Precision Ag Education Meeting

Melissa SandfortEducation, Events, Reach for the Stars

The ASA-John Deere program represents an education-based partnership that encourages producers to both figuratively and literally “Reach For The Stars” with global positioning satellite technology and support systems that will save resources and advance farm management practices to new heights. The ASA, in partnership with John Deere Ag Management Solutions, invites all growers, regardless of the color of their equipment, … Read More

FIN TV Touts OptiGro

Melissa SandfortGeneral

Jodie Wehrspan, Farm Industry News TV, spoke with Jeff Kaiser, manager for John Deere Agri Services about the OptiGro system. While more farmers are going to corn on corn acres, input costs are increasing and profit opportunities are being stretched, OptiGro, an aerial remote sensing program that shows crop stress, helps to manage input costs for this growing season. The … Read More

Producer Profile: Steve Hafner

Melissa SandfortPrecision in Practice

The Precision in Practice column brings you the latest reports from producers across North America who have put precision farming into practice in their own operations. Visit this column regularly to see what your neighbors are saying about precision farming and how they use it on their farms. Short broadcast interviews with these and other producers can be found in … Read More

N Losses May Affect Growers

Melissa SandfortGeneral

The issue: Nitrogen deficiency stress in corn due to heavy rainfall and other factors in the Midwest this spring which may soon become more apparent in the next few weeks to put the corn crop at risk and reduce yields. What does that mean? 1. N losses always exist. 2. Mineralization always exists. This year will probably more erratic than … Read More

Producer Profile: Randy Reznicek

Melissa SandfortPrecision in Practice

The Precision in Practice column brings you the latest reports from producers across North America who have put precision farming into practice in their own operations. Visit this column regularly to see what your neighbors are saying about precision farming and how they use it on their farms. Short broadcast interviews with these and other producers can be found in … Read More

John Deere OptiGro helps manage N levels

Melissa SandfortGeneral

Soil and weather conditions this spring in Iowa and surrounding states could have a major impact on development of the region’s corn crop going into the heart of the growing season, says an area agronomist. Crop stress associated with nitrogen deficiency should be a big concern for corn growers who experienced a cool, wet spring. That stress may start showing … Read More

3 colors or less

Melissa SandfortGeneral

As mentioned in a previous post, as we get deeper into the “precision revolution,” compatibility is growing, and practitioners are choosing their brands of equipment more carefully. That seems to be supported by the results of a recent reader poll, showing that nearly 60% run their operations with 3 brands or less of equipment. Q: Counting self-propelled equipment, electronic controllers, … Read More

Compatibility is key

Melissa SandfortGeneral

There is still a lot of discussion about the need for compatibility across agriculture equipment, be it a tractor, a sprayer, or a controller. True plug and play is possible in some instances, but has been slow to come. In a free market, that comes with the territory – companies put a lot of time and effort into developing specialized … Read More

Farmers Continue to Embrace Technology

Melissa SandfortEducation, General, Research

A report from the University of Kentucky asserts that growers are finding recent precision ag technology advancements are highly beneficial to their operations. “We’re really at an exciting time with this technology,” said Ben Koostra, an engineer associate with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. “What we’ve seen is in the past five or six years, the very early … Read More

Aerial Detective

Melissa SandfortGeneral

Farmers interested in applying variable rates of crop inputs based on current crop conditions have another service option, courtesy of John Deere Agri Services’ new OptiGro Imaging System. The OptiGro system features a proprietary combination of high-tech automated cameras, custom software and the Web to deliver digital color and near-infrared images. Images are shot from a small airplane; the pilot … Read More