We like new technology and we like our gadgets. We’re called AgNerds. And AgNerds are pretty open to precision agriculture. John McKee is one of us. John is a farmer of corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. He was a civil engineer prior to farming so precision ag has come natural to him. He was also one of the speakers on the Conservation in Action Tour.
He says the bottom line is “control.” He micro-manages every piece of his farm. He thinks it’s a good business plan. As he puts it, “We’re just able to put the medicine on the hurt place.” And that makes for a good conservation practice. He says that if the dirt and crop don’t need an input like nitrogen then “we certainly don’t want to put it there.” For one thing, it’s expensive. By being able to pull back with variable rate application it saves him on his pocketbook and the environment which is a win-win for everyone. He says equipment is getting better and cheaper but it needs to continue to get better and cheaper.
Listen to my interview with John here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-tour-12-mckee.mp3″ text=”Interview with John McKee”]