TeeJet Technologies Launches 540 Series Boom Shutoff Manifold

Jamie JohansenEquipment, Spraying, technology

TeeJet Technologies announces their new 540 series manifold for sprayer boom shutoff. This new gear driven, plunger-style design provides long-term reliability in a more compact size. The 540 can deliver improved wear-life when working with abrasive solutions and will generate strong closing force for positive shutoff.

Tim Stuenkel, Marketing Manager with TeeJet, said “With the introduction of the 540 series shutoff manifold TeeJet now gives our customers the choice of both plunger and ball-type boom shutoff valves. They can choose the manifold that best fits their machines and applications. We are pleased to continue to provide our customers with newer and better boom shutoff solutions.”

TeeJet manufactures a comprehensive line of products and continues to invest in research and development to advance precision application and control technology.

Find more information about TeeJet and their new 540 series boom shutoff manifold here.

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast: The Ag Gateway into the future

Meghan GrebnerAg Group, Ag Leader, Precision Pays Podcast, technology

 AgGateway is focused on promoting and expanding e-commerce in the agriculture industry.  The non-profit organization helps companies address current and future challenges within the industry.  Jeff Kaiser with John Deere is the chair of Ag Gateway’s Precision Ag Council.  He says in the council’s short time – they’ve been focused on the basics and working with both the trading partners and their customers.

One of the unique aspects of AgGateway centers on the fact competitors can cross company lines and work together with one goal in mind.   In this Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology Jeff Kaiser explains how AgGateway Members are using the resources available to them to promote the adoption of precision agriculture farming practices. 

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/07/PPP-07-12.mp3″ text=”Precision.AgWired.com Podcast”]

You can subscribe to the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast here. The Precision.AgWired.com Podcast is sponsored by Ag Leader Technology.

Imaging Technology to Help Detect Citrus Greening Disease

John DavisAg Group, Audio, ICPA, International

Citrus producers plagued by citrus greening disease, also called Huanglongbing or HBL, could get some relief from the labor-intensive process of detecting the disease that poses no threat to people but devastates trees. At the International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Chuck caught up with Dr. Wonsuk Lee from the University of Florida, who moderated a session on “Machine Vision and Imaging Applications to Precision Agriculture” and is using some of that modern technology to more efficiently look for the disease.

“For disease detection, currently a ground crew has to inspect every single tree. That takes a very long time and is very labor-intensive work. So our work is utilizing area hyper-spectre imaging to detect the mostly infected areas, so growers can go [to those areas] and individually look at those trees to do more detailed operations,” he explained. While this particular application might not work for some row crops, he added the basic principle of detecting disease through this kind of technology could be applied to more products.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Dr. Wonsuk Lee here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-ufl.mp3″ text=”Interview with Dr. Wonsuk Lee, University of Florida”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

Precision.AgWired.com coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere

Raven Introduces Product App

Cindy ZimmermanRaven, social media

The Raven Innovation Summit this week was a great chance to get to learn more about this dynamic and diverse company that manufacturers precision agriculture solutions.

The 10th annual summit highlighted all of the Raven precision products and what is new, including a new smartphone app to see them all in the palm of your hand. “It’s basically a mobile product guide of Raven technology that’s very interactive,” said Paul Welbig, Director of Marketing, Product Management and Slingshot Operations for Raven. The app is available on both iPhone and Android platforms – just search for Raven Product Guide in your store. You’ll also see stands like the one in this photo wherever Raven is exhibiting, like at Farm Progress Show in Iowa, for example.

Raven has also been the sponsor of the Agwired app on both platforms since it was launched two years ago. A feed for Precision.AgWired.com is part of the Agwired app.

Listen or download to my interview with Paul where he talks about the summit, what’s new, the new app, Raven’s global presence and more:
[wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/raven/raven-12-paul.mp3″ text=”Interview with Paul Welbig, Raven”]

Check out photos from the summit at the link below:

2012 Raven Innovation Summit Photos

Nod to Trailblazers Helping Up and Coming Precision Ag Companies

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Audio, ICPA

New players in the game of precision agriculture owe a lot of thanks to some of the bigger companies that went before them. Some of those giving credit for their success of helping farmers use precision agriculture to get the most out of their fields are the folks at Solum. At the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Chuck caught up with Nick Koshnick (on the right in the picture), the founder of Solum. “Solum was founded in 2009. The whole goal is to create measurements and analytics that allow farmers to efficiently increase their yields.” One example he pointed out is the ability to measure nitrogen inputs, which used to take days, but through Solum’s software, can now can be done in just a few minutes. “And the cool thing is you don’t have to be a trained PhD, labcoat person to do this,” Koshnick said.

Koshnick said they’e seeing a lot of interest in what they do and credits some of the bigger companies out there, such as John Deere, Ag Leader, and Raven, for blazing the trail in precision ag tools. “We’re standing on the success and quality of their products. Working with them is key to our success.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Nick here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-solum.mp3″ text=”Interview with Nick Koshnick, Founder, Solum”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

Precision.AgWired.com coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere

Precision Ag Conference Gives Int’l Attendees a Lot to Take Home

John DavisAg Group, Audio, ICPA, International

Attendees from 45 different countries were able to walk away from the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture with a lot of information that many hope to apply to their operations back home. “We’re trying to promote farmers to work as scientists to help themselves,” said Rachel Nwakwasi, a poster presenter from the Federal University of Technology Owerri in Nigeria. In her interview with Chuck, Nwakwasi said her work has been with farmers taking pH soil levels and turning in that information for analysis.

