Fertilizer production costs will be substantially higher in 2011 than they’ve been for the past couple of years. When you look at the numbers, remember that commodity prices also have increased significantly. If you are a shrewd marketer, you have taken advantage of crop pricing opportunities that will help offset the higher production costs. You may still be able to … Read More
Nitrogen Sensor Unplanned Test Convinces Grower of Value
You know how sometimes things happen in farm fields that are either out of your control, or perhaps something known as operator error. Well, some of those oops provide valuable learning experiences, don’t they?! Such was the case with central Nebraska farmer Kurt Kroeger. Now Kroeger is a fairly advanced precision ag aficionado, playing with many things on his 1,250 … Read More
Must Read: New Precision Balanced Crop Nutrition Guide
I’d highly recommend every farmer spend some serious time this winter with this new guide. It is excellent. Sent to over 400,000 growers as a supplement to the November issue of Successful Farming magazine, the 28-page guide is a valuable resource for growers striving for next-generation yields, as well as a great sales tool for Mosaic’s retail customers. The guide … Read More
Make Soil Conductivity One of Your Mapping Layers
As I talk with many astute growers on the cutting edge of precision farming technology, almost all of them build management zones in fields using soil electrical conductivity (EC) to accurately characterize and map soil variability. Veris Technologies, a pioneer in this EC technology, offers a look into why researchers and growers are using this technology in more than 40 … Read More
Why Advanced Technology is Needed in Farming
Urban Lehner, head of editorial for DTN/The Progressive Farmer, wrote an opinion piece this week that talks about the need for precision farming technology to help balance high-yield production with environmental needs. In the piece he writes… “But, for the foreseeable future, technology will be the key to boosting yields and avoiding billions of acres of forests and grasslands morphing … Read More
Save Chemical Input Cost with Precision Farming Technology
In the North Dakota Farm Business Management Program, coordinator Steve Metzger says producers are telling him they are using far less chemicals, saving money and the environment thanks to the tools of precision agriculture, according to a recent story in Farm & Ranch Guide. “We talk to each producer that we work with, and they are the ones telling us … Read More
New Control For Air Cart Seeding and Fertilizer Application
Grower who want precision control of their air carts will soon be available from Ag Leader Technology to control seeding and granular fertilizer application. This new functionality enables control of up to three channels of granular product or a combination of one channel of seed and two channels of granular product. The new Air Cart support provides the benefits of … Read More
Powerful Software and Good Data Drives Better Decisions
What if you had good solid data that could be correlated and optimized for fertility, seeding rate, hybrid/variety type, and crop inputs—all by different management zones—for every field you farm? To that end, I spoke today with John McGuire, owner and tech guru of Simplified Technology Services in Montpelier, Oh., who is helping growers in northwest Ohio figure out their … Read More
Precision VR Manure Application Trials Promising
A recent Canadian demonstration project to determine if variable rate (VR) fertilizer techniques work for manure was featured in the recent National Hog Farmer magazine. Producers were impressed with the concept, but found current manure application technology fell short of the challenge. The potential agronomic/economic benefit would be increased yields in more productive areas of the field by applying more nutrients … Read More
PepsiCo Unveils Global Precision Farming Plans
Yes, PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, is working with farmers in Europe by rolling out its i-crop precision farming program. PepsiCo announced plans to roll-out its new i-crop farming technology on a global basis. The web-based tool, which was developed by PepsiCo in conjunction with Cambridge University, United Kingdom, is a crop management system that … Read More