Precision | Page 388 | News and reviews from the precision agriculture industry

Agronomic Innovations Buys AgRobotics

Cindy ZimmermanAugust 4, 2014agronomy, Soil, Soil Sampling

Agronomic Innovations of Brighton, Illinois has acquired Arkansas-based AgRobotics and their patented AutoProbe precision soil sampler.

“Everything begins with the soil,” says Agronomics Innovations c-owner Allen Lash. “Pinpoint sample integrity is what the AutoProbe offers. ‘Big Data’ is only as good as the initial measurement integrity. Spot sampling isn’t precision. You only understand what’s happening in that spot where the sample’s pulled. It’s logical that more samples are better. It’s also statistically more accurate.” The AutoProbe pulls consistent 6 inch cores as intensively as every 8.5 feet in either grid or zone management systems.

“Farmers get it,” says AgRobotics founder and AutoProbe inventor Jim Burton. A former Arkansas row crop and commercial vegetable farmer himself, Burton knows first-hand – from many backbreaking hours pulling soil samples – the value of automating the process. “Eliminating the manual labor and automating the sample method to provide many more cores to make up a sample increases the data integrity immensely. The goal is to eliminate ‘Garbage in. Garbage out!’”

Questions for Big Data Answers

Cindy ZimmermanAugust 4, 2014Audio, Data, InfoAg, Research

Attendance at the InfoAg 2014 Conference was up by more than 25 percent from last year with more than 1,400 visiting the three day show, and many were still on hand for the final general session presented by Steve Sonka, Emeritus Chaired Professor with the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who urges those in precision agriculture to be ready for changes to come.

“Surprise is inevitable; being unprepared isn’t,” he said. Being prepared means realizing that as with any new technology, the advent of precision agriculture technology means a lot of new tools, a lot of new technology and a lot of startups in the ag-info world. But there will be a drop off in the number of companies offering quality ag information systems. “It’s a normal evolutionary process. Every innovation has to go through a shakeout period [which will include some consolidation in the industry]. It’s how we make the sector more efficient.”

Sonka says there’s a lot of data out there for ag operations, even to the point where you could call it an information bubble. During his presentation, he talked about how we need to learn from previous applications of information technology, from ag and non-ag sources, to inform our thinking relative to the potential impacts of Big Data, including answers to key questions regarding technology, firm decision making, and supply chain organization.

Sonka was one of the people who was at the first InfoAg conference back in 1995, when attendees were amazed just to be able to check market prices on the internet. He says the evolution of any technology usually takes a few decades, and considering how far and how fast ag information has come along, the amazing amount of information available to today’s producers is just astounding.

“[In the 20 years that agriculture information has developed], that’s very short. Precision ag has moved pretty rapidly relative to innovations in general.”

Listen to my interview with Steve Sonka here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/infoag/infoag-14-sonka.MP3″ text=”Interview with Steve Sonka, University of Illinois”]

InfoAg 2014 Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

John Deere Talks ExactEmerge at InfoAg

Cindy ZimmermanAugust 3, 2014Apps, Audio, InfoAg, John Deere, Planting, technology

John Deere’s new ExactEmerge planter was the most popular piece of equipment on the floor when it was revealed at the 2014 National Farm Machinery Show in February, and while the planter was too big to bring to the InfoAg Conference last week, it was still a major topic for attendees.

“The big part of that planter is the brush belt delivery system which takes the seed from our seed meter and delivers it directly to the bottom of the trench,” said Adam Seabert, John Deere Solutions Specialist for the southeast.

In conjunction with the launch of the ExactEmerge™ planter, John Deere is also introducing SeedStar Mobile to help producers better visualize, document, and access their planting data. “SeedStar Mobile is going to give producers the ability to see real time, high definition information from their field related to population, singulation, downforce – all the planting attributes they’re looking at in the cab, they’re now going to be able to see in a mobile app,” said Seabert. The other added benefit of the app is to allow the John Deere dealer network to optimize those machines in the field.

Learn more in this interview: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/infoag/infoag-14-deere-seabert.mp3″ text=”Interview with Adam Seabert, John Deere”]

InfoAg 2014 Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

AgSense Releases WagNet Mobile iPad App

Cindy ZimmermanAugust 2, 2014Apps, Irrigation, Mobile

Remote irrigation company AgSense has now released an iPad version of its flagship mobile application “WagNet Mobile.” This update includes a more comprehensive, user-friendly navigation and added features, as well as several additional sensor and irrigation programming capabilities.

“We are seeing more and more of our customers using iPads or other types of tablets around the farm. They always seem to be within reach,” said Steve Sveum, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for AgSense. Sveum added, “One grower I was with recently held up his iPad and said, ‘I want my whole farm on this thing’. This new app is a major step in that direction for him and all of our customers”.

To further respond to customer demand, a primary feature of the new app is the long-awaited ability for users to view their devices geographically thanks to a “Google Maps” plugin directly within the app. WagNet users have been able to do this for several years through the WagNet website and can now do the same on their iPad.

Other new features include compatibility with additional brands of soil moisture probes along with leaf wetness, solar radiation and ET gauges. Also included is the ability to program and operate a secondary end gun or pump control switch (if the pivot is set up for this).

To download or update to this new version, visit the Apple App Store found by clicking the “App Store” icon on your iPhone or iPad.

GROWMARK Names New Vice President for Agronomy

Cindy ZimmermanJuly 31, 2014agronomy, Growmark

GROWMARK has announced the appointment of Mark Orr as Vice President of Agronomy, succeeding Jim Spradlin who was recently named GROWMARK CEO-elect.

“Mark brings proven leadership experience and an excellent understanding of retail agronomy marketing and operations to this role,” Spradlin said. Orr began his career in the GROWMARK System career in 1990 at Schuyler-Brown FS. He served as controller for Western FS and then Ag-Land FS. Mark served as general manager of both Piatt County Service Company and Ag View FS. He was named Central Region vice president in October 2013.

GROWMARK just announced last month that Spradlin was chosen by the board of directors to replace CEO Jeff Solberg who is retiring in September. They are both pictured here at a 2012 Pursuit of Maximum Yields event.

“It is truly an honor to have the support of the GROWMARK Board of Directors as we work together to guide the GROWMARK System,” Spradlin said.

Spradlin has also held various positions within the GROWMARK System of cooperatives, including controller of Schuyler-Brown FS, regional administrative director, general manager of Piatt Service Company, general manager of Ag-Land FS, and region manager (Central Ill.), energy division manager, and agronomy division manager.

Iowa Farm Bureau Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur Award

Jamie JohansenJuly 31, 2014Ag Group, Award, Farm Bureau

ALMACO, is a community supporter and tireless innovator in the global pursuit to end world hunger. The longtime family-owned manufacturing company was nominated for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur award by employees and Story County Economic Development leaders.

Founded in 1880, ALMACO is the oldest company in Story county; their first products were horseshoes for horse-drawn plows. But, as farming changes, ALMACO changed and grew. Today, the Nevada-based company’s 287 employees design sophisticated planters, grain drills, threshers, research plot combines and electronic data capture equipment which is used around the globe by farming innovators. Laura West, from the Nevada Economic Development Group, says even though ALMACO is very forward-thinking, they remain rooted in their strong, Iowa values. “They give back in more ways than just creating jobs; they give back to the school and they give back to local charitable organizations. They aren’t just a company that is growing in Nevada; they are growing Nevada.”

Patrick Clem, president of business development, says ALMACO is a company that is hiring, too. “A lot of our growth is coming from international markets where our clients are working with corn and soybean research efforts around the world. So we continue to evolve to meet their needs. Five years ago, if you would’ve asked if ALMACO is a manufacturing or technology company, I would’ve said we were a manufacturing company. Today, our niche is the many engineering solutions that we provide companies. Yet, it is important to us that ALMACO remains a family-owned business, where our employees are known on a ‘first-name basis’ and they look forward to coming to work each day,” said Clem.

Renew Rural Iowa (RRI) is an IFBF initiative supporting new and existing businesses through education, mentoring, and financial resources.

Varying Opinions on Farming Tech

Jamie JohansenJuly 31, 2014ZimmPoll

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How can technology make farming even better?”

We all seem to have a different opinion on what type of farming technology would be the most beneficial. Right now I am leaning towards weather control. It would be nice to simply click a button when we need some rain. I still believe that is a little farfetched. However, I know we will all be seeing drones and robots in our near future.

