Ag Leader Shares Impressions on John Deere’s API

Jamie JohansenAg Leader, Audio, John Deere

jd-integrators-13-corey-weddleDuring John Deere’s Develop with Deere event, Cory Weddle with Ag Leader Technology spoke with Chuck and gave his impression as an outside partner on the opening up of John Deere’s API and the development of new applications. He shared that it will provide a faster way to solve problems for customers and believes it will truly benefit all parties involved.

“I think it presents a lot of opportunities for third party developers. They have a lot of shared customers and so data flow is extremely important. Mixed fleets are a reality. We deal with customers who are running Ag Leader equipment and also running Deere equipment. We’ve got data that needs to flow between the systems and be able to be processed by our software. That they are willing to open up and give us opportunities to hear from us is really encouraging.”

Cory also shared what this announcement by Deere will mean for Ag Leader Technology. He said they already had an account and were looking forward to logging in and taking a look at it for himself.

“Customers don’t want to hear the excuses. They just want it to work. The more open the lines of communications we have between the companies willing to work together, the more customers will benefit.”

You can listen to Chuck’s complete interview with Cory here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/john-deere/jd-integrators-13-weddle.mp3″ text=”Interview with Cory Weddle”]

John Deere API Integrators Conference Photo Album

How Partners Impact John Deere’s Technology

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Audio, John Deere

jd-integrators-13-brian-holtJohn Deere’s recent API Global Integrators Conference brought both technical developers and business participants together to discuss integration strategy, provide input and network with others in their field.

During the event Chuck sat down with Brian Holt, Technology Solutions Architect at John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group. He guides the technical direction and implementation of application programming interfaces for api.deere.com, My John Deere, JDLink, and other Ag Management Solutions off-board products. Brian easily explains that an API stands for Application Programming Interface. It’s basically a way for two computer systems to talk to each other in a consistent and organized way.

“We really feel like our partners have a lot of value to add. We’ve got some solutions we feel like will be valuable to our partners as well. And so we are trying to be very open, take feed back and push the marketplace forward.”

John Deere launched at the conference developer.deere.com to help facilitate this new programming interface.

“Developer.deere.com is our developer portal. Anyone who is interested in working with our API’s is welcome to go out there and check out documentation. It’s also where our support will be focused. You will be able to interact with the API’s in a test way. It’s the central portal for developers to go to.”

You can listen to Chuck’s complete interview with Brian here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/john-deere/jd-integrators-13-holt.mp3″ text=”Interview with Brian Holt”]

John Deere API Integrators Conference Photo Album

John Deere Working with Developers

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, John Deere

Sheila TurnbullThe coordinator of this week’s John Deere API Integrator Conference was Sheila Turnbull, IT Business Analyst. She also conducted a presentation taking a “deeper dive” into the new Developer.Deere.com with many of the developer who attended. They took a look at support and app certification.

Sheila says that companies can become partners through a simple process that then allows them to enter the Developer.Deere.com web portal to see sample code, documentation and information on how to build their sandbox data to set up and test applications. There are a number of other tools inside that include things like testing the connection and monitoring usage. There are already some beta partners working within the online tool. Sheila says their feedback has also been used to make changes to the tool.

You can listen to my interview with Sheila here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/john-deere/jd-integrator-13-turnbull.mp3″ text=”Interview with Sheila Turnbull”]

John Deere API Integrators Conference Photo Album

SMS Winter Training Dates are Announced!

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyHarvest is upon us and hopefully that means you are seeing the hard work that you’ve put in all season starting to pay off! As you watch the bushels on your yield monitor, do you question the factors that make some areas of the field more productive? Are you thinking about ways you can maximize profitability across all areas of your field? If you’ve answered yes to these questions, the next logical question is how do you go about making that happen?

SMS-Training-700x525The answer – by using your data to make better management decisions in the future. While there is not one solution that will work for all of us, if you don’t take the time to look at your data, you won’t find any answers! The SMS Desktop Software can help you analyze your data and make future seasons more productive. Whether you increase profit by optimizing your fields fertility levels with soil sampling and variable rate application or you decrease input costs by creating variable rate planting prescriptions, the SMS Software can help you accomplish your goals.

Not sure how to get started? Let us take the guess work out of it for you, by attending one of our classroom or online trainings this winter. We have trainings scheduled in several locations across the U.S. and online trainings can take place no matter where you are located! These trainings help you to gain hands-on experience in processing data, creating maps and reports, building field boundaries, creating prescriptions and populating your field displays with all the needed data for the next crop season. To learn more about our trainings please go here.

Have a safe harvest and we look forward to seeing you this winter!

Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.

John Deere Making Data Transfer Easier

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, Data Collection, John Deere

Jeff BarnesDuring the John Deere API Integrator Conference I met Jeff Barnes, farm technology manager for Greenway Equipment, a John Deere dealership. He says yesterday’s announcements from John Deere of their new Developer.Deere.com portal and the MyJohnDeere Data API is a big step for the company. I talked with him to get his perspective on what the company is doing.

He says their dealership has been actively involved with John Deere as the new data transfer system has been developed and he’s glad to see Deere reaching out to companies who will be developing new applications and ways to integrate into the MyJohnDeere system. “Now it’s time when we really need these tools to come together to build out things so our customers can take that data and use it in their operations.” He says this is making precision ag easier and helping more growers make use of the data they create during the season.

