Looking For Precision at Farm Progress Show

Chuck ZimmermanFarm Progress Show

Farm Progress Show 2009It’s that time. Time for the 2009 Farm Progress Show.

I know a lot of people and a lot of work has been going on in Decatur, IL already and I’ll be on location tomorrow afternoon, along with Cindy and Carly who will be going to their first FPS. It looks like they’ll have some great weather. That’ll be a change.

We’ll be looking for good precision farming stories and already have some interviews lined up. It the field conditions are good we’ll also be out there looking for some video to record and post for you too.

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

Topcon Offers New Electric Steering Product

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Equipment, GPS

For farmers who want a simple steering console with precise auto-steering performance, check out the new AES-25 system from Topcon Precision Agriculture.

Rhett Schildroth, TPA engineering director, said, “The AES-25 is an accurate steering system that does not intrude into the operator’s working area or alter the steering wheel position. There are no external components that could interfere with normal day-to-day operation within the cab.”

The AES-25 is fully compatible with Topcon’s new System 150 or the field-proven System 200 (X20 console). The patented new system provides “supreme performance and control previously thought possible only with hydraulic systems,” Schildroth said. “The AES-25 is much more than assisted steering, it’s an advanced solution for all platforms from basic steering to those striving for high-accuracy results.”

Combined with System 150 or System 200 (X20), the AES-25 provides solutions from basic autonomous through real-time kinetic (RTK). Schildroth said, “This allows the farmer to start with the accuracy needed for particular jobs, then step up to RTK with confidence they will achieve full 2cm accuracy. With Topcon’s multiple satellite capabilities, inertial sensors, and full terrain compensation, the AES-25 offers unparalleled positioning and control.”

System 200 (X20) features GPS+ capability, using signals from both GPS and GLONASS satellites. System 150 with G3 technology receives signals from all available satellites. More satellites means higher accuracy, maximum uptime, and 24/7 round-the-clock operation.

Schildroth said, “Not only does the AES-25 give precise steering control, but provides a viable alternative to hydraulic steering systems. For the farmer who wants a simple console but precise steering performance, System 150 with the AES-25 provides row crop steering without hydraulics. With a quiet, high-torque motor, the AES-25 provides silent operation and reverse steering, an exclusive feature within electric steering systems.”

The AES-25 provides:
— Quick, simple installation;
— Easy transfer from machine to machine; and
— Automated tuning.

For existing owners of X20 consoles with any GPS make or model, the AES-25 provides high accuracy auto guidance. Using the ProSteer ECU and cabin harness, an optional wheel angle sensor can be added for greater stability in challenging conditions (another Topcon exclusive). The entire system can be truly customized for any farm operation.

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast

Cindy ZimmermanAg Leader, Audio, Precision Pays Podcast

We are happy to introduce a new and improved Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, a monthly feature with news and information important for growers who want to produce more efficiently. Thanks to Ag Leader Technology for their sponsorship.

In this first edition of the podcast, we hear from champions who choose precision technology and how taking your software mapping solutions to the field is easier than ever before.

Click here to listen to the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast [audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/precision/precision-podcast-1.mp3]

Subscribe to the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast here.

Ag Will Be Twittering at Farm Progress Show

Chuck ZimmermanEvents, Farm Progress Show

AgChatSince we know that many farmers are using social networking services like Twitter and Facebook I thought you’d be interested to learn about a couple of opportunities to learn more while you’re attending the Farm Progress Show next week.

To start with there’s a weekly Twitter conversation called AgChat. AgChat is for farmers, in fact for anyone involved in providing food, fuel, feed and fiber as well as consumers. The audience is growing and it’s providing some good interaction with people who want and need to understand agriculture today.

“AgChat gives farmers a stronger voice and leverages the power of the agricultural community,” notes Michele Payn-Knoper, Certified Speaking Professional and founder of #AgChat. “We see upwards of 1,000 “tweets” during our two hour discussion every Tuesday night, cementing this tool as an important venue for sharing views and ideas on current food and farm topics, from antibiotic use to mainstream media misinformation about agriculture.”

On Tuesday, September 1, Farm Progress attendees can learn more about this social media tool at two #AgChat events:

• Tweetup: A networking and #AgChat demonstration for those in agriculture who are a part of Twitter, or want to see it in action. From 3-5 p.m., in the Country Financial tent, booth 749 on 7th Street, join Payn-Knoper and others in the #AgChat community, who will answer any questions you have. Refreshments will be served.

• #AgChat live: Join other farmers and agribusiness to participate in this fast-paced streaming “convo” on Twitter. Tweet and talk with several of the chat regulars, or just watch the community in action. Payn-Knoper will be moderating live from Farm Progress, 7-9 p.m., in the Decatur Conference Center & Hotel Illini Room. Bioenergy is the topic for the Sept. 1 chat. Other #AgChat participants will be joining in the streaming conversation from locations around the world.

