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 … Read More
Precision Ag Needed In The Dairy Industry
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 … Read More
Input Costs Increase Precision Interest
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 … Read More
Showing Precision Guided Tillage at Farm Science Review
The Farm Science Review is taking place in London, OH and I got to attend the precision ag field demos yesterday and found John Deere on the job. I spoke with John Deere’s Jamie Bultemeier (pictured on the left). He was conducting a precision tillage demonstration. Jamie’s an agronomist by training so he focuses on crop production as it relates … Read More
Aligned Farming Enhances Precision
Measuring progress is key to determining which farming techniques are more profitable than others for growers. Clay Mitchell, a farmer in NE Iowa says aligned-farming is a precision farming technique that allows growers to measure their progress, particularly compared to angled-farming. “What’s special about aligned farming systems is that it allows us to measure them,” Clay said. “We can finally … Read More
Auto-Steer Compliments Skip-Row Farming
Specialized farming practices paired with specialized farming technology can mean “special” results for farmers if you ask Robert Klein. Robert is an Extension Cropping Systems Specialist with the University of Nebraska in North Platte. He says when it comes to seeding and planting plots for crop performance evaluation, using GPS-RTK Auto Steering technology with skip-row planting methods can boost yields. … Read More
Precision FIT with Pioneer
Pioneer is offering a new, free service that it says can give farmers more: more information and more uses for that information. Pioneer Hi-Bred’s FIT mapping combines GPS data with a free mapping service offering farmers detailed information about their crops, where they’re growing their crops and whether they’re growing them in way that maximizes their resources. Did I mention … Read More
The “Stars” Have it with Precision
Farmers wanting to ease into precision technology have new equipment options from John Deere. The ag machinery company has unveiled three new products within its GreenStar line. John Deere says the GreenStar Lightbar, GreenStar 2 Display 1800 and the StarFire 300 Reciever are meant to help operators get started with precision farming. The new gadgets can also help enhance older … Read More
RowCommand and RowSense Offer Guidance for Planters and Combines
AutoTrac guidance is no longer just for tractors. Farmers can now use assisted steering technology on combines. John Deere‘s AutoTrac RowSense gives growers the ability to use precision guidance on the combines for harvesting corn. Mechanical feeler data from new row sensors located on the corn heads are integrated with GPS data from John Deere’s StarFire Receiver to give growers … Read More
Farming for the Future
Simon Blackmore is changing the future of farming with his Unibots project (see post), but he’s also farming for the future with the European project Future Farm. But, Simon says, the project is all about implementing the technologies of today: “The purpose of Future Farm is to take a lot of the technologies and processes that we’ve been developing in … Read More