Twittering Farmer Talks Precision On CNN

Chuck ZimmermanVideo

Precision agriculture got some high level exposure yesterday on CNN. The Twittering Farmer, Steve Tucker, Nebraska, was the subject of a story about farmers and technology, including communications technology like smart phones and services like Twitter. They they had him on live for a segment via Skype video from his farm! Steve’s got a lot more followers on Twitter than there are in his home town. You can also follow Steve on his blog.

Steve says that while he’s on his tractor he’s got GPS and Auto Steer to drive for him which allows him to text on his phone. Many of those texts become Twitter posts. BTW, one of the founders of Twitter comes from Nebraska.

I think you’ll enjoy the interview with Steve. He’s a great spokesperson for agriculture.

Precision Farming In India

Kurt LawtonFarmers, Fertilizer, International, Irrigation, Precision Ag in the News

High returns: Collector T. Soundiah inspecting a field of brinjal, raised under precision farming at Mangalam in Tiruchi district. Photo by M. Moorthy, courtesy of The Hindu

High returns: Collector T. Soundiah inspecting a field of brinjal, raised under precision farming at Mangalam in Tiruchi district. Photo by M. Moorthy, courtesy of The Hindu

Part of India’s National Agriculture Development Program (NADP) promotes a precision farming technique that is gaining popularity, according to a recent story in India’s national newspaper, The Hindu.

Over the past two years, precision farming techniques have been promoted in 900 hectares across the district in various crops including sugarcane, maize, brinjal, tomato, onion, tapioca, sunflower and groundnut.

With installation of drip irrigation system and fertigation (for application of soluble fertilizers) units being essential requirements, farmers could avail a 50 per cent subsidy for the equipment. A farmer could avail a maximum subsidy of Rs.65,000 a hectare, including the cent per cent subsidy of Rs.25,000 for soluble fertilizer, said Collector T. Soundiah, after inspecting some of the precision farming fields in the district on Tuesday.

The higher yield achieved through the drip irrigation systems and fertigation, under which the soluble fertilizer was applied through the drip irrigation system, has been an attraction for farmers.

“This is the first time we have taken up cultivation of brinjal and the results has been encouraging so far,” said A. Ramasamy, who along with his brother A. Easwaran, has raised the vegetable in two acres at Mangalam village in the drought-prone Thathaiyengarpet union. Mr. Ramasamy, who has grown two different hybrid varieties, even takes the longer variety to the Salem Uzhavar Sandhai where such brinjals find a better market.

A cluster-based approach was also being promoted under the scheme, so that small farmers in villages could come together to avail the subsidy given under the NADP in clusters of 20 hectares each. Farmers could achieve up to 50 per cent increase in yield by adopting precision farming techniques, according to S. Robert Vincent, Deputy Director of Horticulture.

Responding to the request of some farmers, Mr. Soundiah said the district administration would take steps to get subsidy for installing solar-powered fences around their fields. Farmers could come forward to avail the subsidy for purchase of refrigerated vehicles, under the National Horticulture Mission, for transporting their produce, he said.

Farmer Succeeds With Variable Rate Precision Tools

Kurt LawtonCorn, Farmers, Fertilizer, GPS, Irrigation, Planting

On variable soils, Indiana farmer Eric Wappel has found precision agriculture success by varying fertilizer and seeding rates, according to a recent story in Indiana Prairie Farmer magazine.

“We use variable rate application to spread phosphorus, potassium and ag lime,” he notes. “What we put where depends upon soil sample results. Soil sampling comes first. We use hybrids, but also factor in soil types and yield goals when deciding how much to apply where.”

Rates for lime, for example, vary from a half-ton per acre to 2.5 tons per acre, largely due to variations in soils. “If we just applied two tons on the whole field, we would be overapplying lime on half of a field like that,” Eric explains. By putting inputs where they’re needed most, he believes they get their highest yields.

Variable-rate application also comes into play when applying nitrogen for corn, Wappel notes. He prepares many of his own prescriptions. Once prepared, they instruct the computer controller on board the tractor cab which rate to apply where. Here’s an example of how they use variable-rate applications to vary N rates.

“We might average 150 pounds of N per acre,” he explains. “But rates applied may vary from 100 to 200 pounds per acre.”

