Agriculture.com, one of the longest running ag websites powered by Successful Farming, has a social network for young and beginning farmers called Farmers For The Future. One of the recent topics centered around precision farming talks about a move into RTK and the CORS network. The challenge is dealing with all ages and different colors of equipment. Sam asks…We have … Read More
Use Precision Software Data For Planting Trials and More
Give farmers a piece of technology and they find inventive ways to use it to benefit their operation. In the case of Newton, Iowa farmer (and Ag Leader SeedComand product specialist) Will Cannon, it all started with the yield monitor and mapping hybrids. “I like knowing exactly to a row when hybrids and varieties start and stop—especially when you have … Read More
Time To Prep Your Precision Farming Equipment
As you gear up for planting season, it’s wise to power up, check out and test your monitors, displays and other valuable electronic components before seed enters the planter and you head to the field. I talked to Nick Ohrtman this week, technical support supervisor for Ag Leader Technology. He said a good place to start is to check the … Read More
Indiana Farmers Want Row Shut-Offs
Indiana Prairie Farmer magazine wrote a recent story quoting a Franklin, Ind., precision farming consultant Greg Kneubuhler who says the next hot tool farmers want to invest in is row shut-offs for planters. He says a savings of 5 percent can be achieved, which can deliver a payback in two years. And in some cases, with irregular-shaped fields, payback can … Read More
Farmers Getting Ready for Spring Planting
Spring is just around the corner – the time when a farmer’s fancy turns to thoughts of planting. Growers stopping by the Ag Leader Technology booth at the Commodity Classic trade show last week definitely had spring on their minds. General sales manager Mike Olson says they talked a lot about what growers need to know to get precision farming … Read More
Time Savings With Precision Farming Equipment
We like to write weekly about how growers and how company technology makes precision agriculture pay. Part of making these tools pay almost always includes time savings—which isn’t always as black and white as input dollars saved. Today I spoke with Hannibal, Mo., grower Mark Lehenbauer about his first decade with precision farming tools on their corn-soybean operation. Mark, who … Read More
Precision Agriculture Future is Here
Precision farming has come a long way since the military allowed civilian access to the NAVSTAR GPS constellation in 1995. We’ve gone from initial accuracies of tens of meters down to a couple centimeters. And now we’ve got receivers handling multiple satellite constellations, referred to as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Topcon Precision Agriculture’s senior VP Albert Zahalka gave a … Read More
The Move to Reduce Monitor/Controller Cab Clutter
The fight for space in the tractor/sprayer/combine cab continues, especially as more and more precision farming capabilities are added to an operation. Clutter has happened for a variety of reasons. From anxious early adopter growers buying numerous early controllers, to anxious dealers selling the latest equipment without regard to grower needs, to growers not thinking about longer term needs. Paul … Read More
Ag Leader SureVac
Earlier this week Ag Leader Technology added the patent-pending SureVac electric row shutoff to their lineup of planter section shutoff devices. Since I was at the Iowa Power Farming Show I stopped in and learned all about it from Chad Huedepohl. You can watch the interview or just listen to it below. Here’s the details: SureVac provides today’s precision farming … Read More
Planter Row Control Can Save You Money
As I talk to many growers about their adoption of precision farming equipment and tools, I always like to find out what technology they could eliminate from their operation—if they were forced to give up something. Well, as you can probably guess, almost everyone who has auto steer would never go back to steering again. Who can blame them. However, … Read More