Just as you wouldn’t leave for vacation without an oil change and checking the fluids in your car, as planting season approaches and you find yourself servicing planting equipment, be sure to give your precision ag equipment a “once-over” as well. A great place to start this routine service check is by making a back-up of last year’s data and … Read More
Trimble Now Includes Satellite-Delivered Corrections
Trimble announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets related to the OmniSTAR™ Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal corrections business from Fugro N.V. The acquisition is expected to significantly expand Trimble’s worldwide ability to provide corrections services for land based agriculture, construction, mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) and survey applications. Trimble and Fugro … Read More
Benefits to No-Till
As Ann Perry reports: Wheat farmers in eastern Oregon and Washington who use no-till production systems can substantially stem soil erosion and enhance efforts to protect water quality, according to research by USDA scientists. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) hydrologist John Williams led a study that compared runoff, soil erosion and crop yields in a conventional, intensively tilled winter wheat-fallow system … Read More
Till We Meet Again
One of my goals living on the farm is to have a garden. I started one in Kansas City, but then we moved away. But this summer, I’m going to make a concerted effort to keep a family tradition going. We have these Syrian cucumbers that look like pinwheels when you cut them and never get bitter, no matter how … Read More
Ag Leader Firmware Update
The latest firmware updates for the INTEGRA and EDGE displays have been released, offering several enhancements and new features for customers. With these new features, the displays offer even greater functionality for your operation, and the firmware enhancements address many common requests. Customers who have the INTEGRA display will see increased functionality, including Virtual Terminal and Advanced Seed Monitoring for … Read More
The Hay Rake
I’ve mentioned that I’m a corn and soybeans kind of gal. But I’m broadening my horizons and learning more about hay. This rake sits outside my Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Back in the late ‘teens, the rake was pulled by two horses while the operator would sit on the seat. He had two pedals –- one to engage the dogs … Read More
SMS Software Customer Training is Valuable
Casey Schlichting, corn and soybean grower from Clear Lake, Iowa, farms about 1,300 acres with his father and uncle. For about seven years, he and his family have utilized SMS Software from Ag Leader – a data storage solution that captures data from planting, fertilizing, spraying, harvest or guidance, and houses it all and organizes it for easy access. Casey … Read More
Save the Best for Next Year
Today, most farmers have other occupations to supplement their income. They farm, they run a trucking operation, they sell anhydrous, they sell seed corn, they run a grain elevator. I think I just described my brother to a “T” as one of his other duties as assigned is a seed corn dealer. Every year, people come to him to buy … Read More
Data Requirements Are Changing
As growers look ahead to the June 30 or July 15 acreage reporting deadline, it is important that they be aware of the changes in terminology and acreage reporting policies. When it comes to acreage enrollment requirements, the definition of a Common Land Unit (CLU) is the smallest unit of land that has a permanent, contiguous boundary, a common land … Read More
An Extra Harvest Each Year
A new biocatalyst platform designed for hydroponic systems has been proven in recent tests to speed up crop growth enough to allow an extra harvest each year. Chesapeake Greenhouse, LLC lettuce hydroponic farm in Maryland recently completed a trial testing of BiOWiSH-Hydroponic — a revolutionary water treatment solution that helps increase nutrient availability, improve plant vigor, and stimulate microbial activity … Read More