Ag Leader Provides SeedCommand to High-Quality Hybrids

John DavisAg Leader, Audio, Corn, Wyffels

It takes good seed to make a good crop, but you also have to have that seed in good ground. In the case of precision agriculture, farmers are getting that down to the millimeter, especially when it comes to corn. Recently, Chuck had the chance to talk to one of our friends from Ag Leader, Rick Hofer, who was at the Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event in Vincent, Iowa, where he was talking about how to marry up a high quality seed, such as Wyffels, with his company’s precision equipment.

“With our SeedCommand products, we have automatic shutoffs for row units, which [helps you] save 5-10 percent on your seed costs… which affects your bottom line,” he said. Hofer also gave us a nice rundown on some of the new and even soon-to-be-released equipment from Ag Leader, which they were able to show off as part of the Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event.

Hear more of what Rick had to say to Chuck here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/wyffels/agleader.mp3″ text=”Interview with Rick Hofer, Ag Leader Technology”]

2012 Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies Photo Album

Leica Introduces GeoAce, New RTK Base Station

Melissa SandfortCompany Announcement, GPS, Leica Geosystems, RTK

Leica Geosystems announces the new Leica GeoAce RTK base station. The product provides access to Leica Geosystems patented Virtual Wrench™, the Agriculture industry’s first web based remote service, support and diagnostics tool. With the market’s demand for telematics and remote connectivity the Leica GeoAce was developed to support these requirements.

The Leica GeoAce’s compatibility with a large range of RTK and DGPS products allows it to work with existing and new equipment such as, the Leica mojo3D equipped with the Leica mojoXact or the Leica mojoRTK console. Along with the intuitive user interface and the simple menu structure, the RTK base station delivers seamless integration to your new and existing equipment in the field.

The survey quality product was created for the Agriculture market and supports the open format RTCM 3.x standard which is compatible with Leica Geosystems products and third party farming equipment. Additionally the Leica GeoAce supports the closed format CMR and the Leica mojo1 for early generation Leica Geosystems products. The RTK base station transmits these formats through the interchangeable radios including license free 868MHz or a 900MHz. Further support for an external radio is also available or the internal cell modem can be used to transmit reference data over the internet.

Should Food Stamps be Separated from Farm Bill?

Melissa SandfortZimmPoll

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How worried are you about the weather impact on crops this summer?”

Our poll results: Seventy-four percent said very worried; twenty-one percent said moderately concerned; four percent said they’re confident the crops will overcome and two percent said “what weather?”.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Should nutrition programs be split out of the Farm Bill?” With all the controversy surrounding cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps, there has also been talk that the bill could be split. What do you think – should nutrition be separate from agriculture?

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

Drought Hurts Crops, Allows Weeds to Grow

John DavisAgribusiness, Audio

Farmers in the Midwest have been hit hard with drought this summer. Not only has the dry, hot weather withered the crops, but the lack of rain also kept a lot of pre-emerge herbicides from working properly. During the recent Anthem Field Plot Tour, FMC officials got the chance to talk with farmers throughout the Midwest about these kinds of issues. In Ames, Iowa, Chuck caught up with FMC Midwest Regional Business Manager Randy Young, whose territory covers from Minnesota to Colorado and has seen a wide variety of conditions this year, but everyone is dry. He said FMC’s Authority brands have performed well, and they can’t wait to add Anthem, the herbicide on display during this plot tour, if the EPA approves it for use this fall.

“What I see is a lot of excitement from retailers. It’s another tool in the tool box,” adding that they expect Anthem to bring a lot more flexibility to the market, from early pre-planting application in corn to post-emergence in soybeans.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Randy here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/fmc/randy-young.mp3″ text=”Interview with Randy Young, FMC Midwest Regional Business Manager”]

You can find photos from the event here: FMC Anthem Field Plot Tour Photos

Providing Good Ground Cover Through the Air

John DavisAerial Application, Audio, Corn, CTIC

A dozen years ago, to me, that headline would have meant using fighter aircraft to put precision munitions on targets to protect troops on the ground. Now, in the world of precision agriculture, it means using aerial application to put down seeds for ground cover crops.

“Typically your crops will [still] be out in the field, and we need to get the seed out there,” said Eric Smith, a pilot with Pontiac Flying Service and a northern Illinois family farmer who talked with Chuck after one of the stops on the Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour. His presentation was on the benefit of cover crops, such as tillage radish or rye grass. Smith explained in his part of the country, they are applying the cover crop seed in mid-August to mid-September, when the corn is already pretty tall. The aerial application allows for a nice, even distribution of seed, and the resulting cover crop doesn’t interfere with harvest. In fact, he says some farmers have even told him it actually helps by cutting down on dust.

Check out Chuck’s interview with Eric here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/ctic/erick-smith-aerial.mp3″ text=”Interview with Eric Smith, Pontiac Flying Service”]

2012 Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photo Album

FarmSight on International Stage

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, ICPA, John Deere

Attendees at the International Conference on Precision Agriculture got the full overview of the John Deere FarmSight strategy from Mark Stelford who does Solutions Marketing in the Intelligent Solutions Group. I visited with Mark afterward.

