New SMS Video Tutorials on YouTube Page

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Education, Insights Weekly, Video

Insights Weekly

Some people were born with a voice destined for radio. Fortunately, Ag Leader training specialist Jessica Ahrens, who possesses all the qualities of a great broadcaster, decided to pursue a career in precision agriculture and is a member of the SMS Support Team! Many have heard her voice through a number of educational resources available including classroom training, free online webinars and the video tutorial series created to help growers use the software to manage their data.

Jessica tells us what you can find on the YouTube channel. [wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/JessicaYouTube1.mp3″ text=”Listen to Jessica explain”]

The SMS tutorial videos are fast and easy to access from home or the tractor cab through Ag Leader’s YouTube channel. No more shuffling through a mix of guidance, hardware and software videos on the Ag Leader YouTube channel – SMS tutorials now have their own home at http://www.youtube.com/agleadersmstutorials. This YouTube channel is solely committed to all things SMS. Let Jessica walk you through your SMS software, and then take a minute to “favorite” the channel in your browser – this is one site you won’t want to forget!

And you can access the videos anywhere! [wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/JessicaYouTube2.mp3″ text=”Listen to Jessica explain”] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98VGOafJtFE&w=400&h=215]

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.

2013 Awards Of Excellence Nominations Open

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Precision Ag in the News

Daryl-Starr-Advanced-Ag-SolutionsPrecision agriculture products and practices have been enhanced and improved over the past two decades in large part by the work of innovative and driven individuals and organizations.

The PrecisionAg Award of Excellence program sheds light on some of the most important people and programs that have helped agriculture realize the full benefits of technology to improve agronomy, efficiency, and stewardship in crop production.

PrecisionAg is now taking nominations for the 2013 Award of Excellence program.

What Was the Top Story of 2012?

Melissa SandfortNew Holland, ZimmPoll

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, ”How do you feel about the fiscal cliff compromise?”

Our poll results: Forty-one percent said Sick of Congress; thirty-two percent said Disgusted; 15 percent said Disappointed; five percent said Pleased and Hopeful; and one percent said Thrilled. Looks like the majority of you are tired of hearing about Congress!

1.9.13graph

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, ”What do you think is top story of 2012?” 2012 was a wild year for farmers. What do you think the top story was? We’re listing the top ones we’ve seen here and on other farm news sites like AgriMarketing.com. There certainly are more stories. Feel free to add your ideas if they’re not on the list here in comments or in comments on the poll.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

Kip Tom – Precision.AgWired.com Profile

Jamie JohansenNAFB, Profiles

kip-tom-doubleOur next Precision.AgWired.com Profile calls Indiana home, where he operates Tom Farms with his family. Tom Farms consists of 16,000 acres of seed corn, corn and soybeans. Cindy met up with Kip Tom, during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Trade Talk and he shared his love for agriculture and all the new gadgets that make farming easier and more efficient.

Kip is also one of Ag Connect’s Masters and Mavericks who has embraced the emerging trends set before him and is eager to share how agriculture can move forward and continue to feed the world.

“We didn’t have precision farming to what we have today. I’d put it this way, I think even my grandfather and great-grandfather probably had some form of precision farming on their 80 acres they operated. Today, it’s much different. What’s really interesting is over the past 20 years precision technology has been at the farm gate.”

“Today, I’m really excited because I look at it this way, we are at the convergence of innovation. We’ve got biotechnology, we’ve got informatics and then we’ve got the ability to remotely or mechanically control how we put those three things together. It’s another lever we can pull now to improve yields.”

Kip made it clear that the most significant thing in terms of precision agriculture that increases yields on his farm, decreases his carbon footprint and increases his bottom line was biotechnology and seed genetics. In the struggle to continue to feed the world Kip also reminds us that failure is not an option. He insists that biotechnology, the ability to run our farms like a business while making good decisions and improving yields is something that should be the center of everyones operation.

