New Boundary Technologies Offers Integrated Application

AgWired Precision, Apps, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

Imagine an app that allows a farmer to check multiple areas of an operation by logging into just one place – even if that farm includes both crops and livestock. That’s the idea with new integration from New Boundary Technologies, introduced at the 2018 Develop with Deere Conference.

“Farmers don’t want to have to log into 10 different applications to see everything,” said Kim Pearson with New Boundary Technologies, based in Minneapolis. “Just like on the consumer side, that’s a pain for us. So we are one of the early supporters of John Deere’s new APIs to be able to take information that we get from sensors for things on the farm like tanks and implements that are attached to the tractors, barn environmentals, and be able to give the farmer a view in the John Deere operations center so that they don’t have to log into a lot of different systems to see everything on their farm.”

Pearson said the technology has been available for quite some time, but the price point for both the hardware and the communication software has dropped by about 60 percent over the past year. That’s been key to bringing the product to market.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Kim here: Interview with Kim Pearson, New Boundary Technologies

You can find conference photos here: 2018 Develop with Deere Conference Photo Album

The John Deere API Evangelist at #DevelopWithDeere

AgWired Precision, Apps, Audio, John Deere, technology

Josh Carson is an API Evangelist for John Deere who was an integral part of Develop With Deere. There’s a title you don’t see everyday. I think it pretty much qualifies you as a top level AgNerd! I asked Josh what his job is all about and he said, “My whole job is to make APIs awesome.”

By making APIs awesome Josh is helping more and more companies create integrations with John Deere’s APIs. In case you don’t know what an API is here’s a short explanation. API stands for application program interface. So basically, it is a set of code to help build software applications since the API is what helps software components interact properly. In this case the APIs are helping third party developers create useful integrations with the John Deere Operations Center.

Josh works with two distinct groups. First are the internal software developers and data teams. Second are the external software companies where he helps them work with John Deere APIs. Why? Because as he says, “John Deere is not farming alone. Farmers don’t farm alone. No one solves farming alone.” Josh says John Deere offers a lot of help with developers and the conference provides face to face interaction and training.

You can listen to my interview with Josh here: Interview with Josh Carson, John Deere

You can find conference photos here: 2018 Develop with Deere Conference Photo Album

Turning Soil Health Into Profitability

AgWired Precision, Audio, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

Farmers who enroll in the Soil Health Partnership gather lots of data regarding what is happening on their farms. To help them characterize what’s happening from a business performance outcome as they go through the program, there are specific data platforms and methods available.

“There are plenty of opportunities where we can focus in very specifically on the business outcome and understanding how that varies within our fields, and get to the kinds of soil health, conservation and sustainability outcomes that the supply chain is requiring of us right now,” said Dave Muth, vice president of agronomic planning and sustainability for EFC Systems. “And that ability to get that context behind the ‘make more money’ piece, or at least very tightly integrated with that profitability story is the critical piece that we try and work through.”

Muth led a breakout session at the 2018 Soil Health Summit and also participated in a general session during the conference. He said farmers need to understand where they have separate functioning businesses within their fields, they can calibrate their business plan better to deal with that.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Dave Muth here: Dave Muth, EFC Systems

2018 Soil Health Summit Day One Photo Album

2018 Soil Health Summit Day Two Photo Album

Deere Gen 4 Displays Compatible With Ag Leader SMS™

AgWired Precision, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, technology

John Deere Generation 4 CommandCenter™ Displays and Ag Leader Technology SMS™ software are now compatible thanks to John Deere’s Ag Data Application Programming Toolkit (ADAPT) plug-in.

As a result, producers and their trusted advisors can now easily transfer data from John Deere Generation 4 CommandCenter™ Displays into Ag Leader SMS™ software for spraying and other field applications.

Deanna Kovar, Director of Production & Precision Ag Marketing for Deere, was at the Deere Developers conference this week in Kansas City and she explains more about the announcement here:
Interview with Deanna Kovar, John Deere

2018 Develop with Deere Conference Photo Album

Reinke’s Partnership with NCTA in Curtis

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Education, Irrigation

A skilled labor shortage is being addressed by providing student scholarships for workforce training for the manufacturing industry. And that is how Reinke Manufacturing’s partnership with the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) in Curtis comes into play.

Reinke Manufacturing has teamed with NCTA to offer an Irrigation Technician Area of Concentration. This 34-credit, hands-on program helps students obtain knowledge in electricity and mechanized irrigation systems. Reinke Manufacturing’s partnership offers access to the Reinke PLUS Certification program.

“If you learn hands-on, this is an awesome program for you,” said Collin Overmann, NCTA student in Curtis. “There’s always different companies calling our program expressing their need for technicians, so [job] placement is pretty good.”

“Reinke is honored to support students focused on technical skills especially with the shortage of skilled labor,” said Reinke President Chris Roth.