Mark says that when you look at some of the megatrends in agriculture and outside the industry like demand for food, fiber and fuel between now and 2050 it has really helped John Deere understand what the company needs to do to help drive efficiencies to the producer. So FarmSight is the strategy that helps drive them to the products they are creating. Those are driven by three pillars that include machine optimization, logistics optimization and agronomic decision support. In his comments here Mark says he emphasized John Deere sitting at the table with other companies via AgGateway to create data standards to increase the efficiency of data movement.

Listen to my interview with Mark here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-12-stelford.mp3″ text=”Interview with Mark Stelford”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

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

Nutrient Management Options Growing

Chuck ZimmermanAg Group, Audio, ICPA, Nutrient Management

Keynote speaker Dr. Newell Kitchen, USDA-ARS, had a unique title to his presentation, “From Poking Holes to Precision Sensing: Options Growing for Nutrient Management.” He wanted to be clear that the options available to farmers today for managing nutrients are growing. He started out with a historical perspective on what has taken place in this area in recent years.

One of the things he brings up early on is the question, “What is precision agriculture.” It’s basically a moving target and we’re probably not going to come up with a concise definition. I agree with that since precision agriculture applies to everything from row crop farming to the dairy industry.

When it comes to nutrient management he says about half the papers being presented are on this subject. It’s a big part of what the technology has been developed to control. He says there are three phases we’ve gone through that start with soil fertility. And looking ahead he says, “We do need to be visionary.” That means to see the challenges ahead of the industry and see them as opportunities and be able to respond to them and be able to convince others about the things we should be doing and if we do that we’ll find “a great frontier ahead of us.”

Listen to or download Dr. Kitchen’s remarks here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-12-kitchen.mp3″ text=”Remarks by Dr. Newell Kitchen”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

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

What’s Still Needed For Remote Sensing

Chuck ZimmermanAg Group, Audio, ICPA, Remote sensing

The first of the two keynote speakers at the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is Dr. David Mulla, University of Minnesota. Dr. Mulla is a past chair of the conference btw. His topic was “Key Advances and Remaining Knowledge Gaps in Remote Sensing for Precision Agriculture.” So he talked about what we know and what we don’t know. It’s clear from his remarks that there is still a world of opportunity in the area of precision agriculture.

Dr. Mulla’s presentation is packed full of terminology that any agnerd will love. I heard quite a few I was not familiar with like SPAD meters, cokriging and more. When it comes to his conclusions about what is still needed in this area he mentions how we have managed crops by field but now the “Challenge is to manage individual plants in real time.” Can you imagine that for let’s say 1,000 acres of corn?

Listen to or download Dr. Mulla’s remarks here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-12-mulla.mp3″ text=”Remarks by Dr. David Mulla”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

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

GROWMARK: Aerial Imagery More than Just Pictures

John DavisAerial Imagery, Audio, Growmark, Nutrient Management

It’s been around for about 30 years, but aerial imagery has changed and is bringing more information to producers than ever before.

In an interview with Cindy, GROWMARK precision agriculture manager Sid Parks says we’re not just looking at pictures anymore. “We’ve got the ability to get that information digitally, so we can use that image to quantify variability within a field,” he says. And with crop prices higher than almost ever before, farmers are more willing to spend the money on these sophisticated systems.

Parks says there are several different products available, such as satellite, aircraft or drone imagery, that show a wide array of information, and they are becoming more cost effective every day. But he cautions that farmers most likely need some help interpreting what much of this data means to their operations. “Farmers probably aren’t going to feel real good or be real successful doing this directly themselves,” adding that that’s where a good service provider, such as an FS Green Plan Solutions agent, comes in. It’s a bit like looking at an x-ray. If you don’t have an expert interpreting what’s on that image, you can’t properly diagnose the problem.

Listen to the interview with Sid here:
[wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/growmark/gmk-sid-2.mp3″ text=”GROWMARK precision agriculture manager Sid Parks”]

Previewing the International Conference on Precision Agriculture

Chuck ZimmermanAudio, ICPA, International

There are precision agriculture enthusiasts from 45 countries attending the 11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture. This conference is held every two years and is taking place in Indianapolis, IN.

To learn about what’s new for this year’s conference I spoke with Dr. Rajiv Khosla, Colorado State University, who is the President of the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), an organization that was formed at the last conference and is now responsible for it.

Besides sessions on precision nutrient management, remote sensing, and information management Dr. Khosla says there will some new sessions focused on precision conservation and carbon management as well as machine visioning and imaging applications. Water is also going to be a big topic this year as precision applications and equipment can help manage this valuable resource. Get the whole preview of this year’s conference by listening to my interview with him.

My interview with Dr. Khosla is being published as the ZimmCast which you can find regularly on AgWired.com: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/zimmcast/zimmcast358-7-16-12.mp3″ text=”11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture”]

You can find photos from the conference here: 11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

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