Listen to Cindy’s complete interview with Tom here: [wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/nafb12-precision-kip.mp3″ text=”Kip Tom”]

2012 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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2013 Top-10 New Product Winners

Talia GoesAgribusiness, technology

newResults are in for World Ag Expo’s Top-10 New Products competition. The winners will be showcased at the 46th annual World Ag Expo. A group of judges made up of farmers, ranchers and industry professionals selected the Top-10 New Products.

ADA Enterprises: This first-of-its-kind product provides a safe, healthy and comfortable environment for newly-weaned calves, replacement heifers and veal calves.

Freeman, a division of Allied Systems: baler attachment

Barrier Systems, LLC: While watching television coverage of hundreds of volunteers filling sandbags during a flood in Fargo, N.D., general contractor Joe Hartley thought, “There has to be a better way.”

Clemens Vineyard Equipment, Inc.: a product that could dramatically change the way American growers plot and plant their vineyards and some tree crops.

L&H Airco: System featuring breakthrough technology to cool warehouses, processing facilities and other large enclosed areas

Click here to see the complete list of Top-10 products.

Harvest Masters Unveiled New Mirus Software at ASTA

Jamie JohansenAudio, computers, Harvesting, seed, Software

asta-mirusJust last month at the ASTA Seed Expo in Chicago, Harvest Masters by Juniper Systems, announced the release of their new harvest data collection software system they call Mirus.

Cindy spoke with Allen Wilson, Ag Marketing Manager for Harvest Masters, during the event. Allen shared how the two year long process to develop this software resulted in a brand new generation. Not simply a new addition to the previous version.

“The Mirus software that we just released works with our harvest data collection for research combines. It’s a Windows based platform. We have been using Windows mobile, but this is a Windows so it will be running on tablets, Windows XP and Windows 7 & 8. We are in that Windows environment. It is a next generation software to work with our hardware that we previously put out. This is a lot more flexible and easy to use. The operators are now able to see four different screens at one time about their system statues and yield levels. A lot more information available for the operators.”

“The feedback we got back from our beta testers, which were about 20 people that have run our previous software, all said it’s intuitive, it’s easy to use and they don’t have to go struggling through a bunch of different screen to find the information they need or settings to change. It’s a precision piece of equipment so they have to be monitoring it and watching to see if there are changes occurring. It was really over-whelming to hear these people that have used our software say we have made a step forward.”

You can find more information about the release of this new software on a previous post New Mirus Harvest Data Collection Software.

Listen to Cindy’s complete interview with Allen here: [wpaudio url=”http://agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/asta-harvestmaster1.mp3″ text=” Interview with Allen Wilson”]

Check out photos from ASTA here:
ASTA-CSS Photo Album

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast URL Change

Melissa SandfortAgribusiness, Precision Pays Podcast

RSSAre you currently subscribing to the Precision.AgWired.com monthly podcast? It’s all about news and information about how precision farming helps a grower’s bottom line.

The link to subscribe just changed. Be sure to access it here.

The latest in the lineup is “Preparing for 2013: Part of producing efficiently is also being prepared for the unknowns. As farmers 2012 began – there were hopes of high yields and a bountiful harvest. As the drought set in – the crops started to deteriorate and it became more obvious this would be a year where we would need to expect the unexpected.”

So point your podcast to the new URL and stay up-to-date on precision topics important to your pocketbook.

What Will 2013 Bring for Farmers?

Cindy ZimmermanFarm Bill, Farmers, USDA

2013-cornWe survived a devastating drought and even the end of the world in 2012, only to be thrown off the fiscal cliff at the start of 2013 while lawmakers stalled on a short term fix that would also include an extension of the current farm bill for nine months. Starting the new year off with this kind of uncertainty makes it hard to make predictions, but USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber gave it a try.

“Everyone’s anticipating a large amount of corn to be planted this year. No reason why we wouldn’t see similar levels to last year, if not a little higher,” said Glauber, who adds that he still expects to see lots of soybeans planted as well. Assuming “more return to normal yields” and similar plantings to 2012, “certainly would allow us to rebuild stocks in a hurry,” he said.