Varying seeding rate for corn is one of the most important things they do, thanks to the variation in their soil types, Wappel says. He writes prescriptions that vary from 20,000 to 35,000 seeds per acre for the same hybrid

“If there’s a sand hill in the field, we want to drop about 20,000 there,” he notes. Average ground typically gets 31,000 seeds per acre. Since it’s cool and wet and hard to get a stand in muck, the rate there might be 35,000 seeds per acre. On what we call good ground, we’re typically going to about 34,000 seeds per acre.”

Register Now For Top Precision Ag Conference

Kurt LawtonEducation, Events, Farmers, GPS, Industry News, InfoAg

Register by July 1 for the best conference covering precision agriculture and you can save $100.

InfoAg Conference, held July 14-16 in Springfield, Ill., offers excellent educational seminars, a trade show of the best precision ag companies and a chance to network with top farmers from across the US and the globe.

You’ll find topics that will bring value to your farm operation–from nutrient management and variable rate technology to software, hardware, on-farm trials, farmer/dealer/consultant success stories and much more.

And if you arrive a day early, there are Monday tours of farm and equipment plots, large grain facility and Dickey-john headquarters.

Register online today.

Ag Future Bright For Next 10 Years

Kurt LawtonGeneral

Iowa State University agricultural economist Wally Huffman is very optimistic about the next 10 years in agriculture.

Dramatic price fluctuations, increasing demand, the food vs. fuel debate, and other events of the past year may have food producers wondering which way is up.

Despite these recent uncertainties, ‘up’ is precisely the direction an Iowa State researcher believes agriculture is headed for at least the next 10 years.

Huffman, professor in agricultural economics and Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences, predicts supply will go up, demand will go up, and real prices of grain and oilseeds also will go up.

“Supply is going up, and demand is going up,” he said. “I think they will grow at a similar pace. There will be occasional spikes due to bad weather and abrupt restriction in crude oil production, but prices will come down. When they do, they will come down to similar levels to what they are now in real terms, and those are pretty good prices.

“For the past 100 years, on average, real agricultural product prices have been falling as technology has been allowing supply to increase faster than demand,” he said.

But for the past decade, demand has been rising as quickly as supply, he added.

Huffman also believes that rapid improvement in plant genetics, thanks to biotechnology, will rise much faster than in the past 50 years.

“In the case of corn, since 1955 the average rate of increase in Iowa crop yield has been two bushels, per acre, per year,” said Huffman. “That’s an amazing accomplishment starting from about 65 bushels, per acre, per year in 1955, up to about 165 bushels, per acre, per year now.”

Huffman thinks the future will be even better.

“From 2010 to 2019, corn yields are going to increase quite substantially, maybe at four to six bushels, per acre, per year,” he said.

Much of the increase will be due to genetic improvements in hybrid corn varieties associated with new, multiple stacking of genes for insect protection and herbicide tolerance that will permit a major increase in plant populations.

These improvements are the result of corn that has been genetically modified (GM) to have certain desirable traits.

Also, better equipment, improved farm management, and reduced- and no-till farming will contribute to rising corn yields in the Midwest.

Other commodities have also improved yield and will likely see continuing increases, according to Huffman.Soybean yields in Iowa also are increasing, although less dramatically than corn, says Huffman.

Read Huffman’s full report “Technology and Innovation in World Agriculture: Prospects for 2010-2019.”

Precision Technology A Must To Feed The World

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Conservation, Education, Industry News, International, sustainability

To feed a growing population, we need increased sustainable and global efforts with precision irrigation, fertilization, mechanization and genetically modified crops that improve yields, says a report released today by Deutsche Bank in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.

“We are at a crossroads in terms of our investments in agriculture and what we will need to do to feed the world population by 2050,” says David Zaks, a co-author of the report and a researcher at the Nelson Institute’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment.

By 2050, world population is expected to exceed 9 billion people, up from 6.5 billion today. Already, according to the report, a gap is emerging between agricultural production and demand, and the disconnect is expected to be amplified by climate change, increasing demand for biofuels, and a growing scarcity of water.

“There will come a point in time when we will have difficulties feeding world population,” says Zaks, a graduate student whose research focuses on the patterns, trends and processes of global agriculture.

Although unchecked population growth will put severe strains on global agriculture, demand can be met by a combination of expanding agriculture to now marginal or unused land, substituting new types of crops, and technology, the report’s authors conclude. “The solution is only going to come about by changing the way we use land, changing the things that we grow and changing the way that we grow them,” Zaks explains.