If you won’t be attending the Farm Progress Show then just get online Tuesday evening at the time listed above and go to www.tweetchat.com and enter the search term, #AgChat. Then you’ll be able to watch the conversation unfold one “tweet” at a time. You’ll need a Twitter account to do so but you don’t have to write if you don’t want. You can just watch. But we encourage you to participate!

Cindy and I will be attending the event and can often be found in the media tent. We’ll have stories as we find them for you here.

Yield Monitors: Extreme Value In Precision Farming

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Displays, Equipment, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyThe yield monitor is a valuable instrument during harvest, giving you instantaneous yield numbers as you make each pass in the field. But is your system giving you added value?

Top farmers are using this precision agriculture tool to record results from specifically designed split-planter tests to make buying decisions on hybrids, varieties, traits, insecticides, fungicides, fertility levels, tillage techniques and much more. Below, we’ve included numerous links to stories that discuss these topics.

Along with aiding quicker and more astute future buying decisions, top growers continue to seek greater automation delivered by monitors that control all applications on their farm.

Ag Leader, a sponsor of precision.agwired.com and owner of the most widely used grain-monitoring technology in the world, believes growers can realize valuable decision-making benefits from several features offered on its InSight and Edge monitors. For example:
• Yield and Moisture Mapping: View a real-time map of your yields and moisture on-the-go as you witness the current field environment to help you draw initial conclusions based on the cropping year. And moisture level data aids drying/storage decisions.
• AutoSwath for Harvest: This features removes the worry of inaccurate acreage and yield data on point rows or partial swaths, since Ag Leader units record data based on the number of rows being harvested.
• Hybrid/Variety Yield Mapping: Looking to make harvest-time buying decisions on what to plant next year? You can overlay your planting maps with real-time harvest maps to get instant yield/moisture comparisons by hybrid and variety.

Check out these additional resources on yield monitors:
Ag Leader yield monitors

Step-by-Step Yield Monitor Data Analysis – Top Farmer Crop Workshop, Purdue

Using Yield Monitor Data for On-farm Experiments – Top Farmer Crop Workshop, Purdue (and check out links at end of this story on how to filter your raw yield data)

Making Cents out of Multiple Years of Yield Monitor Data – South Dakota State

Setting up Side by Side Comparisons with a Yield Monitor – Pioneer

Why and How to Calibrate Your Yield Monitor – Iowa Soybean Association

Yield Monitor Calibration Tips – Ohio State

Yield Monitors and Maps: Making Decisions – Ohio State

Plant Tissue Sampling Aids Precision Fertility

Kurt LawtonGeneral

Without in-season plant tissue testing to see if crops are nutrient deficient, you may be leaving yield in the field. Unseen nutrient deficiencies can stunt growth, harm plant health and limit yield.

Tennessee Farmers Cooperative began working with A&L Labs this year to train co-ops on proper sampling, and some are adding this service to their precision agriculture programs, according to this story in Tennessee Cooperator magazine.

The only way to know whether a crop is adequately nourished is to have the plant tissue analyzed during the growing season, says Oscar Ruiz, agronomist with A&L Laboratories in Memphis.

“Many times a low nutrient status may not be obvious — it’s a ‘hidden hunger,’” says Oscar. “While soil tests are great for determining a base line for a fertility program, a plant tissue sample can help make crucial in-season adjustments that can improve the crop’s nutrition and increase profit.”

Although it’s been used heavily in the horticulture industry for years, plant tissue sampling is now becoming an important tool for row-crop growers who are employing more intensive management practices on their farms.

“The Co-op system relies heavily on preseason soil tests to formulate fertility programs for farmers, but that doesn’t account for in-season nutrient deficiencies that can occur because of weather, variety differences, and cropping systems,” says Alan Sparkman, TFC agronomy marketing manager. “Tissue sampling can allow growers to really fine-tune nutrient management and correct deficiencies before yields are negatively impacted. For those who are using precision agriculture practices on their farms, this becomes the next logical step.”

Weakley Farmers Cooperative, which has locations in Martin, Gleason, and Greenfield, recently established a precision agriculture program and added tissue sampling to its menu of services, which also includes grid sampling, variable-rate lime and fertilizer application, and nitrate nitrogen testing. The Co-op also hired a precision agriculture specialist, Emily Clark, a recent University of Tennessee at Martin graduate and TFC training program participant, to handle these new programs.

After receiving extensive training from A&L Labs technicians, Emily began tissue sampling corn and soybean fields this spring and summer and says the results have been “eye-opening” for her and the growers.

