Precision Learning Underway at InfoAg Conference

Chuck ZimmermanInfoAg

2013 InfoAg ConferenceThe 2013 InfoAg Conference is underway in Springfield, IL. It’s time to learn what’s new in the precision ag realm and I’ll be doing that for the next couple days courtesy of our sponsor, Ag Leader Technology.

This three day conference is brought to us by the International Plant Nutrition Institute. It has grown so much that it will be moving to an annual conference instead of every other year. Attendance is a record this year and I’ll find out actual numbers later. I’ve been told there over 200 more registered than last conference.

New Pioneer Field360 Tools App for Growers

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Apps, Dupont Pioneer

field360A new mobile app that features three agronomy tools is now available to help growers with this season’s management decisions. The Pioneer Field360 Tools app from DuPont Pioneer features the GDU Estimator, Precipitation Estimator, and Growth Stage Estimator.

This new app combines powerful analysis tools and real-time data, right at your fingertips. Growers are able to track multiple field scenarios, including progress of the crop with a growth stage estimator, view precipitation forecasts and daily precipitation, and calculate GDUs and key crop stages. The Pioneer Field360 Tools app can also estimate harvest dates for each Pioneer brand corn hybrid planted.

Part of the Pioneer Field360 services offering, this app can be located by searching Field360 in the App Store. The app will be upgraded with additional best-in-class agronomy tools as they are available. An Android version of the app will be available later in July in the Google Play Store.

Growers can also go to pioneer.com/360 to access the Pioneer Field360 Tools app and other Pioneer applications such as Pioneer Field360 Notes app and the Plantability app.

New SMART Antennas from NovAtel

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Gadgets, Guidance

SMART6NovAtel Inc., the world’s leading supplier of OEM Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) components and subsystems announced its new AG-STAR GNSS antenna. This cost-effective L1 GPS+GLONASS receiver plus antenna system is housed in a single, low profile, rugged enclosure. Delivering smooth, consistent positioning at sub-metre accuracy, the AG-STAR is ideal for manual guidance and auto steer installations. AG-STAR is also available with an optional integrated Bluetooth radio to provide wireless connectivity.

Jason Hamilton, Director of Marketing at NovAtel stated, “Our single-frequency GLIDE firmware delivers the ultra-smooth positioning and high pass-to-pass accuracy required by manual guidance and auto-steer agriculture applications.” Mr. Hamilton added, “Developing this antenna with L1-only technology allows us to provide a reliable, robust antenna at a very attractive price point to our integrator customers.”

The design of the AG-STAR interface maximizes flexibility with two NMEA 0183 compatible RS-232 serial ports and a NMEA2000 compatible CAN port. One PPS output, an event mark input and three daylight readable status LEDs are also provided. Built-in magnets simplify mounting although fixed mounting options are also available.

Crowds on CTIC Tour Appreciated by Host Farmer

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, environment

ctic-13-mike-trainorGood crowds from around the area and many parts of the country turned out for last week’s Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., and that was appreciated by the local farmers.

“Today we had a lot of people here. When you go to all that work, and you put these plots in, and you try to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, to see this many people come in on our farm and see what we’ve done, it kind of gives you a real good feeling about what you do,” said Mike Trainor the host at the Trainor family farm, one of the stops on the CTIC tour, and a certified Crop Adviser and a registered USDA technical service provider. He’s in the picture with his dad, Jack Trainor, getting an appreciation award for letting CTIC come to the family farm.

Mike said with pricey inputs, it makes economical and ecological sense to make sure they don’t runoff.

“As expensive as the inputs are, we need to figure out how to put ’em there, how to keep ’em there, and how to best utilize ’em.”

Mike said it’s also rewarding to be recognized by the federal regulators at the EPA that farmers like him are trying to do what’s best for the environment. He said even without the feds, it’s important for them to be able to pass this operation down to the next generation of farmers in the family.

“We’re all in it together, and we want it to be profitable for them down the road and good for the environment.”

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Mike here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-13-mike-trainor.mp3″ text=”Interview with Mike Trainor, Trainor Farms”]

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

CTIC Shows Value of Cover Crops to Bottom Lines

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC

ctic-13-mike-plumerGetting the most out of what you’ve got is a goal that most producers have, and during last week’s Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., the value of using cover crops to boost a bottom line was shown. Mike Plumer is a retired University of Illinois Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources and currently a consultant for conservation agriculture, in particular, cover crops. He made a presentation to the group about the value cover crops can add.

“We’re seeing a lot of benefits,” Mike said. “One, we’re capturing nitrogen, holding that nitrogen so we don’t lose it, we’re increasing root infiltration so we get more water movement in the soil, we’re adding more biological activity, we’re adding organic matter to the soil, and as a result, we’re typically seeing yield increases.”

Mike echoed the sentiments of other speakers who showed that cover crops can help save yields, especially during drought years, and pointed to one farmer who told him his yields were 50 bushels an acre better where he had a cover crop.

During one stop on the CTIC tour, Mike discussed several different options in cover crops and how to use each of them.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Mike here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-13-mike-plumer.mp3″ text=”Interview with Mike Plumer, cover crop specialist”]

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Communication Helps Cooperation in Conservation

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC

ctic-13-marion-shierCooperation is key for successful conservation practices in agriculture, and the key to that cooperation is good communication among all the players. That was the message attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard.

“If you want to go back to a simple recipe for success, cooperation among many industries, many individuals and many different organizations,” said Marion Schier (pictured on the left with Dan Froelich, Brandt Consolidated, showing off their tour t-shirts), an agronomist with United Soils, Inc. and a former University of Illinois crop extension specialist with more than 30 years in the business, most of it in Livingston County, Ill. He went on to say there have been decades of cooperation in that area. “If you don’t have good communication, good rapport, you need to start with getting those things developed before you are expecting things to change. The big key here is cooperation and trying to work on communication.”

This is the third year for the CTIC study and program, with new items added each year. Marion also said you have to take into account how the differing factors from year-to-year, such as last year’s drought, affect the outcomes and don’t try to apply one year’s worth of data to every situation.

“I try to encourage people to take all the information that we gather from all of the various studies and projects and weigh that with the growing conditions and make determinations and decisions based upon those situations. Don’t make any rash, drastic changes from one year to the next.”

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Marion here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-13-marion-schier.mp3″ text=”Interview with Marion Schier, Agronomist, United Soils, Inc.”]

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Avoiding Nitrate Runoff Focus of CTIC Panel

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, environment, Nutrient Management

ctic-13-marcus-maierOne of the best parts about the Conservation Technology Information Center tour is the conversations that come up, either through formal panels or just informal talks. On the more formal side, local Livingston County, Ill., farmer Marcus Maier (pictured seated, holding the microphone) sat on a panel during the tour that addressed soil health and the issue of nitrate runoff into local watersheds.

“We’re trying to get farmers to implement conservations systems,” he explained, not only just cover crops or filter strips or field buffers, but a whole system, including nutrient management systems. Marcus said the biggest challenge is nitrate runoff into the Indian Creek watershed. “Two towns are fed by Indian Creek: Fairbury with a population of about 4,000 and Pontiac has about 12,000. So that’s our goal to help reduce [those nitrate levels in the water supplies].”

On the more informal side, lots of farmers are talking about how they’ve had much better rain than last year, which is good for the crops but kept many out of the field for a long time, putting them a bit behind. Overall, though, Marcus is pretty optimistic about how the crops in that area will turn out this year.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Marcus here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-13-marcus-maier.mp3″ text=”Interview with Marcus Maier, CTIC panelist, local farmer”]

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Voluntary Conservation Efforts Above Regulations

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, environment, Government, Regulation

ctic-13-marcia-willhiteGetting caught up in government regulations and red tape is something any farmer wants to avoid, and attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard how they can avoid more of that with voluntary programs, such as the one on display on the tour. Marcia Willhite, the Chief of the Bureau of Water with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said they’re encouraged by the success of the Indian Creek project and how voluntary efforts by farmers are paying dividends for everyone.

“Our culture is such on the agricultural side that a voluntary, incentive-based approach is what we have to work with,” she said. “I think it might be somewhat of a motivator to avoid regulations, but my sense is that the speakers and farmers in this watershed are focusing on is they see the benefit for their own productivity, they see the benefit for water quality for their own community.”

Marcia went on to say that this is a good story that needs to be told about how farmers and government are working together for the betterment of all.

“We’ve just been real excited about the success of finding out what happens when a large number of producers within a watershed decide to commit to conservation practices. There has been leadership among producers, taking charge of what they want to do to address water quality issues.”

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Hans here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-13-marcia-willhite.mp3″ text=”Interview with Marcia Willhite, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency”]

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

CTIC: Healthy Crops Start with Healthy Soils

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Soil Sampling, Tillage

ctic-13-hans-kokAttendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard about the importance of soil health and how it can pay big dividends back to producers … and the consequences of not taking care of the soil.

“We have really degraded our soils in the Midwest,” explained Hans Kok (on the right, pointing to his demonstration of soil quality at a field stop), the coordinator of the Indiana Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative (CCSI). He showed some studies where one particular plot of soil had 6 percent organic material in it to just 2 percent today — all because of tillage. “If we quit the tillage, start using cover crops, more intense crop rotations, we can actually bring that soil organic matter back up.”

Hans pointed to corn fields during last year’s drought that weren’t tilled, allowing the roots to go much deeper, as much as four to five feet in the ground, and able to survive the drought much better. He also demonstrated a slake test that showed how a no-till clod of soil stayed together in water much better, indicating more binding organic matter, than a tilled clod.

“You can drive your tractor on those soils when they are fairly wet, and the tilled soil will fall apart.”

He directed those wanting more information to the Indiana Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative website, www.CCSIN.org.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Hans here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-13-hans-kok.mp3″ text=”Interview with Hans Kok, Indiana Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative”]

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Precisely Seeding from High Above

John DavisAerial Application, Ag Group, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC

ctic-13-eric-smithOne of the “high”lights of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., was a demonstration of using a crop duster to seed ground cover on a field still growing corn. Eric Smith with Pontiac Flying Service explained shortly after one of his pilots (in fact, Scott Petersen, the company’s owner/operations manager) flew over the field and buzzed the tents where the tour attendees were standing that putting down the cover of radishes and oats has become a growing aspect of their business.

“In the aerial application world, you think of fungicide and insecticide work primarily, but we’ve seen an expansion in dry seeding of cover crops and spreading dry fertilizer in a wet year like this year,” Eric said. He went to explain they set up the plane a little differently, using a dry spreader mounted under the hopper and flying a little higher than normal to produce a more uniform seeding pattern over an area. Interest continues to grow for this type of service, with orders already being taken for the fall. “We’re seeing the interest pick up. I know seed supplies were tight last year and I think they’ll be even tighter this year because the demand for this is just exploding.”

Eric went on to point out the advantage of using a plane is that it allows you to get the seed down while the crop is still in the field, giving it a couple of weeks of growth while the cash crop finishes maturing. Plus, he said that root systems on plants such as rye grass have more time to grow and develop root systems.

“We’re excited for our business. It gives us another service we can offer to our customers.”

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Eric here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/ctic-13-eric-smith.mp3″ text=”Interview with Eric Smith, Pontiac Flying Service”]

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album