Day Two of Farm Progress Has Muddy Start

Cindy ZimmermanAg Leader, Farm Progress Show, General

Farm Progress Photo Album

It was pretty wet out at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa on Wednesday morning after about four inches of overnight rain and wind storms. The weather did a bit of damage to some of the exhibits at the show, but it did clear up nicely during the day. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is the same for tonight.

Before the show got started Chuck went out and found a couple of examples of what the wind and rain did, but at the same time showed how well permanent location can handle the adverse weather.

Thanks to AgLeader Technology for helping to sponsor our coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show here on Precision.AgWired.com.

Farmers Only for Precision Dating

Cindy ZimmermanGeneral

Think of it as precision dating for farmers who are single and looking, but too darn busy to waste time weeding through potential partners who just don’t get it.

fp10The Farmers Only on-line dating service is still going strong after five years, because “city folks just don’t get it.” FarmersOnly.com was launched in August of 2005 and according to founder Jerry Miller, it quickly became THE place for farmers and ranchers to meet like-minded people.

“There have been countless successful matches and friendships made on the site. I get thank you emails and phone calls almost daily. In fact, there have been hundreds of marriages since FarmersOnly.com began,” Jerry says.

In the last five years, membership went from 2,000 to well over 100,000 members, and despite the name, FarmersOnly actually does include non-farmers looking for love – as long as they “get it.” That would mainly include good old fashioned, down-to-earth people who live in small towns and rural areas.

Jerry designed the site after talking to a frustrated divorcee who found that the regular on-line dating services were populated by “city folks” who “just don’t get” the lifestyle of farming. “I talked to farmers and ranchers all over the country and discovered they all had the same problems. They already knew everybody in their immediate areas. They didn’t have enough time to socialize. When they did find time, they didn’t want to hang out at a bar. They wanted to find someone who understood their lifestyle,” he said. “The need for this new online dating service became very clear and six months later, I launched www.FarmersOnly.com.”

Check it out if you’re single and looking on the farm.

Precision On Display At Farm Progress Show

Chuck ZimmermanFarm Progress Show

Hello from the 2010 Farm Progress Show taking place in Boone, IA. There’s a lot of precision on display and in coming days we’ll feature stories as we find them.

I’m on location with one of our editors, Joanna Schroeder. Between us we’ll be conducting interviews to share with you. We also have a photo album started so feel free to enjoy: Farm Progress Photo Album. This one is from this morning as I arrived prior to the start of the show. Yes, those clouds meant rain and we got some. But as of this posting we’re in the clear.

Precision.AgWired.com coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by: Ag Leader Technology.

Attend A Great Farm Show To Relax And Learn Before Harvest

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Company Announcement, Education, Equipment, Events, Farm Progress Show, Farmers, Fertilizer, GPS, Guidance, Insights Weekly, Remote sensing, Variable rate

Insights WeeklyAs the nights begin to cool, we know harvest is just around the corner. But before your mind gets totally wrapped around the culmination event of your hard work, take a break to visit and learn at one of the best outdoor farm shows, the Farm Progress Show, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2 near the central Iowa community of Boone.

If you’re going to the show, Ag Leader Technology has a special free t-shirt offer with a chance to win an EDGE display. Before you go, just visit the Ag Leader Facebook page and click on the invite under the tab ‘EDGE Giveaway.’ Then fill out the survey and bring it to the Ag Leader booth (Lot 517).

While at the booth, check out the live demonstration of the OptRx Crop Sensor. A Hagie sprayer, complete with the OptRx sensors, INTEGRA display and ParaDyme steering system, will be gathering crop condition data on live corn plants.

Also check out the new SMS Mobile PC software that will be available this fall for PC-based devices such as laptops, netbooks and tablets that run Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.

And stop inside the tent to learn more about all the products from Ag Leader—from displays and guidance to planter/sprayer controls and software that handles all the data. Product experts will be on hand to help you learn what can best fit your operation.

Visit these links for more information.

