at 11:30 today or by stopping by the Ag Leader booth #831.

2013 Iowa Power Farming Show Photo Album

AgReliant Genetics, LLC uses Sage SalesLogix CRM

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Talia

Sage North America announced AgReliant Genetics, LLC has used a customized version of Sage SalesLogix on iPad tablets to achieve 95% CRM adoption among its 300 sales employees and accelerate its sales and marketing processes. AgReliant Genetics cites Sage SalesLogix as a key contributor to its growth.

AgReliant Genetics markets five seed brands in Midwestern corn and soybean states. Each representative works with a customer base of farmers, dealers and retail operations, traveling approximately 50,000 miles a year while working out of their trucks to service territories. Prior to implementing Sage SalesLogix, sales representatives across all five brands used individual selling processes.

The company’s initial CRM deployment showed management the importance of collecting detailed prospect and customer information, managing seed orders in CRM from its fulfillment system, scoring prospects for sales prioritization, and automating marketing campaigns. However, user adoption was just 5 percent due to the inconvenience of carrying laptops in the field.

FarmLogs Gets Financial Boost

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Chuck

More mobile farm applications are coming. This one from FarmLogs. The company will be exhibiting at this week’s Iowa Power Farming Show.

FarmLogs, the Michigan startup and Y Combinator alum that helps farmers digitally manage their farm to increase profitability, today announced that it has closed a $1 million seed funding round co-led by Huron River Ventures and Hyde Park Venture Partners. Hyde Park Angels, Silicon Badia Ventures, and First-Step Fund participated in the investment along with angel investors. The funding allows FarmLogs to expand its team and to further develop its mobile applications in time for the 2013 planting season.
Launching almost exactly a year ago, the farm management software company has quickly helped modernize farming by bringing critical farm data online. FarmLogs replaces paper record keeping with simple, easy-to-use software that is accessible via smartphone or web browser. With FarmLogs, growers can plan, manage and analyze their farm’s operations in order to increase yield and profitability. The tool allows farmers to quickly forecast and measure profits, track expenses, and more efficiently schedule operations.

“We built a product that my family and other farmers were asking for. Our customers around the world tell us that they could never go back to the old way,” said Jesse Vollmar, CEO and co-founder of FarmLogs. “We are on a mission to create world-changing innovation in agriculture. This funding allows us to accelerate our growth to help even more farmers take advantage of modern technology.”

FarmLogs helps row crop farmers (corn, soybeans, wheat, etc.) save time and gain total visibility into all aspects of the farm in one place. A dashboard gives users a daily snapshot of a farm’s performance, access to maps, calendars, weather conditions, market prices and relevant news. Field activities such as planting, fertilizing, and harvesting can be quickly logged in the web browser, or right from the field using the GPS enabled mobile app. Users can then drill down into their farm’s performance to learn from previous results and use that information to make smarter, more efficient farming decisions.

eMaint CMMS For Your Farm

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Chuck

Have you wondered how to measure the return on decisions you make like the choice in tractor tires? How to keep track of how, when, where you did maintenance on your equipment? eMaint Enterprises has a solution. I learned about it in a conversation with Rona Palmer.

When it comes to farming, eMaint offers farmers a system to keep track of equipment maintenance and it can be scaled from a one user, one tractor operation to a very large fleet operation. The first thing I learned is what CMMS stands for (see below). Rona says the system is very user friendly and that you don’t need a degree in computer management to use their service. Service plans start at $40/month. The service is managed by web browser access which you can do from any internet connected computer or tablet or smartphone. Find out more about how eMaint can help you and your farming operation in my conversation with Rona.

eMaint Enterprises has been providing innovative CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) solutions since 1986. eMaint was one of the first CMMS providers to develop a completely web-based “Software as a Service” (SaaS) model for more rapid implementation at a lower total cost of ownership.

