Iteris Partners with Conservis Corporation

John DavisAgribusiness, computers, Iteris, Software

IterisConservisA leader in information solutions for the transportation and agriculture markets has teamed up with the industry leader in farm management software are teaming up. Iteris, Inc. has partnered with Conservis Corp. to integrate Iteris’ ClearAg Visualization Components and Advisory Services into Conservis’ next-generation farm management information system (FMIS) platform.

Conservis’ FMIS platform manages more than $8 billion of farm assets at all stages of production, providing growers with real-time management such as planning, purchasing, planting, harvesting, and marketing control. Through this integration with Iteris, Conservis customers will also be able to access ClearAg’s global weather, water, soil, and crop health advisory information through the embedded visualization components in Conservis’ farm management dashboard.

“As a global provider of the most advanced FMIS services, Conservis has established itself as a leader in the farming industry,” said Tom Blair, senior vice president, Performance Analytics at Iteris. “Together with ClearAg’s patented weather, water, soil, and crop health advisory services, Conservis will provide a unique and powerful solution set that helps reduce operational costs and increase crop yields. The integration of ClearAg Visualization Components and APIs into Conservis’ leading farm management software will also provide Conservis users access to ClearAg’s new Harvest Advisory Services, which should help optimize important harvest operations, such as the determination of optimal harvest windows based upon crop moisture content and crop growth stages.”

Conservis’ FMIS platform provides some of North America’s most progressive farmers with the insight needed to be more efficient business managers. Through its software, producers can integrate key functions of their business, aggregate the data produced by those functions, and utilize analytical tools to help make data-driven decisions, resulting in more tightly integrated and managed operations.

“We are committed to delivering the most powerful farm management solution in the market, and now with the integration of ClearAg’s Visualization Components and Agronomic Advisory Services, we plan to offer an even greater analytical toolset to today’s top growers,” said Pat Christie, CEO of Conservis. “With harvesting season around the corner for many of our customers, Conservis users should promptly experience the value of this integration, especially with the patented technologies behind the ClearAg Harvest Advisory Services. We are confident our customers will find ClearAg to be a valuable addition to their farming operations.”

AgNerd Cloud – My Take on Apple Watch

Chuck ZimmermanAgNerd, Apps, Gadgets

Chuck's Apple WatchI’ve finally had a chance to put some thoughts in writing about my ZimmWatch (Apple Watch). AgNerds have been bugging me to get it done. I’ll be interested to see if it is a discussion point at next week’s InfoAg Conference.

I’ve been wearing it for over a month now. I’ve traveled with it and worn it throughout the day to see how much I would use it, how I would use it and if I would like it and recommend it. As an AgNerd I bought my Watch feeling excited to get the latest wearable tech from one of my favorite companies. One word describes my feeling now – Disappointed. I expected something more than what I’ve got.

Things I Don’t Like

I have a watch that does a lot of things that a regular watch can’t do but those are all things I can do with my phone while having a better experience doing so. For example, I check the weather a lot. I have the Weather Channel app on my iPhone and my Watch. When I want to check the weather I use my iPhone with one hand. To use my Watch to check weather I either have to use two hands or hope Siri understands me. Neither of those options are good. Siri is okay at times but not when I’m sitting in a presentation or having a discussion. Additionally, the Watch version of the app doesn’t have all the features of the full app for my iPhone. This is true of a lot of apps for the Watch. Apps like USA Today take a long time to load and sync too.

Apple Watch AppsWhen I glance at my Watch to see the time I have to move my hand/wrist to a certain position for the screen to turn on. So, if I’m carrying something and can’t roll my wrist correctly I can’t see the time even though I can see the face of the Watch. This is very annoying.

Answering or making a phone call on my Watch was interesting the first time. But it’s just not practical. It is very awkward holding your wrist to your face. People look at you funny too.

I thought the ability to have my airline boarding pass on my Watch would be a really useful feature. Not right now. For one thing, I have to put my Delta boarding passes into the Passbook app and then have it transferred to the Passbook app on my Watch. It should be easier than that. Last time I flew United I couldn’t get electronic boarding passes at all. Then the next issue is at the airport. The Watch boarding pass only works well on a scanner that faces up. If it’s a down facing scanner with limited space underneath I can’t fit my hand/wrist and Watch underneath it so it can read the pass.

