This week I’ll be “Driving Green” in the south as John Deere unveils the latest in small tractors, compact tractors, utility vehicles and more.
I know you may be wondering how precision ag fits in. Well I’m going to find out and report on it right here for you with pictures and interviews. It all kicks off on Wednesday afternoon in Sarasota, FL so check back if you’d like to learn more about what’s on the agenda from Precision.AgWired.com sponsor, John Deere.
One of the ways dairy farmers are using precision agriculture is in the area of forage production. It allows them to measure the moisture in it very precisely?
John Deere was on location at World Dairy Expo once again to showcase their HarvestLab Moisture Sensor.
I met and spoke with Luke Kerns. he says the unit uses a near infrared sensor that mounts on the spout of their forage harvester so it measures moisture as you’re chopping. He says that when it’s combined with other components on their machines you get data that lets you map your fields to variably apply manure or other nutrients to your fields to increase yields and forage quality. He says it also provides documentation for CAFO plans.
You can listen to my interview with Luke here: [audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/john-deere/wdx-08-kerns.mp3]
It looks like Bruce Bosley is writing a series of articles on the myths of precision farming for the Ft. Morgan Times. Here’s an excerpt from his first one.
As a consequence, several myths have arisen about precision farming.
Precision farming is not a new branch or way of farming. Farmers already know how to grow crops and raise livestock. However, with increased globalization occurring in every sector of our economy, today’s farmer needs to produce better, greater, cheaper and faster in order to remain viable.
Precision farming can help today’s farmer meet these new challenges by applying the Right input, in the Right amount, to the Right place, at the Right time, and in the Right manner. The importance and success of precision farming lies in these five “R’s.”
You don’t usually think of precision agriculture when it comes to the dairy industry. However, I heard it this morning in a press conference for GEA Farm Technologies at the World Dairy Expo. So I asked their CEO and President, Vern Foster, what he meant by it. Basically, he says that agriculture is changing and even in a dairy there’s a growing need for owner/operators to get online and see what’s happening in a milking parlor when they’re not there and to do more precise measuring.
You can listen to his answer here: [audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/wdexpo/wdx-08-foster-precision.mp3]
I was attending their press conference because the company we’ve known as WestfaliaSurge is now part of a new brand, GEA Farm Technologies. As Foster explains, “It’s to pull all of the organizations that are part of GEA Farm Technologies, Houle, Norbco, WestfaliaSurge, pull it under a common brand so it makes sense for the marketplace, makes sense for our investors, makes sense for our customers and our dealer distribution.” The GEA stands for Global Engineering Alliance, a 5.3 billion Euro company that operates in 50 countries. Vern says, “It helps us really re-focus under one umbrella as we continue to grow and create additional organizations and innovate into the field of agriculture.”
According to a story from the Cleantech Group, researchers have found a way to harness electricity from trees and this has an agricultural application.
Boston, Mass.-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers said this week they’ve engineered a way to use the natural power generated by trees to recharge battery operated sensors that can detect forest fires.
The development figures prominently in an emerging field of technology in which wireless sensors, monitoring devices and novel uses of biological systems for agriculture are being put to use to save resources and improve growth in plants.
The MIT researchers are not alone in their innovative efforts. Several other new startups and university projects are underway in the area of precision agriculture.
In simple terms, precision agriculture is devoted to applying technology to better manage use of water and other natural resources to improve agricultural production. To date, the private sector has made a significant investment to tailor information technologies for agricultural applications, according to experts.
The other potential sensor applications for agriculture and vineyards include optimizing the use and timing of fertilizer application as well as early warning for frost and excessive heat and prediction of the potential for disease and pest outbreaks.
Some of the other wireless-sensor startups in the area of precision agricultural include Grape Networks and Fruition Sciences. Both are focused on the high end of the winery market.
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The Sunbelt Ag Expo is fast approaching. This annual event is held in Moultrie, GA and precision agriculture will be on display.
What modern farm show would be complete without precision farming exhibits? New tractors equipped with auto-steer and similar global positioning systems will strut their stuff in the always-popular ride and drive area. Exciting new field demonstrations that illustrate recent technology are on the schedule as well.
I’ll be on location there and hoping to find some interesting stories for you.
A new report from Position One Consulting Pty Ltd, in conjunction with Eric Gakstatter, Contributing Editor to GPS World magazine, says that the worldwide precision GPS market will rise from US$3 Billion in 2008 to US$6-8 Billion by 2012.
The report includes global trends, demand and applications for high-precision GPS technology; starting with precision GPS infrastructure, continuing through the market for GPS receivers, finished GPS goods and concluding with GPS augmentation and distribution services. Markets covered include surveying, engineering, agriculture, mining, deformation monitoring, GIS, marine and aviation for both machine control and non-machine control applications.
At the core of the 200 page report are five year growth and financial projections for the high precision Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) markets surveyed as well as analysis of the competitive landscape.
“The adoption of precision GPS and GNSS products and services, particularly for machine control, are reaping impressive productivity gains for innovators and early adopters”, said Rob Lorimer, Managing Director of Position One Consulting. “This report is in response to the growing demand for more detailed market intelligence regarding precise positioning products and services and the markets in which they are used”.
A free 14 page abstract of the report can be obtained by emailing them at abstracts@positiononeconsulting.com.
From the Chatham Daily News we found this story which provides a basic explanation of precision farming:
GPS is part of precision agriculture, which is doing the right thing at the right place at the right time. More precise application of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, and better control of the dispersion of these agri-products, is possible through precision agriculture. This reduces the farmer’s expenses, produces a higher yield, and creates more environmentally-friendly farming operations.
Indiana farm broadcaster Gary Truitt – voice of the Hoosier Ag Today radio network – recently did an interview with Purdue ag economist Bruce Erickson about how higher input costs are making many farmers take a second look at precision.
Erickson told Gary that the change in the farm economy has spurred a renewed interest in precision farming. “Couple of major things that drive precision technologies are saving input costs and increasing yields,” Bruce said. “With both higher input costs and high grain prices, we have the potential to make precision technologies more profitable.”
Bruce says that they are seeing a bit of an uptick in adoption of precision, more in the “on the go type things that you get with individual nozzle shut offs and the planter row control and even in guidance systems. If you can shave off a little cost when diesel is $4 a gallon, those things really start to become more profitable.”
Listen to Gary’s interview with Bruce here:
HAT report (10:00 mp3)