You can listen to my interview with Jeff here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/john-deere/jd-integrators-13-barnes.mp3″ text=”Interview with Jeff Barnes”]

John Deere API Integrators Conference Photo Album

Is Government Shutdown Affecting You

Talia GoesZimmPoll

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Is there a difference between animal welfare and animal rights?” Per the dictionary definition, animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals; animal rights is the idea that some or all nonhuman animals are entitled to the possession of their own lives, and that their most basic interests – such as an interest in not suffering – should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings. Looks like the majority of you are aware of the difference between the two.

Our poll results:

· Yes, different definitions – 56%
· Similar but not same – 26%
· Other – 10%
· No, mean the same thing – 8%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Is shutdown affecting you?” We want to know if you can tell a difference in your daily work, those issues affecting you and your family, or if you really can’t tell a difference. Let us know!

John Deere Announces Developer.Deere.com

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Apps, Audio, John Deere

Chuck SchleusnerI have the privilege of being invited to a fascinating event being put on by John Deere in Des Moines, IA. We were welcomed to the John Deere API Integrator Conference today in the beautiful World Food Prize building which will be very busy next week for the annual WFP event. To get a preview of what John Deere is doing here by bringing in representatives from 50 companies from 8 countries and 3 continents I spoke with Chuck Schleusner.

Chuck basically set the stage for how MyJohnDeere.com is “changing the skyscape.” I visited with him before we started. He says, “We’re here today to bring together the best minds in ag technology to participate in a platform we call MyJohnDeere with the goal to help improve the productivity of the farmer, specifically those who use John Deere machines. To do that we believe we need to partner with those who can create the plans, the insights that lead to executable instructions back on our equipment . . . We believe by being open with our platform and working with these parties we can do the best for the farmer, the ag industry and ultimately our goal of feeding the world.”

So during the day we’ve got breakout sessions on both technical and business tracks to learn in more detail how the MyJohnDeere system works and how companies can create a developer account where they can “play in the sandbox” to test new applications that integrate with the system and John Deere data.

John Deere announced today a new web portal for developers – Developer.Deere.com – where you can create an account and see their public API’s. They also announced MyJohnDeere Data API. More on these later.

You can listen to my interview with Chuck here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/john-deere/jd-integrators-13-schleusner.mp3″ text=”Interview with Chuck Schleusner”]

John Deere API Integrators Conference Photo Album

TeeJet Introduces New Line

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Fertilizer

TeeJet TechnologiesThe new line of TXR ConeJet hollow cone spray tips from TeeJet Technologies offers growers a new tip option for air blast, directed and specialty spraying applications. The TXR produces an 80º hollow cone spray pattern with fine to very fine droplets for thorough leaf coverage. This tip is well-suited for application of insecticides, fungicides, foliar fertilizers and related products which are commonly applied in orchard, vineyard and vegetable operations.

The TXR ConeJet tips are offered in twelve color-coded sizes based on tip flow rate for easy capacity identification. They are offered in a range of capacities from 0.046 GPM to 1.45 GPM flow rates with a recommended operating pressure of 30-360 PSI. The low profile acetal (polymer) tip body provides minimal impact with foliage and excellent chemical resistance. The orifice is made of high quality ceramic to provide superior wear-life in high pressure applications. The TXR ConeJet uses a snap-fit backup plate to provide positive retention when handled in the field which can be removed tool-free for easy cleaning. These tips are best suited for use with TeeJet 98450 Series Brass Rollover fittings or Quick TeeJet bodies and 114369-1-NYR cap.

Latest Yield Results on Pioneer.com/yield

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Dupont Pioneer, yields

Pioneer.comyieldWith harvest underway across the Corn Belt, yield data continues to stream into pioneer.com/yield. Every year presents its own challenges and opportunities. This year there were several factors impacting yield, ranging from late planting dates to excess or minimal moisture.

For a quick snapshot of harvest yields in your area and across the country, visit pioneer.com/yield. The DuPont Pioneer yield site provides a brief summary of each plot as well as a detailed individual plot report with competitive comparisons, planting information and harvest data. The process to find local yield results and comparisons is easy. Simply select a crop, zip code and preferred radius to obtain a custom view of yields in your area of interest.

GPS Used to Track Pollination Patterns of Bees

John DavisGPS, Research

OSUbumblebeeMiniature wireless sensors attached to bumblebees could soon give researchers real-time data on their pollination patterns. This story from Oregon State University says researchers at the school are planning to build sensors that will track how the bees pollinate fruits and vegetables, including blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, tomatoes and dozens of other staples.

Given recent losses of European honeybees to diseases, mites and colony collapse disorder, bumblebees are becoming increasingly important as agricultural pollinators, said Sujaya Rao, an entomologist in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

“Lack of pollination is a risk to human food production,” said Rao, an expert on native bees. “With our sensors, we are searching for answers to basic questions, such as: Do all members of one colony go to pollinate the same field together? Do bumblebees communicate in the colony where food is located? Are bumblebees loyal as a group?”

“The more we can learn about bumblebees’ customs of foraging, pollination and communication,” she added, “the better we can promote horticultural habitats that are friendly to bees in agricultural settings.”

The article goes on to point out that flowers and hedgerows near crops can promote the presence and population of bumblebees and help increase yields.

The researchers are also hoping they can one day track other small species, such as invasive pests.