Spending time this winter analyzing your precision practices is always beneficial. To this end, check out this DTN AG Online Seminar called “Sizing Your GPS Investment/Which Tools Fit the Farm,” hosted in September by DTN and The Progressive Farmer magazine. The seminar discusses numerous topics: As more tools associated with GPS technologies come available, farmers are beginning to question which … Read More
Wireless Soil Sensors Judge Crop Environment
Sensor technology continues to amaze me. Having watched this fascinating technology since the 1980s and written about its usefulness in monitoring everything from tractor components to grain quality, I’ve become a firm believer that such sensor precision truly pays. Current research underway by engineers at Iowa State University aims to plant small (2×4 in.) prototype wireless soil sensors under crops. … Read More
What Technology Worked This Year?
The buzz is all about precision…steering, strip-till, fertilizer placement. During Successful Farming magazine’s annual Crop Tech Tour, editors asked growers what technology worked in the field this year–given weather extremes that ranged from severe droughts to floods. Tom Loitz of Geneseo, Illinois, says his new strip-till system combined with row shut-offs on his planter showed strong payback when he entered … Read More
Survey Says Less Steering Wheel Use
Like farmers, more retailers are using their steering wheels less this past year–without going in the ditch! Survey says…adoption of auto guidance grew from 27% use by retailers to 37% in 2008. Other growing precision technologies being applied for customers include GPS guidance using lightbars, satellite/aerial imagery, field mapping with GIS for legal/billing/insurance purposes, and GPS for logistics uses. When … Read More
How To Think About Variable Rate
With fertilizer costs and 2009 cropping plans being top-of-mind right now, variable-rate (VR) application is an option you should explore to improve efficiency. But where does one begin their thought process to understand the value of VR? The story of Durango Farms in Lacombe, Alberta is a story worth reading because it walks you through their thinking. This presentation was part … Read More