The Watch depends heavily on a connection to my iPhone. If I walk too far away from my phone I basically just have a watch. And finally, it is a watch I have to charge every day or every other day depending on how much I use it. I like my Citizen Eco-Drive Perpetual Calendar Chronograph which never needs to be charged and I can always see the time.

Things I Do Like

I’m not disappointed about everything though. So far, the best feature of the Watch is notifications. I can see my texts, FB messages, Snapchat alerts, Delta flight updates and who is calling. Then I can decide if it is worth pulling my phone out of my pocket while I’m in the middle of some activity and don’t want to get the phone out. This is very useful IMO. However, I don’t think it is enough to make me want to recommend the Watch to anyone just yet.

I guess I have to address some of the health/fitness features. I set my Watch to remind me to stand up every hour for example. It is annoying but serves the purpose of making me think about how long I’ve been sitting. I really didn’t use much else in this category because I either bike or do elliptical machines and like my Fitbit, Watch doesn’t recognize that type of activity. I believe this is an area that will see quite a bit of expansion in the future.

Pros:

Notifications on your wrist (a good feature for an ag app?)
Battery lasts longer than expected
Growing list of apps in the store
Very comfortable to wear (I am using sport band)
Looks good

Cons:

Having to use two hands even if it’s just to use scroll wheel to zoom in/out
Some apps aren’t ready for prime time
Not waterproof
More dangerous to use while driving than phone

Recommendation:

I’d wait on this product. Wait until new versions come out and a lot more apps have been built or developed to provide meaningful functionality, especially in the agriculture industry.

Precision Ag Bytes

Kelly MarshallPrecision Ag Bytes

  • precision-bytesTim Kuechmann has joined NovaSource as Account Manager for the Pacific Northwest and Newton Roda, PhD. will be serving as the new Director of International Business, Southern Cone.
  • AutoProbe Technologies, LLC, manufacturers of the AutoProbe automated soil sampler, names Effertz Farms as a new grower-centric sales and service provider for southeast Kansas and western Missouri.

Farm Bureau Releases Drones in Ag Study

Cindy ZimmermanAFBF, drone, technology, UAS, UAV

ag-droneThe American Farm Bureau Federation, together with drone solutions company Measure, have released a study that identifies and quantifies the benefits of drone technology in precision agriculture.

“While lots of drone hardware has been sold to farmers, until today no tool existed to help growers actually quantify whether the benefits exceed their costs, especially when farmers want to outsource these types of services,” said Justin P. Oberman, President of Measure. “Working with the Farm Bureau and our partners, we have created the only ROI Calculator™ for drone use in precision agriculture. This tool will help growers understand how drone technology can improve their performance for the benefit of consumers in the U.S. and around the world.”

The ROI Calculator™ quantifies the economic benefits of Drone as a Service® for three applications: field crop scouting, 3D terrain mapping, and crop insurance. It initially covers corn, wheat, and soybeans and allows growers to quickly and easily determine if drone technology warrants further exploration after they input information about their farm into the ROI Calculator™. For example, the findings show that for the average U.S. farmer using Drone as a Service® to enhance crop scouting, ROI is $12 per acre for corn, $2.60 per acre for soybeans, and $2.30 per acre for wheat.

afbf-measure“This study and the ROI Calculator™ will help make drones a reality for farmers and ranchers,” said Julie Anna Potts, Executive Vice President and Treasurer of the American Farm Bureau. “Every year we must feed more people on the same fields while protecting the environment we all share. Precision agriculture and drones in particular will be an important part of executing on that mission.”

Version 1.0 of the ROI Calculator™ will be available as a web-based application on the Measure website in the coming weeks; additional functionality will be added over time to include more drone applications and types of crops.

The study is a result of coordinated efforts from a number of sources. Principal sponsors of the study are the American Farm Bureau Federation, GeoSilos, Lockheed Martin, and PepsiCo. Participating sponsors are ADM Crop Risk Services, AGCO, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services, Beck’s Hybrids, Co-Alliance, Conservis, GROWMARK, PrecisionHawk, Rembrandt Foods/Farm Nutrients, Richardson International, J.R. Simplot Company, Willis Group, WinField Solutions/Land O’ Lakes, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indiana State University, and Iowa Farm Bureau. Informa Economics provided key guidance and research throughout this effort.

