The Year in Precision Farming – 2010 Recap

Kurt LawtonAerial Imagery, Ag Leader, Data Collection, Education, Equipment, Fertilizer, GPS, Insights Weekly, Remote sensing, Satellite, Variable rate

Insights WeeklyThis past week, I caught up with Matt Darr, Iowa State University ag engineer and precision farming guru, to chat with him about this past year in precision agriculture.

“We’ve said for a few years now that ‘accuracy is addictive.’ Well farmers are proving that as this has been a year driven by higher precision—a move to more RTK accuracy.”

The big deal. Darr cited the widespread nature of expanding RTK networks, both public and privately owned. “These networks are pushing us towards RTK becoming a standard commodity, which will help drive down the costs and give more growers the potential to achieve high-end accuracy. And that is a big deal.”

The CORS network has had a strong run over the past three years. Indiana is now online as the most recent, along with CORS networks in Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri. “I see this growth slowing down, but we’ll continue to see greater stabilization and improvement in the signals,” Darr says.

In the private sector, we’re seeing greater expansion from Trimble’s VRS network and from John Deere’s StarFire 450 MHz radio system, as well as other smaller companies building systems across the Midwest.

Crop sensing. Another big push is on to figure out how to use active crop sensing to provide financial benefit. “With the addition of Ag Leader’s OptRx system, along with the Greenseeker from Trimble and CropSpec from Topcon, growers have the potential to unlock another area of profitability. It’s not as simple as auto guidance, and it may not work for everyone,” Darr says.

This technology offers a natural fit in wheat, since growers are used to topdressing in the spring. “Anytime you can automate N applications, you’re looking at both economic and environmental benefits. A reduction in the over-application of N is a big deal,” Darr says.

“The challenge for Midwest corn growers is that not every producer uses sidedressed N when corn is 12 to 18 inches tall, which is where this technology needs to be used. So you’re asking growers to change production practices as well as adopt new technology, so these challenges will slow adoption. But it offers huge potential,” he adds.

The future. “If you look back 4 or 5 years, and think about the automation technology that has come out—from auto swath to auto steer—all the easy things, relatively speaking, have been automated. Future automation gets tougher. We now need to circle back to data and press that information into greater knowledge. That’s what we’re after. We must gain knowledge from all this data to improve our operations,” he says.

GPS World offers a look at their top five events in GPS/GNSS for 2010, so check it out, too. http://www.gpsworld.com/survey/top-5-events-gpsgnss-2010-a-year-end-review-10854

Visit these links for more information.

CORS Network
http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/CORS/GoogleMap/CORS.shtml

Learn How CORS Network Can Fit Precision Farming
http://precision.agwired.com/2010/01/learn-how-cors-network-can-fit-precision-farming/

Lessons in Differential Correction
http://www.agleader.com/2010/07/02/lessons-in-precision-ag-differential-correction-part-2/

RTK Network Options
http://farmindustrynews.com/precision-guidance/rtk-network-options

Ag Leader dealer locator
http://www.agleader.com/dealer-search/

Mizzou Computers on the Farm Event Grows

Cindy ZimmermanEvents

The 15th annual Computers on the Farm conference sponsored by the University of Missouri is coming up January 7-8 in Osage Beach, MO.

The program is markedly different and vastly expanded from the first one held in 1997. The first program started out with “How to access the Internet” and breakouts included “Getting Started with Windows 95,” “Using your spreadsheet for Farm Decisions,” and “Using Electronic Mail.” It is really amazing to see how fast the technology has changed and integrated into agriculture in such a short period of time!

Among the many topics on the schedule for the 2011 event are: Fast Internet in Rural Missouri; Ag production software tools; Digital media; Social networking; and Cell phone use.

Registration for the event is $115 and includes meals and materials. Sessions begin at 1 pm on January 7 and continue into the evening, begin again January 8 with an early breakfast and end at noon.

Work Needed To Improve Consumer Perception of Ag

Chuck ZimmermanZimmPoll

It looks like agriculture has a ways to go to change public perceptions according to our latest ZimmPoll. In answer to the question, “Do you think the general consumer perception of agriculture changed in 2010?” 43% say “No it didn’t really change,” while 30% say “Yes, it got worse,” and 27% said “Yes, it improved.” Where do you fall in those categories? That’s 73% of our respondents who think it didn’t change or got worse. Sounds like we really do need some campaigns to reach out to consumers doesn’t it?

The new poll is now live and the question is, “What do you think will have the biggest influence on ag in 2011?” There are no doubt many factors that will have an influence. We’ve picked a couple. When I post the results next week you can add any others you’d like to the discussion.

Remember, you can submit your questions for us to pose and add your feedback anytime by using the comment feature.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

Auburn Open House Highlights Precision Ag Before AG CONNECT

John DavisAg Connect Expo, Audio

My friend Dr. John Fulton from Auburn University wanted me to remind everyone who is headed to the AG CONNECT Expo in Atlanta, Ga. to make a short side trip to his school (just 100 miles southwest of Atlanta) for an open house put on by Auburn University, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and the Alabama Precison Agriculture Team.

“We felt like it was a great opportunity [for companies and agencies] who will be attending AG CONNECT that week.”

Fulton says the focus of the one day event on January 6, 2011 will be on the school’s application technology. “Whether that’s for liquid applications, such as sprayers, or dry applicators in our area.”

Fulton estimates that about half of the farmers in the country use some type of precision ag technology, and that number will continue to grow.

He adds that since the event will take place so close to the same day Auburn plays Oregon for the BCS national championship in football, any wayward ducks from the northwest part of the country get a special invitation to a special event.

“We’d love to take them out on a ‘Duck’ hunt!”

The open house, duck hunting not included, starts at 9 am CST on Jan. 6, 2011 at Auburn’s Tom Corley Building (Biosystems Engineering Department). More information is available on the Alabama Precision Ag Team’s website.

Listen to more of my conversation with Dr. Fulton in the player below: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/precision/johnfultonintvw.mp3″ text=”Dr. John Fulton, Auburn University”]

Are Those Crop Circles?

Melissa SandfortAgricultural Anthropology

On a plane back to Denver, I was listening to the conversation taking place in the row immediately behind me. I heard a gentleman ask of his seat-mate, “Are those crop circles down there?” To which the other man responded, “No, that’s the edge of the field where the water doesn’t reach.” Also knowing the answer, I was about to chime in with: “Alex, what is center-pivot irrigation?”

But, when I was a kid, my dad used pipe irrigation. I remember trudging out through the mud and getting the 4-wheeler stuck, just to switch socks on the pipes and flip which row the water was running down. From the time my brother was 8, he dreaded “laying pipe.” Those long metal (and later PVC) pipes had to be placed at the end of the field rows, by hand, and it was a tedious, time-consuming task. Not to mention, the pipes weren’t lightweight!

The invention of the center pivot has impacted agriculture in a positive way by decreasing the amount of hand labor, increasing efficiencies (uniform application of water and inputs), and enabling irrigation to be done on land that had not been able to support crops in the past. It can also be done on all types of terrain, flat or hilly (ever tried to get water to run uphill?).

And, in doing a little research for this story, I came across an obituary for Robert Daugherty, “A Nebraska manufacturer who reshaped the landscape of rural America by pioneering the use of mechanized center-pivot irrigation systems that watered fields in a circular pattern, died Nov. 24, 2010.Mr. Daugherty began his career in the 1940s as part owner of a machine shop that built farm implements in a simple steel shed. By the time he retired as chairman in 1996, his company, now called Valmont Industries, was doing more than $550 million in business a year.”
And you just thought this was a close-up picture quiz.

Until our next history lesson…

Precision.AgWired.com: Ag Leader’s 2010 in Review and 2011 Preview

John DavisAg Leader, Audio, Precision Pays Podcast

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast

In this edition of the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology, we talk to this podcast’s sponsor, Ag Leader and review what the company did in 2010 and what’s to come in 2011.

Ag Leader’s marketing manager Dave King says 2010 was a busy year for his company with the introduction of lots of new products, including the Integra displays, the ParaDyme and OnTrac2 steering systems, the OptRx crop sensor system, and the SMS software line.

While new gadgets and software are good, King says Ag Leader has not forgotten that customer service is key. That’s why they have the Blue Delta dealer program.

And coming in 2011, King says we’ll see improvements to the Integra display systems and expansions of the dealer and customer training programs, as well as some new features for Ag Leader’s SeedCommand and DirectCommand product lines and the expansion of the OptRx line for wheat growers.

He says if you’d like to find out more, just check out the company’s website, www.AgLeader.com, or go see a dealer in person or at one of the many farm trade shows Ag Leader will be attending in the coming year. A complete list of shows and dates is available on the Ag Leader website.

You can hear more about what Ag Leader did in the past year and what the company will be offering in 2011 in this edition of the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast in the player below below. [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/precision/precision-podcast-16.mp3″ text=”Precision.AgWired.com Podcast”]

You can subscribe to the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast here.

Commodity Classic Provides Educational Opportunity

Cindy ZimmermanCommodity Classic

The annual Commodity Classic coming up March 3-5 in Tampa provides corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers the opportunity to discover the trends and issues that will have the greatest impact on their industries in the coming year.

“I can’t think of a more comprehensive event organized to benefit farmers than Commodity Classic,” said Commodity Classic Co-Chair Theresa Schmalshof. “Attendees learn about the latest advancements in production agriculture, discover what government policies will significantly impact the U.S. farm industry and are provided a variety of opportunities to mingle with growers and industry representatives from across the country.”

For example, Commodity Classic will kick off its educational programs on March 3 with an Early Riser Production Session called “Become Eight Percent More Efficient and 19 Percent More Profitable” with speakers Brian and Darren Hefty from Ag PhD TV. Attendees will learn the secrets to increasing efficiency on the farm, from new high-tech equipment options to simple, commonsense practices. Also that day, Commodity Classic Pre-opening Learning Center Sessions will give you the tools to effectively tell the story of agriculture, and how to make your farming operation more profitable.

To take advantage of the lowest registration rate for Commodity Classic, register by the early discount deadline of January 20 at www.commodityclassic.com.

New Publications on Auto Section Control

Kurt LawtonEducation, Equipment, Fertilizer, GPS, Guidance, Planting, Spraying, University, Variable rate

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.

Conservation Districts Support AG CONNECT Expo

Cindy ZimmermanAg Connect Expo, Conservation

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) will continue its partnership with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and AG CONNECT Expo for the 2011 show, January 8-10 in Atlanta.

NACD and AEM have partnered on various projects for more than four decades on an awards program that recognizes individual conservation districts for using new and innovative technologies, tools and equipment in conservation efforts.

“Our involvement in AG CONNECT Expo 2011 will generate greater conservation awareness and support AEM and its efforts within the Ag industry. It will also serve to enhance awareness of and elevate the profile of NACD among producers and agribusiness in general,” said Jeff Eisenberg, chief executive officer of NACD.. “AG CONNECT Expo will exhibit the kind of equipment necessary for conservation advancement.”

Incidentally, NACD’s annual meeting will be held in Nashville shortly after AG CONNECT Expo. The theme for for NACD’s 65th annual meeting is conservation “From the Roots Up” and the dates are January 30 through February 2, 2011.