The report notes that agricultural research and technological development in the United States and Europe have increased notably in the last decade, but those advances have not translated into increased production on a global scale. Subsistence farmers in developing nations, in particular, have benefited little from such developments and investments in those agricultural sectors have been marginal, at best.

The Deutsche Bank report, however, identifies a number of strategies to increase global agricultural productions in sustainable ways, including:

  • Improvements in irrigation, fertilization and agricultural equipment using technologies ranging from geographic information systems and global analytical maps to the development of precision, high performance equipment.
  • Applying sophisticated management and technologies on a global scale, essentially extending research and investment into developing regions of the world.
  • Investing in “farmer competence” to take full advantage of new technologies through education and extension services, including investing private capital in better training farmers.
  • Intensifying yield using new technologies, including genetically modified crops.
  • Increasing the amount of land under cultivation without expanding to forested lands through the use of multiple cropping, improving degraded crop and pasturelands, and converting productive pastures to biofuel production.

“First we have to improve yield,” notes Zaks. “Next, we have to bring in more land in agriculture while considering the environmental implications, and then we have to look at technology.”

Bruce Kahn, Deutsche Bank senior investment analyst, echoed Zaks observations: “What is required to meet the challenge of feeding a growing population in a warming world is to boost yield through highly sophisticated land management with precision irrigation and fertilization methods,” said Kahn, a graduate of the Nelson Institute. “Farmers, markets and governments will have to look at a host of options including increased irrigation, mechanization, fertilization and the potential benefits of biotech crops.”

The Deutsche Bank report depended in part on an array of global agricultural analytical tools, maps, models and databases developed by researchers at UW-Madison’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment. Those tools, including global maps of land supply for crops and pasture, were developed primarily for academic research, says Zaks. The Deutsche Bank report, he continues, is evidence that such tools will have increasing applications in plotting a course for sustainable global agriculture.

Southern Growers Find Precision Farming Pays

Kurt LawtonCorn, Cotton, Farmers, Fertilizer, GPS

Using GPS guidance and precise metering systems to cut P and K rates 40 to 50% while maintaining good yields is catching on in the south, according to a recent piece in Delta Farm Press magazine.

Glenn and Rodney Mast who farm near Columbus, Miss., say precision farming technology is helping them achieve such efficiencies. “When you put the fertilizer into the bed, it’s right where the plants need it. It gives every plant an equal opportunity for the nutrients needed for good growth.

“With GPS and minimum till, we’re able to go back and bed in precisely the same place each year, and we believe we’re building up fertility levels in the rooting zone with lower rates than if we were broadcasting.”

Rodney says they’ve seen the practice become widespread over the past 10 years in the Midwest, where they have relatives, and “I don’t understand why it hasn’t been more widely adopted here in the South. As expensive and risky as farming is nowadays, we’ve got to try things that can help us cut costs and be more efficient.

“To that end, banding has worked extremely well for us, but the biggest advantage is in more efficient application rates. Every university study we’ve seen, from Minnesota to Florida, and even in the United Kingdom (where it has become widely-used because of environmental restrictions), has shown the practice is tremendously more efficient and effective.

“In addition to the direct savings for input costs and the reduction in manpower hours, we’ve experienced no yield loss. These advantages, combined with the accuracy that GPS equipment can provide, are among the reasons why almost the entire Midwest has gone to strip-till over the past 10 years.”

GPS has been termed “the killer application” for farmers utilizing no-till/minimum-till and fertilizer banding practices, because its ±1-inch accuracy gives them unparalleled precision in placement of fertilizer and seed.

Your Comments On GM Ethanol Corn Requested

Kurt LawtonAg Group, Corn, Ethanol, Farmers, sustainability

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking comments until July 6 on the proposed petition to deregulate genetically modified (GM) corn that improves ethanol production.

The petition for deregulation, submitted by Syngenta Seeds Inc., is in accordance with APHIS’ regulations concerning the introduction of genetically-engineered organisms and products and is available for the public’s review and comment. As part of the decisionmaking process, APHIS also has prepared a draft environmental assessment and plant pest risk assessment for review and comment.

Reopening the comment period will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments on the petition.

APHIS will make a determination of nonregulated status if it can conclude that the organism does not pose a plant pest risk. If APHIS grants the Syngenta Seeds petition for deregulation, the genetically-engineered corn and its progeny would no longer be regulated articles. The product could then be freely moved and planted without the requirement of permits or other regulatory oversight by APHIS.