Nwakwasi said she’s using the information gained at the conference for work back in her country. “Already, [I’m thinking about how] famine should be about exactness, which is what precision agriculture is all about,” she said, adding that solving problems through precision agriculture is the way forward for her country. “So when I go home, I go back to my school and take back the technologies I’ve seen today. I think the things I’ve seen and I’ve been to exposed to are things I’m sure will help my country to progress more.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Rachel here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-rachel.mp3″ text=”Interview with Rachel Nwakwasi, Federal University of Technology Owerri in Nigeria”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

Precision.AgWired.com coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere

Ag Leader’s OptRx Crop Sensors Draw a Crowd

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights Weekly

In the middle of the day, during one of the hottest summers on record, 170 farmers gathered under a tent to learn. What could be worth the braving Mother Nature? Ag Leader OptRx™, of course!

OptRx crop sensors, used in conjunction with the INTEGRA™ display, measure and record data about crops in real-time using the reflectance of light shined on the growing plants. The data is logged and mapped to be used in further analysis, or for real-time variable rate applications.

Sunrise Coop held two OptRx answer plots – July 12 in Bowling Green, Ohio, and the next day in Attica, Ohio. The event included a presentation and demonstration of OptRx as well as an INTEGRA display connected to two OptRx sensors. The display was projected onto a flat screen TV that showed the Vegetation Index (VI) bar graph comparing dry grass to large, healthy corn plants. The demonstration also showed how the target rate of Nitrogen changed as the VI changed.

The crowd was engaged by this new technology, and rightfully so. OptRx can save them money in the field by eliminating the risk of over applying that can occur with blanket application. On the other hand, it can produce an average of $25/acre increase due to yield boosts caused by using the ideal application rate.

Click here for more information about Ag Leader’s OptRx Crop Sensors.

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.

Precision Ag Moving Beyond Tools and Technology to a “Mindset”

John DavisAg Group, Audio, Conservation, ICPA, InfoAg

Precision agriculture is branching out with the introduction of conservation and horticulture into its realm. “This is an indication that precision agriculture goes beyond just tools and technology. It’s really a mindset,” said Steve Phillips with the International Plant Nutrition Institute and moderator of a session entitled, Precision A to Z for Practitioners III, at the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Indianapolis, IN. During an interview with Chuck, Phillips said that a more holistic view is being taken of the entire cropping system, looking at environmental, economical and social sustainability. He added that his institute recognizes the value precision agriculture can have for implementing the 4Rs in crop inputs: the right source, at the right rate, in the right place at the right time. “[It] protects our waterways, protects grass buffers… any type of conservation structure we have in place.”

And with precision horticulture, Phillips sees the value in using some of the techniques from large-scale crops on the smaller, high-value specialty crops, such as wine grapes, that will gain a larger international acceptance of these ideas.

Phillips said they will look at the well-attended sessions from this conference and use that as a guide for next summer’s InfoAg Conference, July 16-18, 2013 in Springfield, Illinois. “We really hope to build on the momentum from last year, with 700 attendees and over 60 exhibitors. We’re really hoping to grow on that.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Steve here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-steve-phillips.mp3″ text=”Interview with Steve Phillips with the International Plant Nutrition Institute”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

Precision.AgWired.com coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere

Slingshot Adoption is Growing

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Raven, RTK

Slingshot® was officially introduced by Raven at AG CONNECT Expo in January 2010. Just two and a half years later, this innovative use of wireless connectivity over cell phone networks is helping farmers all over the world get cost effective secure access to critical operating data.

“It allows data to move from the tractor to the farm or to the office much more effectively and easily,” Slingshot Sales Specialist Colin Pollock. “A fringe benefit of that is the ability to deliver RTK corrections over it as well, to improve the positional accuracy in the field.”

Colin says adoption of Slingshot continues to grow among both growers and retailers. “Slingshot is really gaining traction this year,” he says, noting that 35 companies have signed on now to develop software for the product. For example, a company can develop a prescription file for a chemical application that can be transmitted immediately to a field computer.

Colin also notes that Slingshot is brand agnostic and is compatible with RTK corrections on competitive products.

Listen to my interview with Colin here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/raven/raven-colin.mp3″ text=”Colin Pollock, Slingshot Sales Specialist”]


2012 Raven Innovation Summit Photos

MapShots to Offer MAPP… Mobile App… for Its Software

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Apps, Audio, Data Collection, ICPA, Wireless

One of the issues about some of the data collection methods for precision agriculture is the fact that many times the data still has to be manually transferred from data device, such as a USB, to office software. The folks at MapShots hope to change that. At the International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Indianapolis, IN, Chuck talked to the company’s Tim Taylor, who told him they will soon release some mobile apps for their precision agronomy software AgStudio, designed to capture various types of precision ag data.

“We’re releasing a web-based version of AgStudio, which provides access via the Internet to customers’ data, and then we have a mobile application platform announcement, which is primarily for field mapping and soil sampling applications and that allows for wireless work order and data exchange between the field and the AgStudio office application,” Taylor said, adding that they hope to have it out by the end of August.

He said they want these new applications to lessen the need for the manual transfer of data from a data device, saving a step or two for the producer. “It’s just a matter of time before we no longer have to deal with the data cards.”

The AgStudio mobile app right now is just for Apple products, but Taylor said they’re looking at expanding it into the Android market as well.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Tim here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-mapshots.mp3″ text=”Interview with Tim Taylor from MapShots”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

Precision.AgWired.com coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere