Precision Pays

Trimble debuted a couple of new innovations at the recent National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, which they were also showcasing at the Commodity Classic last week.

EZ-Sync™ is a wireless data transfer capability that provides enhanced information management for growers and agribusinesses, and the EZ Surface Software provides surface drainage analysis and design for farmers and drainage contractors.

Brian Stark, who does information management for Trimble, is the company’s EZ-Sync expert. “EZ-Sync allows you to take data wirelessly from a mobile computer or from the Trimble FMX display and send that data from the field to the office,” Brian explained in an interview. “Or, if I’m in the office, I can send my data from the office, [such as] prescription maps or target points, to the field.”

Brian says the software is compatible with several different computers offered by Trimble and it lets producers and managers exchange information in real time. Plus, it decreases the amount of data that is lost simply because workers don’t have time to manually enter information gained in the field when they come back to the office. And, managers are able to better communicate with their workers still in the field.

Trimble retailer Joey Schlatter of Schlatter Inc. of Francesville, Indiana explained EZ Surface. “This software helps contractors define watersheds and flow patterns so they know how to properly drain their fields, whether using surface or sub-surface drainage methods,” Joey said.

With this system, elevation data is gathered through using some GPS-based tools from Trimble. “Once we’ve collected all that elevation data, we bring that data into the office, into our EZ Surface program and generate a 3-D elevation map. Then, with a click of a few buttons, we can see the flow lines, watesheds and all the tools we need to properly design that [drainage] system,” he added.

More information on both EZ Sync and EZ Surface are available from www.Trimble.com.

Superior precision farming software is crucial in order to help growers maximize in-field efficiencies. Ag Leader Technology not only delivers excellent SMS Basic training for growers, it now offers a three-day Certified Training course for its SMS Advanced software users who want to go beyond the one-day training.

SMS Advanced software is geared toward crop consultants, agronomists or other co-op personnel, precision ag managers, GIS mapping specialists and other service providers who provide precision farming services to growers. “We’ve been providing software and one-day general training since the late 1990s. But this past year we expanded to an in-depth three-day training course for advanced users,” says Michael Vos, SMS Sales Manager for Ag Leader.

“New and existing SMS Advanced software customers wanted an in-depth level of training, so we created a Certified Training program, which includes 15 to 22 CCA credits. We offer an excellent trainer to student ratio, as we normally have two trainers and 8 students, in our new state-of-the-art Ag Leader Academy computer lab,” he says.

The three days are tailored to exactly what the individuals want to learn. “We make lists of topics and details that are desired so users get the exact training to fit their business model. Some of the popular topics requested include: how to write equations for prescriptions, how to use aerial imagery and read it to make fertilizer use and crop scouting decisions, how to build a customer soil fertility booklet and creating soil management zones from aerial imagery and numerous years of yield data,” Vos says.

Every attendee receives a special certified manual with screen shot by screen shot steps for the software program. And within the book there are explanations why each tool is used, along with definitions and real world scenarios on how each tool is used.

“It’s definitely a complex tool, and when users see all the potential benefits of the software, they want to learn how to use it to the fullest extent,” he says.

Check out upcoming SMS Training Sessions…

While I was in the Ag Leader Technology booth at the Iowa Power Farming Show last week I spoke with Michael Vos, SMS Sales Manager. Our topic was using SMS software to create and move guidance lines for different types of precision farming equipment.

He says that growers ask a lot of questions about creating guidance lines in one display and moving them to another w/out having to recreate them. This can be a challenge in precision ag equipment that is all the same brand, or many different displays/brands. He says SMS has the ability to store these guidance lines and import them to many brands of precision farming equipment.

You can watch my interview with Michael or listen to it below:

Iowa Power Farming Show Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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.

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

All agricultural technology enthusiasts are invited to attend the 10th Annual Nebraska Agricultural Technologies Association Conference (NEATA), January 27-28, 2010 at the Midtown Holiday Inn, Grand Island, NE.

Pre-conference programs will focus on Optimizing Pivot Irrigation Management (9:00 to 4:00) and Social Media Applications in Agriculture (1:00 – 4:00) will be offered the afternoon of January 27.

The conference opens Wednesday evening with Dr. Raj Khoslo, Precision Agriculture Specialists, Colorado State University, discussing Precision Nutrient Management on Site-specific Management Zones, followed by Bill Kranz, Irrigation Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln addressing Monitoring Irrigation Water Application with Computerized Controllers.