Our growing client-base consists of over 16,000 users worldwide across 1,000 sites ranging from small & medium sized organizations to Fortune 500 corporations including manufacturers, service providers, fleet operators, energy and utility companies, health care facilities, universities, municipalities, and facility and property managers, among others.

Listen to my interview with Rona here: eMaint Software Solution

Harvest Masters Unveiled New Mirus Software at ASTA

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Jamie Johansen

Just last month at the ASTA Seed Expo in Chicago, Harvest Masters by Juniper Systems, announced the release of their new harvest data collection software system they call Mirus.

Cindy spoke with Allen Wilson, Ag Marketing Manager for Harvest Masters, during the event. Allen shared how the two year long process to develop this software resulted in a brand new generation. Not simply a new addition to the previous version.

“The Mirus software that we just released works with our harvest data collection for research combines. It’s a Windows based platform. We have been using Windows mobile, but this is a Windows so it will be running on tablets, Windows XP and Windows 7 & 8. We are in that Windows environment. It is a next generation software to work with our hardware that we previously put out. This is a lot more flexible and easy to use. The operators are now able to see four different screens at one time about their system statues and yield levels. A lot more information available for the operators.”

“The feedback we got back from our beta testers, which were about 20 people that have run our previous software, all said it’s intuitive, it’s easy to use and they don’t have to go struggling through a bunch of different screen to find the information they need or settings to change. It’s a precision piece of equipment so they have to be monitoring it and watching to see if there are changes occurring. It was really over-whelming to hear these people that have used our software say we have made a step forward.”

You can find more information about the release of this new software on a previous post New Mirus Harvest Data Collection Software.

Listen to Cindy’s complete interview with Allen here: Interview with Allen Wilson

Check out photos from ASTA here:
ASTA-CSS Photo Album

New Mirus Harvest Data Collection Software

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Melissa

HarvestMaster announces Mirus harvest data collection software as the latest addition to its research agriculture solutions offering. Mirus is an all-in-one software designed to collect and view harvest data in real time. The Mirus software is compatible with the industry leading HarvestMaster HM800 GrainGage systems.

Mirus features include large, easy-to-read screens, capable of showing multiple data screens simultaneously for more efficient operation. Step-by-step calibration wizards for all sensors ensure easy calibration of the GrainGage system. The intuitive user interface of Harvest Master’s Mirus software is tailored to combine operators, promising ease-of-use and simple adoption into harvest data collection processes.

Mirus software has become the new standard in harvest data collection by providing the following:

• Compatibility with Windows® laptops and tablets running Windows® XP, 7, or 8
• Ability to generate and import maps, and collect and export data
• Simultaneous views of four different harvest information screens
• Graphical and spatial display of data
• Ease of viewing diagnostic screens while in harvest mode
• Step-by-step wizards for weight, moisture, and test weight sensor calibration
• Combine operator rated observations
• Operator Quick-Notes on individual plots

Benefits of Long-Range Forecasts

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Melissa

MDA EarthSat Weather and EarthRisk Technologies, a pioneer in the research, analysis and visualization of extreme temperature and weather pattern risks, announced a strategic partnership. Under the partnership, MDA EarthSat Weather will distribute EarthRisk’s cutting-edge weather risk platform to help traders in natural gas, power, and agriculture sectors project extreme weather patterns up to 40 days in advance.

Powering the alliance is EarthRisk’s newly developed TempRisk 4.0 software platform. TempRisk views the atmosphere at both high and low altitudes around the globe for variables ranging from pressure patterns and jet stream position to air temperature and thunderstorm activity. Analysis of these variables against historical weather records dating back more than 60 years results in improved risk assessment for either extreme cold or heat for regions of interest. TempRisk 4.0 has incorporated a new comprehensive empirical forecast model that intelligently combines the most important signals for a specific region and forecast window, significantly improving accuracy over analog methods alone.

Precision Pays

News and information about how precision farming helps a grower's bottom line.

Category Archives: Software