Watch/listen to presentation on the report here.

Link to fact sheet on the study

Crops Look ‘Real Good’ In Some Areas

Jamie JohansenZimmPoll

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How are the crops in your area looking?”

After reviewing these poll results I feel a glimpse of optimism for the crop outlook. However, it is still raining here in the Midwest and like one poller commented, soybeans are taking a hit. Chuck and Cindy have been talking with growers throughout the corn and soybean belt and it sounds like the weather is becoming more cooperative. However, they have talked to some this week that are just finishing a first planting of their soybeans!

Here are the poll results:

  • Bad – too much moisture – 16%
  • Bad – too dry – 15%
  • Some crops not planted – 8%
  • Ok – could be better – 13%
  • Real good – 38%
  • Not sure – 7%
  • Other – 3%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, Do you consider yourself social media savvy?

The era of social media marketing is upon us. Many across the agriculture community have reaped the benefits and others are making due without. I don’t believe anyone can call themselves a social media expert, because it is always changing. But are you savvy and staying up on the trends, do you need some more training or are you seeing no need to utilize it?

Farmers Fund $14 Billion of Farm Safety Net in 2014

Kelly MarshallCrop Insurance, Government

NCIS_carousel_image_137-800x408$10 billion were shouldered by farmers who filed crop insurance claims in 2014 as deductible losses, according to the National Crop Insurance Services.  That number, combined with the $3.9 billion spent to buy insurance, means farmers absorbed $14 billion, well in excess of the $9 billion in indemnity payments in rural America.

NCIS President Tom Zacharias explains how this is significant.  “First, it shows that U.S. farmers are actively participating in the funding of their own safety net and minimizing taxpayer risk exposure,” he shares. “It also proves that crop insurance is working as designed by helping farmers recover – not profit – from disaster.”

This was even the case after the historic 2012 drought, when farmers shouldered $17 billion in deductible losses and premium payments and received $17 billion in insurance payments. Because farmers have substantial “skin in the game,” crop insurance helps reduce the cost of U.S. farm policy while discouraging risky behavior that may otherwise occur if taxpayers picked up 100 percent of the tab.

Zacharias said that growers favor the current system over past farm policies because crop insurance can be tailored to a farm’s unique characteristics and because efficient private companies administer crop insurance and speed relief when it is needed most.

The newly released deductible calculation completed the 2014 crop insurance picture. Other relevant statistics were detailed in the May edition of NCIS’s Crop Insurance TODAY magazine and included:

  • 1.21 million policies were sold, protecting nearly $110 billion in crop value.
  • More than 294 million acres were insured, with a record 83.5 percent of those acres being insured at high coverage levels.
  • Private insurance companies successfully and efficiently processed claims on more than 441,000 policies.

The $10 billion dollar figure reflects only those crops on which a claim was filed.  Smaller losses which were not filed by farmers are not included in the calculation.

Extreme Jobs to Follow Mystik Lube & Heil Harvesting

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Harvesting

mystikMystik® Lubricants, specializing in performance lubricants for automotive, on-road fleets, off-road and agriculture, is teaming up with Mark Heil Harvesting, a custom harvester in Ulysses, Kansas to tackle the day-to-day challenges of a large scale harvesting operation.  The two companies will show life on the road for the harvesting team, showcasing tough terrain and weather as they move through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.

“Crisscrossing the Great Plains and battling everything Mother Nature throws at you makes teaming up with Mark Heil Harvesting the perfect fit for Mystik,” said Karl Schmidt, general manager of Mystik Lubricants. The team is well set to meet the challenge, with Heil Harvesting’s 40 years and thousands of acres’ worth of experience and Mystik Lubricant’s reputation of 60 years of testing prudcts in era-world conditions.

“When your office is the great outdoors, you have to be prepared for anything,” said Mark Heil, owner of Mark Heil Harvesting. “And that includes punishing weather like rain, hail and drought conditions. We’re excited to partner with Mystik to help us continue to push the extremes and are confident we can meet any challenge we face with Mystik protecting our equipment.”