APHIS is responsible for protecting U.S. agriculture and the environment from animal and plant pests. APHIS regulates GE products in cooperation with the EPA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Food and Drug Administration. In compliance with agency policy, Syngenta Seeds submitted a food and feed safety and nutritional assessment summary to FDA for this genetically-engineered corn. EPA is not involved in evaluating this genetically-engineered corn because it has not been engineered to produce a pesticide or to be tolerant to an herbicide.

APHIS has safely regulated genetically-engineered organisms since 1986 and has overseen the deregulation of more than 70 products.

This notice was published in the June 4 Federal Register. APHIS is seeking comment on the petition, the EA and the revised plant pest risk assessment. Consideration will be given to comments received on or before July 6. Send two copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0016, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0016. To submit a comment online, click here.

New Precision Weather Growing Degree Days Tool

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Corn, Cotton, Education, Farmers, Irrigation, Resources

Track your current and past Growing Degree Days (GDD) to help with crop scouting for pests using a new tool developed through the joint efforts of Monsanto and The Weather Channel.

Since the January launch of The Weather Channel’s ‘Agriculture News & Forecast’ web page, growers who used the site requested the addition of a GDD calculator. To access the tool, simply enter your zip code (or sign in to your Weather Channel home page) and click the Growing Degree Days Calculator link.

“The growth and development of crops is directly impacted by the growing degree days, and having this information available can help farmers make better informed management decisions,” said Boyd Carey, lead of technology development for Monsanto. “TWCi has created an easy way for growers to run those calculations to compare different years at a given location. In a spring like this one where we’ve had so much rain and so many cloudy days across our agricultural production areas, this tool could prove useful immediately.”

Farmers can compare two different years’ GDD (as far back as 2003) for the same date range and location. Additionally, each calculation — one of the most complex on weather.com — includes the 30-year-average GDD for the selected dates and location, alerting farmers to the typical GDD for the selected time frame and location. The calculator uses both forecast and 30-year climatology data from The Weather Channel, allowing for past, present or future calculations. The calculator draws from the most accurate weather data available, using proprietary TruPoint technology created by The Weather Channel. TruPoint forecasts allow for future weather information accurate up to 2 kilometers (1.24 miles). This technology combines traditional weather observations with even more data to create forecasts for more than 1.9 million locations — literally filling in the gaps of the reporting systems used by other providers.

Agri ImaGIS Teams With Farm Market iD

Kurt LawtonAerial Imagery, Company Announcement, Farmers, GPS, Industry News, Satellite

Data on farmers and fields will now be aided by satellites.

Farm Market iD, a leading provider of farm-level U.S. agricultural data, announced today the signing of a joint venture agreement with Fargo, North Dakota-based Agri ImaGIS.   The joint venture agreement between Farm Market iD and Agri ImaGIS creates co-development and co-marketing arrangements for Farm Market iD, a comprehensive database of U.S. farms, allowing the combined team to bring to the agricultural market a new and unique set of GIS [geographic information system] and geo-spatial products and services associated with sites in the database.

Farm Market iD is a company of Telematch, Inc., a leading marketing intelligence solutions company.  The announcement comes less than a month after closing the acquisition of Farm Market iD by Telematch.

“This exciting opportunity with Agri ImaGIS demonstrates our commitment to Farm Market iD and the agribusiness community,” said Peg Kuman, chief executive officer, Telematch.   “We are investing early and aggressively into new and robust technologies that will continue to position Farm Market iD as the leader in quality farm data and database solutions.”

According to Lanny Faleide, president, Agri ImaGIS, “With FMiD’s proprietary data that identifies grower and farm detail, along with its geo-coded Common Land Units (CLUs), and Agri ImaGIS’s proprietary satellite imagery archive and Web-based GIS products, we plan to offer growers and marketers the unique opportunity to map individual farms, identify the crops and acreages for each field and to know precisely who owns and operates each farm.   It is truly revolutionary in scope.”

“We are already in discussions with a number of leading ag suppliers about testing and licensing this unique enhancement of our database,” said John Montandon, co-founder of Farm Market iD who remains with Telematch as an investor and consultant. “This is a transitional moment for the company in several ways, and it certainly represents a major step forward in our intelligence offerings in support of farmers and to the agricultural marketplace. With Telematch stepping up immediately to support such innovations for Farm Market iD, we are excited about the practical applications that our joint venture with Agri ImaGIS will produce.”