Farm Progress Show Website http://www.farmprogressshow.com/

Ag Leader Precision Point Blog: Calling Farm Progress Show Attendees!
http://www.agleader.com/2010/08/23/calling-farm-progress-show-attendees/

Ag Leader Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/AgLeader?v=app_4949752878

Survey for Free t-shirt and EDGE drawing http://www.agleader.com/mirror/FB-EDGE-Survey.pdf

OptRx Crop Sensor http://www.agleader.com/products/directcommand/optrx/

Fall Release of SMS Mobile Software http://www.agleader.com/2010/07/19/ag-leader-announces-fall-release-of-sms-mobile-pc/

RapidEye Satellites Mapping the U.S.

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Fertilizer, Remote sensing, Research, Resources, Satellite

German company RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of five identical Earth Observation satellites, announced today that over a period of just three months, 95% of the contiguous United States has been imaged. Almost 80% of this imagery was captured by the RapidEye satellites with less than ten percent cloud cover.

The campaign, which began May 1 and was completed on July 31, produced an abundance of imagery with many areas covered multiple times. Not only the United States was covered; 97% of Mexico was collected and almost 60% of Canada. Many areas were imaged more than once over this three month span and totaled 17 Million square kilometers of North America. All of this imagery is currently available for purchase in the RapidEye Library.

The company also has released a success story with the French precision farming company S2Bvisio about how RapidEye has delivered nitrogen fertilization maps for canola and wheat fields for the customer. You will find details about this project at http://www.rapideye.de/upload/documents/References/Customer_Reference_S2B_08_06_2009_ENG.pdf.

RapidEye images the Earth in unparalleled quantities and will continue to make its satellite imagery available through its Library, which can be searched either through a local distributor or directly through its Customer Service department. To find a distributor visit the RapidEye website at www.rapideye.de/distributors. Additionally, a selection of RapidEye products can be searched for, purchased and immediately downloaded through the RapidEye Geodata Kiosk at www.geodatakiosk.com.

Check Out Nebraska Precision Farming Session Aug. 31-Sept. 2

Kurt LawtonEducation, Events, Farmers, University

The debut of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Precision Ag Practicum is next week at the Ag Research and Development Center near Mead.  There is still time to enroll if you are looking for an opportunity to sharpen your Precision Agriculture skills and learn about the latest developments with this technology including irrigation applications.

This new program offered by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension is designed for:

  • Farm operators wishing to get more return on their precision ag dollar investment
  • Crop consultants and industry agronomists who desire to provide more accurate information and better service to their customers
  • Corporate industry and government agency personnel needing to know and understand the technology being used in today’s production agriculture.
  • Precision ag instructors

Learn more at http://ardc.unl.edu/precisionagpracticum/.

Precision.AgWired.com: Sometimes Precision Is Not That Precise

John DavisAg Leader, Audio, ICPA, Precision Pays Podcast

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast

In this edition of the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology, we listen to an explanation of how precision agriculture sometimes actually misses the mark.

The whole idea of precision agriculture is being able to precisely place seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and any other applications in the exact right place at the exact right time in the exact right portion, right? Well, it’s not always that easy. And attendees at the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture heard that sometimes you just have to realize that precision agriculture is not that precise.

Auburn University associate professor and extension specialist John Fulton held a session where he explained some of the limiting factors you have to consider when using precision practices. He explained you have to consider the actual physics involved to get the molecules of chemicals to the nozzle tip and how the speed the tractor is moving can affect the actual application.

His biggest advice to the audience was to slow down.

You can hear more of my conversation with Fulton in this edition of the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast it in the player below below. [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/precision/precision-podcast-12.mp3″ text=”Precision.AgWired.com Podcast”]

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

Mapping to Maximize Nutrient Application

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Conservation, Satellite

Don LampkerPrecision ag was highlighted at the Nutrient Use Efficiency Expo during the recent Conservation in Action Tour by a company called Geosys. Company representative Don Lampker says they do a lot with satellite imagery and have a product called FieldInSite which helps farmers map their fields so they can make decisions on which areas are most productive. They can then create nutrient management plans for variable rate application systems.