Mystik fans are invited to stay tuned for exclusive insider views from the team, including harvesting in a variety of conditions, job recaps and maintenance updates. These informative webisodes are available on the Mystik Lubricants Facebook page, website and YouTube channel.

BASF Preparing for Engenia Approval

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, BASF, Crop Protection, Herbicides, Video, Weed control

basf-IL-chadWe’ve been hearing about the development of Engenia™ herbicide for dicamba-tolerant crops from BASF Crop Protection for over three years now and the wait for it to come to market may soon be over.

“Our anticipation is that registration will come in the fourth quarter of this year,” said Dr. Chad Brommer, BASF Technical Market Manager for Engenia, during a recent field day at the company’s Midwest Research Farm in Illinois. “We’re not on our time table but on the federal registration time table.” Engenia is a technologically advanced dicamba formulation that provides an additional site of action for control of broadleaf weeds in dicamba-tolerant crops, including soybeans and cotton.

basf-IL-sprayerWhile they are awaiting approval, BASF has been busy educating growers about the herbicide and how it can fit into an effective weed control plan, as well as proper application methods.

“That means wherever you need to spray your product, whether it be Engenia or any other crop protection chemical, that it goes where it needs to go and no where else,” said Brommer. That involves using the correct nozzle, correct boom height, and taking into account weather, wind conditions and buffer zones. The nozzle that will be on the label for use with Engenia is the Turbo TeeJet Induction (TTI).

Listen to my interview with Chad here and watch some of his presentation on video below, including a spraying demonstration – with water, of course – that shows how the TTI nozzle works. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/basf-IL-brommer.mp3″ text=”Interview with Chad Brommer, BASF”]


BASF Midwest Research Farm photo album

Survey: Cover Crops Expand in Acres, Boost Yields

John DavisAgribusiness, Corn, Cover Crops, Soybeans, USDA

sare-nationalA new survey shows that more farmers are planting more cover crops, and that is resulting in bigger yields in corn and soybean fields. The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) ­program, supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), says the survey of more than 1,200 farmers revealed that cover crops boosted 2014 corn yields by an average of 3.7 bushels per acre (2.1 percent) and soybeans by 2.2 bushels per acre (4.2 percent). Cover crop acreage per farm more than doubled over the past five years.

The survey was conducted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) with funding from USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). While the survey showed yield increases among growers who use cover crops, they are interested in more than the yield benefit. The three most-cited benefits of using cover crops were:

· increased soil health (22 percent)

· increased organic matter (20 percent)

· reduced soil erosion (15 percent)

“This shows a strong appreciation for the wide range of long-term benefits cover crops deliver,” says Chad Watts, CTIC program director.

The survey also showed that for growers who didn’t use cover crops, they cited establishment, cover crop seed costs, and time and labor required for planting and managing cover crops, as their top challenges to growing cover crops.

Soil Health Partnership at White House Drought Symposium

Cindy ZimmermanAg Group, Conservation, Soil

soil-healthThe Soil Health Partnership had a seat at the table at the recent White House Drought Symposium which brought about 40 diverse groups together to discuss the federal government’s role in building drought resilience into water management systems.

Soil Health Partnership director Nicholas Goeser talked with other stakeholders about the organization’s mission to advance agricultural sustainability and productivity by quantifying and communicating the economic and environmental benefits of improved soil health.

“Many aspects of soil health play a direct role in drought mitigation,” Goeser said. “Improved soil organic matter, soil water holding capacity, infiltration, and aggregate stability all enhance the soil’s ability to retain moisture to help withstand the effects of drought.”

Goeser said several soil management practices, such as cover cropping and conservation tillage, can help to build soil health and defend against drought. This is accomplished by improving the ability of soil to absorb precipitation, reducing soil temperature and soil evaporation, and enhancing the ability of plants to take up soil moisture.

During the meeting, White House officials sought input on ways the federal government can reduce barriers to drought mitigation efforts, and to evaluate how public–private partnerships can help to build and implement strategies for long-term drought resilience. The symposium ended with a call to continue dialogue and expand upon opportunities presented during the panel discussions.