Now you knew someone would, sooner or later, put John Deere’s iTEC Pro technology to the test by leaving the cab, as witnessed by this crazy driverless tractor video. Good thing the GPS signal did not drop. And please, don’t try this at home. I’d like to see the rest of the video where the farmer had to run and jump … Read More
Target Pests With Precision Ag Technologies
Maximizing economic return is the payoff sought by growers with any precision farming technology. And a new story in Southeast Farm Press talks about how the Precision Farming team at the University of Georgia is using soil texture to target nematodes. With precision agriculture, we try to refine things in order to achieve the goal of maximizing returns,” says Richard Davis, … Read More
Smart Nozzles Aid Precision Application
With planting and spraying season top-o-mind right now, more and more growers are saving money with planter and boom control precision agriculture technology. For growers ready to move up to the next level of precision, check out Harrison Ag Technologies and their Smart Nozzle–which received a FinOvation award for 2009 from Farm Industry News magazine. Using GPS technology for tracking … Read More
Precision Irrigation from Valley
Just as GPS-guided auto steer has helped plant super straight rows, producers can now irrigate in the same straight lines to minimize variances in water application to help maximize yields. Valley Irrigation now offers GPS Guidance for linear irrigation equipment. Here’s what two farmers said about their trials with this new precision agriculture technology. Leonard Water Services, the local Valley … Read More
Precision Farming Data Will Pay
The early pioneers of precision agriculture technology were often frustrated–not unlike the initial stages of any technology. The data gathered could produce impressive yield maps, but the knowledge base to glean better management decisions from them was lacking. Today, those pioneering growers have a treasure trove of data that can possibly be manipulated into zones–leading to improved management decisions. Corn … Read More
The Future of Automated Crop Production
An autonomous gardener robot that uses sensors and computers to water, fertilize and harvest fruits and vegetables is under development by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students of computer science and artificial intelligence labs (CSAIL). While the long-term goal of this specific research project is to develop such automation for greenhouses, imagine the uses for monitoring fields of grain. … Read More
Are You Using Your Precision Farming Data?
Remember your first yield monitor, when all you did with it was watch the numbers spin wildly across your fields. Heck, even when one took the next step to map the data, few knew how to use it to make improvements. Using technology to it’s fullest extent takes time, education, practice, and a good advisor. And the technology of precision … Read More
Trimble and Tru Count Increase ROI
At the 2009 Commodity Classic recently, Trimble Navigation was helping growers see how precision provides them with a good return on their investment. Sid Siefken with Trimble says guidance by itself makes a grower more efficient, but Trimble’s acquisition of Tru Count late last year has increased a grower’s ROI. “Tru Count does the automatic row shutoff systems for corn … Read More
Educate The Public On Precision Farming Values
Hats off to Adrian, Michigan Daily Telegram for helping the general public grasp how satellite-based GPS systems help farmers. And kudos to Tom Van Wagner, the local district USDA-NRCS conservationist, and to local growers for highlighting results from precision farming. As Van Wagner was quoted…“Agriculture is big business,” he said. “We sometimes read about agriculture and how (farmers) are polluting and … Read More
Great Deal on GPS Precision Farming Starter Kit
Calling all growers who haven’t experienced the input saving possibilities of GPS-based precision farming. All it takes is $1,400 and a trip to your John Deere GreenStar certified dealer. Within minutes of arriving home, you can plug in a user-friendly GreenStar Lightbar and StarFire 300 receiver and be farming with precision. You can move the system easily from machine to … Read More