Thursday morning opens with international guest and precision agriculture expert, Sam Tengrove, Australian farmer, sharing Adoption of Precision Agriculture by Australian Grain Growers. Additional general sessions offered include Broadband: Who Needs It?, Mapping Evapotranspiration with High Resolution and Internalized Calibration (METRIC), and Global Perspectives of Site-specific Weed Management.

Twelve concurrent sessions addressing a variety of emerging agricultural technology topics will also be offered on Thursday. The concurrent sessions in the Ambassador room will be hands-on workshops. See the conference brochure.

Up to 8 CCA credits are available for conference participants with an additional 6 CCA credits available to those who attend the Optimizing Pivot Irrigation Management pre-conference workshop.

More information is available at http://neata.org.

Yield and moisture monitoring as well as mapping capabilities are being added to Trimble’s AgGPS FmX integrated display–to go along with it’s AutoPilot or EZ-Steer systems that steer the combine.

Farmers can use the recorded yield data to analyze performance and create variable rate prescription maps using Trimble AgGPS EZ-Office software. Yield data stored on the FmX display can easily be transferred to the office using a USB storage device. EZ-Office software can help farmers evaluate field performance and identify problem areas.

The yield monitoring functionality allows growers to perform accurate area calculations using the auto cut width feature when the header is not full. This is an advantage for harvesting odd-shaped fields, point rows or areas already harvested. It relieves the farmer from having to manually adjust actual cut width when not harvesting a full swath.

“Yield monitoring is beneficial for farmers who want to analyze how well their fields perform. They can record and monitor results, and then adjust their seed and fertilizer application rate to generate higher yields,” said Erik Arvesen, vice president and general manager for Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “In addition, growers can now perform yield monitoring with the same display that steers their vehicle, reducing cab clutter.”

The yield monitoring and mapping functionality upgrade is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2010 and is priced at US$995 MSRP. For more information, call 1-800-874-6253 or visit www.trimble.com/agriculture to find a Trimble reseller.

The doors open next week on Ag Leader Technology’s new Ag Leader Academy, which will play host to its top 200 dealers who will use this great new training resource to learn about the new product line for 2010.

“This is a big event for us, as we just launched an entire new suite of products, announced our new partnership with AutoFarm, and now opened our new training facility,” says Mike Olson, North American Sales Manager. “And it’s the first chance to give our dealers a look inside the complete package we now offer.”

Olson says that not only will the company’s best dealers get to touch the equipment next week in the big showroom space, they’ll also gain first-hand product knowledge in the new classrooms. “We have multiple classrooms, along with a larger SMS Software Computer Lab with tiered seating like a theater, and space for everyone’s laptop.”

Dealers will have several classroom sessions on all the products. “We’ll spend a lot of time going through the new INTEGRA display, along with the entry-level Edge display, which has been completely reworked for 2010. They will also learn all about the new steering products (ParaDyme, OnTrac2, L160 Lightbar), as those are brand new. And we’ll provide updates on the DirectCommand and SeedCommand, as well as all software products.”

Complete Solution. “Both customers and dealers are excited about the fact that we now have a complete solution from one company. We have our own steering system now, we have displays, yield monitors, application controls systems and the desktop software,” Olson adds. “We now feature the most complete system out there—and it’s all coming with the Ag Leader name on it.”

Raven Industries and SST Software are building on their strategic alliance started in July–aiming to provide customers with simple and efficient ways to move and manage precision agriculture information.

These solutions include integration of SST’s AgX Platform into Raven’s Viper Pro and Envizio Pro field computers. SST’s AgX Platform is a standardized data structure and reference database that enables efficient in-field record keeping and seamless communication between AgX -compliant software and devices.

“SST’s software suite and database structure has proven itself in the marketplace and our approaches to the precision agriculture market complement and build on each other,” said Raven President and Chief Executive Officer Ronald M. Moquist. “The use of Raven high speed modems and our field computers will help provide a real-time link to SST’s powerful algorithms. We anticipate that the integration of the AgX Platform will add to both company’s revenues.”

“Raven is a partner that agrees with our mission–providing independent information management services to our ag service providers and their farmer-customers, as they manage field inputs for maximum efficiency,” noted David Waits, SST President and CEO. “Raven’s robust hardware offerings and ag business perspective will help us to achieve that goal.”

Matt Burkhart, General Manager of Applied Technology Division at Raven Industries emphasized, “Our ownership position in SST demonstrates our mutual commitment to deepening this strategic alliance. The combination of the AgX Platform with our field computers gives growers a platform they can depend on for the foreseeable future.”