Of course, that is assuming more normal weather – which is exactly what everyone was expecting this time last year. Still Glauber is optimistic about farm income for 2013, even though he expects moderation in crop prices which should help livestock producers. “We’re still expecting strong prices for beef, pork, poultry and dairy and moderating feed prices should help a lot,” said Glauber.

Again – that is going on the assumption that the weather in 2013 has to be better than what it was in 2012. Normal would be good.

“Do Fungicides Pay in Drought?” Question Answered in 2012

Talia GoesAgribusiness, weather

syngenta
Syngenta yield data indicates Quilt Xcel® fungicide helped corn and soybeans in drought-stressed regions across the U.S. better tolerate the 2012 drought.

Quilt Xcel has been shown to reduce stomatal conductance, or the passing of water through the plant stomates, the natural openings in plants that allow exchange of water and gases. This improves a plant’s water use efficiency. As plants regulate water loss more efficiently, soil moisture is conserved and plants are better equipped to tolerate periods of hot, dry weather.

A number of trials this year indicated yield boosts significantly higher than the averages Syngenta promotes for Quilt Xcel, which are 6-8 bu/A in corn when applied at the early V4-V8 timing, 14 bu/A in corn when applied around R1 and 4-8 bu/A in soybeans. The significant yield boosts often seen this year demonstrate a benefit from fungicide applications even in drought conditions. Trials in both Sioux County, Iowa and Trenton, Ky. this year showed corn treated with Quilt Xcel at the early timing out-yielding untreated corn by roughly 31.9 bu/A under severe drought conditions. In a soybean trial under drought conditions in Findlay, Ohio, Quilt Xcel-treated soybeans out-yielded untreated soybeans by 11.6 bu/A.

In a 2011 irrigation study conducted at Kansas State University, fully irrigated untreated corn produced the same yield (214 bu/A) as corn that only received 60 percent irrigation but was treated with Quilt Xcel at the early V4-V8 timing and again at R1.

Similarly, in a 2010 study at the University of Nebraska, corn treated with Quilt Xcel increased yields by 8 and 15 bu/A over untreated checks in plots that were fully irrigated and plots that were 60 percent irrigated, respectively. In addition, the 60 percent irrigated plot saved the grower the expense of 4.8 inches of water per acre as well as costs associated with pumping the water.
Aside from water use efficiency, Quilt Xcel offers other yield-boosting benefits. With Quilt Xcel, plants stay green longer, allowing for more plant growth; corn ears and soybean pods grow bigger and experience extended grain fill; and stronger stalks result in less lodging for a more efficient harvest and less potential for volunteer corn the following season.

Quilt Xcel is a component of the Syngenta water optimization portfolio, along with Agrisure Artesian™ drought-tolerant trait technology. New Syngenta videos outline the benefits of Quilt Xcel in both corn and soybeans.

Where to Find Ag Leader This Winter

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Events, IA Power Farming Show, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyAre you interested in getting the latest information about precision ag equipment? If so, here are a few stops you might want to schedule this winter in order to talk with Ag Leader experts:

• Dakota Farm Show in Vermillion, SD, January 8-10
Click here for the conference program.

• Fort Wayne Farm Show in Ft Wayne, IN, January 15-17
Click here for the conference program.

• Iowa Power Farming Show in Des Moines, IA, January 29-31
Click here for the conference program.

• Southern Farm Show in Raleigh, NC, January 30 – February 1
Click here for complete show information.

• World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA, February 12-14
Click here for the conference program.

• National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY, January 13-16
Click here for the conference program.

• Commodity Classic in Kissimmee, FL, February 28 – March 2
Click here for the conference program.

Russ Morman, Ag Leader Inside Sales Representative, says it’s important for the company to have a presence at these regional and national farm shows.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/Russ1.mp3″ text=”Listen to Russ explain”]

And if growers get their hands on the equipment and decide it’s buying time, Ag Leader dealers are most generally on hand to help out.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/Russ2.mp3″ text=”Listen to Russ explain”]

If you’re on the road this winter and have time to visit one of these locations, be sure to find Ag Leader’s staff of experts who will be on hand to talk about the latest in precision technology equipment, enhancements, future products, and much more.

See you this winter!