“These tests show something we’ve never been able to see before — what the plant’s nutrient status looks like in the middle of the growing season,” says Emily. “Even if you took soil samples this winter and everything came back fine, you still may not be getting what you need into that plant. These tests can either give producers peace of mind that their fertility program is doing what it should or find problems that we can fix so the crop will reach optimal productivity.”

New Smaller Case IH Patriot Self-Propelled Sprayer

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Education, Equipment

A new 800-gallon, lighter footprint addition to the Patriot self-propelled sprayer line-up was recently introduced by Case IH at the Midwest Ag Industries Expo (MAGIE) in Bloomington, Ill.

The Patriot 3230 offers the full complement of Case IH precision agriculture tool options–from AFS AccuGuide autoguidance and AIM Command spray system to the AFS Pro 600 display, the AFS 262 GPS receiver and the Navigation II Controller.

“Because of the Case IH cab-forward, rear-engine configuration, Patriot sprayers are designed to get you in the field sooner – in any field condition – and this new 800-gallon machine offers an even greater advantage with a lighter overall footprint,” says Ken Lehmann, Case IH application equipment marketing manager. “The balanced weight distribution and light footprint of the Patriot ensures operators can get in the field when competitive machines cannot. During critical application windows that impact yields, our sprayers can get into tough terrain without damaging crops or creating ruts.”

Although the 3230 will be the smallest of the Patriot sprayers, there’s nothing small about its capabilities. Case IH powers the Patriot 3230 sprayer with a new 6.7-liter electronically controlled diesel engine, rated at 220 horsepower. This turbocharged, aftercooled powerplant puts out 752 foot-pounds of peak torque.

All Case IH Patriot sprayers offer superior control of product application with multiple features that contribute to spray performance such as precision control of boom height, rapid changes in spray nozzle rate, GPS-guided boom-section control, and even fully automated steering for the ultimate in convenience and accuracy.

“This new sprayer shares the same design DNA as the larger Patriot sprayers,” Lehmann explains. “That means a smoother ride for operators, more acres sprayed every season and better application accuracy in the field.”

Add Precision Farming Promotion To Your Chore List

Kurt LawtonConservation, Corn, Education, Resources, sustainability

One important item on your list of daily chores should be to help educate our customer, the consumer. To that end, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has a site called Corn Farmers Coalition. Not only does it highlight growers using precision agriculture tools that help reduce environmental impact (see “Farmer Innovations” tab), it also features excellent corn facts.

It was designed to help educate policy-makers in Washington D.C.

Check it out, and pass it on!

Raven Using Social Media Communications Tools

Kurt LawtonGeneral

header2If you’re a Facebook or Twitter user, you can now connect with Raven Industries to learn more about their precision agriculture offerings and get the latest information.

Follow Raven on Twitter under “RavenIndustries” (http://twitter.com/RavenIndustries), and become
a fan of our Facebook page “Raven Industries” ( http://tr.im/pTsY) to hear the latest on our products and their use in the
field. We make frequent contributions to keep content fresh and informative.

Top Tweet Topics and Facebook Finds
• New product information
• Promotions
• Links to videos and pictures depicting our products
• Information on what we’re showing at upcoming tradeshows
• Quotes from farmers and Raven employees on precision product use
• Up-to-the-minute Raven Applied Technology Division news
• Easy follow-up on Press Release content
• Access to a network of people in-tune to precision ag

Check out these links if you want to join Facebook or Twitter.

Newbie’s guide to Twitter.

Newbie’s guide to Facebook.

Time To Kick Pre-harvest Checks Into Gear

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Corn, Education, Equipment, Insights Weekly, Soybeans

Insights WeeklyAs we’re well into the dog days of summer, Midwest corn and soybean harvest is looming larger. If you haven’t started combine prep already, it’s time to dust off those owner’s manuals to fine-tune the machine and its data-gathering electronics.

Ag Leader Technology, a sponsor of precision.agwired.com, offers some good advice in a pre-harvest checklist for owners of their InSight and EDGE displays:

• Create a backup of your spring information.
• Select Copy All Files to save the spring data to the memory card.
• Make sure your display firmware, manual and all connected modules are up-to-date.
• Firmware and manual updates can be found on its website under Support. 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.

Combine Inspection
• Check to make sure all cables are properly attached and in good condition.
• Remove flow sensor and inspect for damage.
• 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”.

Other items on the Ag Leader checklist include: sensor calibration, header stop height, distance calibration, temperature and moisture check and grain weight. Consult your manual in all cases. And if you’ve lost it, you can find them on the website.

For more information on pre-harvest preparation, Check out these links:

Yield monitor calibration: Garbage in garbage out – Purdue University.
Yield monitor calibration tips – Ohio State University.
Tips to cut combine breakdowns – Corn & Soybean Digest.