Here are the poll results:

Remote control tractors – 15%
Drone crop management – 22%
Robot livestock feeders – 19%
Remote crop & livestock sensors – 15%
Weather control – 15%
Can’t imagine it yet – 7%
Other – 7%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, I prefer to get my farm news from:

In this day and age we can get news at the drop of the hat. It is pretty much everywhere we look. But we all have our preferred source for the latest news in the agriculture community. Let us know where you prefer to get your farming news.

MapShots Customers Learn More About AgStudio

Cindy ZimmermanJuly 30, 2014AgStudio, Audio, InfoAg, MapShots, Software, Variable rate

The purpose of the MapShots AgStudio Expo event prior to the start of the InfoAg 2014 Conference in St. Louis this week was to help their customers learn more about the capabilities of AgStudio – and they certainly did.

Phil Cochran of Cochran Agronomics in Paris, Illinois has been in the crop consulting business for 32 years and has seen lots of changes in his time. “When we started 32 years ago, I was carrying a five gallon bucket and a map clip board and a soil probe, so we indeed have come a long way,” he said. “We came to the MapShots conference to stay up with what these guys are doing. This is our second year with AgStudio…our eighth year with MapShots and it’s been a wonderful experience.”

Phil says AgStudio has really streamlined the input of their soil data and it has a huge inventory of report forms for them to use. “And then we started using AgMap, their field software, this year and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” he said. The most important information he took home with him from the MapShots event was what he learned about AgStudio that could help his clients.
[wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/mapshots/mapshots-14-customer-cochran.mp3″ text=”Interview with Phil Cochran, Illinois crop consultant”]

Mike Shuter is a corn and soybean farmer from east central Indiana who started using MapShots Easi Suite software when it first came out and he came to the event to learn about moving up to AgStudio. “It’s just given us a great way to keep field records and know what we’re putting where and work with prescriptions,” he said. “Basically everything we’re doing is variable rated in some fashion so we’re using Easi Suite to make those variable rate recommendations and now looking to move to AgStudio to do a little bit better job with that.”
[wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/mapshots/mapshots-14-customer-shuter.mp3″ text=”Interview with Mike Shuter, Indiana farmer”]

AgStudio Expo Photo Album

The Logic of John Deere AgLogic

Cindy ZimmermanJuly 30, 2014Apps, Audio, John Deere, Software, Spraying

John Deere AgLogic™ is the logical choice to help custom applicators manage and improve the productivity of their assets and fleet, and now they can do it on the go.

Swarupa Bakre, Associate Brand Manager for John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group, was at the InfoAg Conference this week talking about the recent launch of the AgLogic tablet platform for Android devices. “That really helps take AgLogic to the next level, because now you’re mobile,” she said. “You can manage your work orders, you can send driving directions to your fields, you can send prescription files, just helps to remotely monitor what’s happening in your spraying application in near real time.”

Bakre explains that the Android platform was the “most logical platform” to start with because it was the easiest to build, but they do hope to develop an iOS version in the future.

[wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/infoag/infoag-14-deere-bakre.mp3″ text=”Interview with
Swarupa Bakre, John Deere”]

InfoAg 2014 Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by

AgStudio – Beyond Agronomy

Cindy ZimmermanJuly 30, 2014AgStudio, Audio, MapShots, Software

MapShots AgStudio well known for its agronomic applications, but farmers can also use AgStudio for the business of farming.

During the AgStudio Expo this week, MapShots consultant Kelly Nelson outlined four areas where AgStudio can help farmers in the office:

Tracking input costs
Managing leases
Tracking commodity inventories
Reporting data to the government

“Agronomy is the killer function in AgStudio,” said Nelson. “These business features take the data you already have in AgStudio and tie that to something that makes sense.”

While there is currently software that helps farmers do all these jobs, Nelson says what they can do is bring it all into the same program. [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/mapshots/mapshots-14-kelly.mp3″ text=”Interview with Kelly Nelson, MapShots consultant”]

MapShots is exhibiting this week at the InfoAg Expo in St. Louis where they are demonstrating the capabilities of AgStudio to farmers from all over the Midwest.

AgStudio Expo Photo Album

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