It’s all about the more efficient use of nitrogen so Don says there may be some areas of a field where they actually apply more nitrogen while in other areas it will be reduced if it’s not getting used efficiently.

Listen to an interview with Don from the CTIC tour here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-10-lampker.mp3″ text=”Don Lampker Interview”]

Conservation In Action Tour 2010 Photo Album

Coverage of the Conservation In Action Tour was made possible by and the

The Value of University and Company Collaboration in Education

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Education, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyWe all know the complexity and challenges of precision farming technology, along with the value of a local technician who can resolve issues quickly. Since change is rampant in this industry, quality education leading to skilled employees is paramount.

To this end, it’s always refreshing to know that companies are working with universities to make sure today’s students are gaining practical experience and hands-on learning—along with critical thinking and communications skills.

Iowa State University began a Precision Ag Lab in 2007, thanks to the donation of equipment, software and support by Ag Leader Technology. “I’ve been working with Matt Darr, who teaches the TSM (Technology Systems Management) 333 ‘Precision Farming Systems’ course every fall semester,” says Michael Vos, Software Sales Manager at Ag Leader.

Vos has worked with Darr since he was in the graduate program at Ohio State University before his arrival at Iowa State. Now they work together to make the class the best it can be. And not only do Iowa State students benefit, but so do students at South Dakota State, Kansas State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Off-site students at the three partner universities will watch the recorded lectures. For the lab work, Iowa State sends each ag engineering college the precision ag hardware, SMS software, simulation software and complete installation instruction to set up their own lab.

“In the lab, students have a computer with a precision agriculture display next to it. The computer has simulations of planting, spraying and harvesting, giving hands-on experience in running each task, recording data, transferring data to our SMS software, writing prescriptions, working with aerial imagery, soil samples and much, much more,” Vos says.

Iowa State Professor, Matt Darr updating Ag Leader personnel on Iowa State’s precision ag programs/classes.

Vos, backed by his ten years of experience with Ag Leader since he graduated from Iowa State, also guest lecturers in Darr’s class. “I give students perspectives into the world of precision agriculture, the types of jobs available, as well as answer many questions during the course. We want to make sure students have a fundamental understanding of the complexity of this technology, the critical thinking skills needed to make processes and technology work, and as much hands-on experience as they can get to help prepare them to resolve conflict—in sensors and people,” Vos says.

Visit these links for more information.

2007 Story on Ag Leader Creates Precision Ag Lab at ISU
http://www.abe.iastate.edu/no_cache/news-events-amp-seminars/news-article/article/1368/1311.html

ISU Technology Systems Management (TSM) Program
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~catalog/2007-2009/courses/tsm.html

ISU Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
http://www.abe.iastate.edu./

Solar Power Reduces Farm Energy Costs

Kurt LawtonConservation, Equipment, Farmers, Financing, sustainability

Energy costs can be huge on some farms–from dairies to fruits and vegetables. In this age of greater precision to find ways to cut costs, an orchard in Massachusetts pursued grants to install solar panels to reduce its $80,000 annual electrical costs, according to a piece in The Telegram in Worcester.

Carlson Orchard, selling apples since 1938, has installed 1,050 solar panels, thanks to a combination of federal and state grants and private financing.

David Weiher, a friend of the Carlson family, said the idea of installing solar panels at the farm had been discussed many times, but the demands of the harvest and running the farm always took precedence over developing something new. He said it wasn’t until Symantha Gates, founded EC3 Sustainability Consulting in Amherst, N.H., and was looking for a green project to do, that idea became reality.

Ms. Gates said she is not a farmer and is not really good at growing things, but she understands what goes on behind the scenes at Carlson Orchards, including a heavy reliance on energy for its cooling barns to store fruit in. She brought together $1.25 million in financing for the project from private, federal and state sources, including $900,000 in grants.

Among the grants received was a $565,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a $30,000 grant from the state Department of Agricultural Resources and $287,638 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Granted, this is a big application, but Carlson says this solar installation should pay for itself in five years.