As weather across the Corn Belt improved this week to help speed harvest, some farmers are either thinking about or applying fall fertilizer. I checked in with Ag Leader’s Chad Huedepohl yesterday, and he reminded me of the many benefits of controlling these product applications with their DirectCommand system linked with either the INTEGRA or EDGE displays. “Whether growers are … Read More
New Trimble Display Touts Affordable Capabilities
Trimble recently introduced its latest in-cab, touch screen CFX-750 display. The 8-inch, full-color display allows farmers to choose the specific guidance, steering and precision agriculture capabilities that best fit their farm’s particular needs. The farmer can upgrade the CFX-750 display as business needs change, including adding GLONASS capabilities, or adding section and rate control for crop inputs such as seed, … Read More
Precision Farming Tools Can Reduce Your Environmental Footprint
Conservation. Sustainability. Water Quality. These hot topics are on the minds of government, and should be a continued focus by every grower. As you look at your operation, and your investment in precision farming equipment, it pays to think proactively and adopt components that can improve your environmental footprint. I spoke the other day with Iowa farmer Tim Palmer, who … Read More
Farm Works Expands Software Offerings
Farm Works Information Management, a division of Trimble, just announced three new products to expand its capabilities for growers and agribusinesses. Farm Works Mobile streamlines data management in the field by bundling record keeping, scouting, soil sampling, and variable rate application into one low cost solution. Field records include application dates, hybrid locations, field and weather conditions, scale tickets, and … Read More
New Apache Sprayer Line is Precision Ready
A new line of Apache sprayers was showcased by Equipment Technologies at the recent Farm Progress Show. Three new models offer wide-ranging engineering and design changes to improve value, reliability and ruggedness. As one of Raven’s largest OEM customers, Equipment Technologies can factory install the following precision options on any Apache model: SmarTrax auto-steering, the SCS 5000 application rate controller, … Read More
Precision Pesticide Application Website Launched
In an era of continued concern for the environment and tighter regulations, it simply makes sense to ensure we practice precision crop protection application on every acre. To this end, the Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM) announced the launch of a new Pesticide Environmental Stewardship (PES) website. The site (http://pesticidestewardship.org) is designed for anyone who applies, sells, stores, or … Read More
Precision Ag Technologies Save Money
Research shows a lightbar can pay for itself in three years on only 300 acres. It can be done with a GPS receiver that receives the free WAAS correction signal that functions within 12-inch accuracy. This was just one precision farming economic message presented by Matt Darr, Iowa State University ag engineer, during a field day at its Northern Research … Read More
The Value of Precision Farming Tools
Successful Farming recently compiled various statistics on how precision farming pays, based on the experience of some farmers and university experts. Check out this story from it’s special summer 2010 issue, where they highlighted such benefits as: Strip till and RTK guidance saves a huge amount of hours and fuel savings, while delivering big conservation and environmental benefits. Planter clutches … Read More
Quick Boom Shut-Off Cuts Costs
Given the cost of inputs, the drip, drip, drip of nozzles after you shut them off can be costly. Just ask Arkansas custom applicator Bill French. “When I used to shut the boom off, the nozzles didn’t shut off immediately,” French said, who custom sprays about 50,000 acres of rice and soybeans in northeast Arkansas. “There was still product coming … Read More
Better Steering Guidance in Odd-Shaped and Contoured Fields
For farmers who deal with the planting and spraying challenges of farming on contours, terraces and hills, there’s a new guidance pattern from Ag Leader Technology that offers help. Called SmartPath, this new ‘drive and guide’ pattern is designed for fields beyond the straight and flat, and it doesn’t require the traditional set-up using beginning and end points. “If you … Read More