Precision Ag Bytes 1/24

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • The 2018 NC Ag Biotech Summit will focus on the importance of soil health, highlighting challenges being faced and the responsibility needed to provide a sustainable future. The event is scheduled for February 20-21 at the UNC Friday Center.
  • AgGateway has announced its 2018 leadership, including the directors of its Strategic Board and Operational Management Board, and leaders of its councils and committees. A summary can be found in the 2017 Annual Report on the AgGateway website.
  • Only a few days remain to take advantage of standard registration fees for the 2018 Commodity Classic to be held Feb. 27-March 1, in Anaheim, California. The last day regular registration fees are in effect is Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. Late registration fees will apply after that date.
  • Agrible, Inc. has announced that Chris Harbourt will step down as its Chief Executive Officer. Chris is one of 8 co-founders of Agrible and has been with the company since its formation. Agrible’s Morning Farm Report currently has over 12 thousand users and over 8 million acres enrolled on it for tracking and predicting productivity, sustainability, nutrient availability, pest potential, and other field-specific features. Dennis E. Beard, a current board member, will serve as Interim CEO of Agrible.
  • Hortau, a provider of precision irrigation management systems and services for agriculture, today was named to the THRIVE AgTech Top 50 list of companies shaping the future of agriculture for 2018. Hortau was recognized on the Top 50 list in the “Connected Devices” category, along with five other companies.
  • Aerospace giant Airbus will host a webinar on January 31, entitled: Supporting the Growth of Your Crops from Space. Sky Rubin, North America Ag Solutions Manager at Airbus Defence and Space, will be joined by his guest Mark Davis, Pacific Northwest Regional Manager for Simplot SmartFarm, of major US-based agribusiness the J.R. Simplot Company. The webinar will also give the industry a first look at the upcoming Airbus FieldMaps API, ahead of its launch later this year.

Bayer Focusing Future Research, Innovation on Soil

AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

The keynote speaker at this year’s Soil Health Summit told participants they need to get involved and understand how the global economy affects innovation and the regulatory environment regarding agriculture. Sustainability is a key factor globally, and many of those efforts are tied to the soil.

“We have a lot of very emergent technologies, disruptive technologies we’re working on, and they’re all based in the soil,” said Dr. Robert Graney, who is in charge of regulatory science for Bayer North America, including regulatory affairs outreach and product safety from an environmental and human health perspective. “I think in the future, there’s much more emphasis on what’s happening in the soil from an overall plant health perspective as opposed to what’s happening above ground. So we’re definitely investing in that area.”

Graney said other challenges include trade flow and regulation at a local or state versus federal level.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Dr. Robert Graney here: Dr. Robert Graney, Bayer

2018 Soil Health Summit Day One Photo Album

2018 Soil Health Summit Day Two Photo Album

First Soil Health Partnership Awards Presented

AgWired Precision, Audio, Award, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

Four “Seeds of Change” awards were presented at the 4th Annual Soil Health Partnership Summit, Jan. 18-19 in Chicago. These first awards were developed to highlight those members of the Soil Health Partnership who go above and beyond to advocate for the partnership and for soil health throughout the year. And the winners are – from left to right in the photo:

Super Spout – Andrew Reuschel, Golden, Illinois
Andrew is a first-year member of the partnership who practices reduced tillage and cover crops on his farm and became interested in expanding soil and water conservation efforts. Interview with Andrew Reuschel, SHP Super Sprout award

Champion Communicator: Mark Mueller, Waverly, Iowa
Mark often takes the initiative to tell the story of what’s happening on his farm – a vital way to encourage other farmers to consider adopting new practices, and to share the progress agriculture is making with the public. Interview with Mark Mueller, SHP Champion Communicator award

Data Digger: Tom Vaske, Masonville, Iowa
Tom Vaske started farming on his own in 2001 by renting land from a neighbor who wished to have conservation tillage practices maintained on the farm, so Tom converted an old planter into a strip till bar. Tom has been testing the use of interseeding cover crops on his farm through randomized, replicated field trials with SHP. Interview with Tom Vaske, SHP Data Digger award

Ace Agronomist: Jack Hardwick, Beardstown, Illinois
Both an agronomist and a farmer, Jack’s interest in soil health started with his degree in soil science. He then spent 12 years in various roles with FS, AgriGold, and BRANDT before going back to the family farm and starting a crop consulting business. Interview with Jack Hardwick, SHP Ace Agronomist award

2018 Soil Health Summit Day One Photo Album

2018 Soil Health Summit Day Two Photo Album

4th Soil Health Summit Underway in Chicago

AgWired Precision, Soil, Soil Health Partnership, sustainability

The 2018 Soil Health Summit kicked off yesterday in Chicago and all of the proceedings can be found on the Soil Health Summit Blog! This is a brand new blog which is being used to feature photos, interviews and other media content from this annual event. You can subscribe to the Soil Health Summit Blog with this feed link.

This is the fourth Soil Health Partnership Summit, which has come a long way since the first one in 2015. Soil Health Partnership Director Nick Goeser welcomed participants to the opening day general session of the 2018 Soil Health Summit, setting the stage for the theme Rooted in Data, Growing in Success.

Listen to Nick’s welcome here: SHP director Nick Goeser opens 4th Soil Health Summit

Check out the official blog for all the content from the summit.

2018 Soil Health Summit Day One Photo Album

AEM Reports 2017 Tractor and Combine Sales

AEM, AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, Tractor

The 2017 Ag Tractor and Combine Report from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) shows some recovery from 2016.

“When we look at 2017 U.S. retail sales, especially from mid-year on, the bright spot continued to be the small-tractor sales under 40 HP with consistently positive numbers, while tractors 40-100HP have essentially been flat,” AEM Senior VP for AG Services Curt Blades. “For the larger ag tractor sales (100+ HP 2WD) we saw some real softening at the beginning of the year but some sizable reversals to end at a negative 8 percent, and 4WD drive tractors and combines ended on a positive note with modest gains. So, while the downturn of 2016 carried over into 2017 it began to reverse as the year progressed.”

In this interview, Blades talks about how the new tax reform package has the industry cautiously optimistic for continued overall improvement in 2018.

Interview with Curt Blades, AEM