Drones Tested for Agriculture Use

Cindy ZimmermanAerial Imagery, GPS, Research

Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a Multi-Rotor Remote Sensing System!

Somehow Multi-Rotor Remote Sensing System (MRRSS) just doesn’t have quite the same ring as Superman, but these tiny remote-controlled, camera-equipped drones could give some farmers super powers to see their crops from a bird’s eye view. University researchers from Arkansas, Florida and Ohio are currently studying the applications of the system which consists of a six- to eight-rotor, remotely controlled helicopter that provides a stable platform for the off-the-shelf digital camera that sends back video and stills to the ground crew. The system includes image recognition software that can teach itself to recognize individual trees or plants and count them. With different sensors, the machine could potentially detect disease, irrigation or fertilizer issues, predict crop yields and more.

The idea for the system came from Reza Ehsani, Assistant Professor and Precision Agriculture Specialist with the University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center. It’s powered by a lithium ion polymer battery and a basic unit costs from $7,000 to $10,000. Ehsani says it would be a great tool for citrus growers to use to combat citrus greening.

Arkansas researchers are interested in how the system could help row crop farmers and the project in that state is being funded partially by the state soybean board. In Oregon, nurseries and tree farms have the most interest.

The Spike-Tooth Disk

Melissa SandfortAgricultural Anthropology

Ever heard the saying, “It’s a tough row to hoe”? Sometimes it rains so hard around here that after the puddles dry up, it looks as though someone went through your front yard with a concrete compaction stomper. That makes for some tough hoeing when it comes to planting flowers or getting your garden ready.

I’m sure the same holds true when you look back at when, and why, this contraption was used: the spike tooth disk, otherwise known as a pasture renovator. This was tractor-drawn, with dirt or concrete blocks placed on the top trays as weights. This was used, as the name implies, to disk the soil prior to planting, or to revitalize pastures before fertilizing. When used on pastures, it would improve forage yield and animal performance and growth rate because the grass was given the opportunity to grow instead of competing with weeds for nutrients and water.

Even though the disk was pulled with a tractor, it was still a tough row to hoe. The ground had to be clean and free of weeds, which meant multiple trips across the field, increased fuel costs and time invested by the farmer.

I found this out back of the shed in the weeds. Looks like this area could use a little hoeing!

Until our next history lesson …

Assisted or Automatic Steering: Can It Help You?

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyAs you are faced with trying to do more with less, efficiency is a frequently heard buzzword. But, learning about what products are on the market to help you increase field speed, reduce fuel costs and allow you to start earlier, run later and continue longer with less fatigue – now that’s a challenge in itself. And who has time, because you’re doing MORE with LESS!

Ag Leader makes it easy for you by offering two products that fit the bill for increased efficiency. Hear more from Ag Leader Project Manager Matt Leinen about the options available to you. And, learn more about how to know which system is right for you.

Ag Leader offers two competitive options:
First, Ag Leader’s OnTrac2 system allows you to add assisted steering to tractors, combines, application rigs and more – without hooking into hydraulics. The system reduces operator fatigue while improving pass-to-pass accuracy so you can spend more time monitoring what’s going on in the field.

Or, ParaDyme is the most advanced automated steering system in the field. The patented dual-antenna roof module allows operators to steer with sub-inch accuracy, reducing input costs and fatigue while also increasing accuracy.

Matt also tells us what benefits come with assisted or automatic steering.

Read more about ParaDyme from grower Randy Szczypiorski, New Carlisle, Ind.

But what makes Ag Leader your trusted source for precision ag equipment? Why Ag Leader? Matt tells us more.

So don’t let the efficiency push make your mood all a-buzz. Instead, talk with an Ag Leader dealer today about assisted or automatic steering and free up your hands, and your time.

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.

Smartphone App Use

Chuck ZimmermanZimmPoll

According to our latest ZimmPoll you’re using lots of apps on your smartphones. Well, at least some of you are. Over a third of our respondents said they have more than forty apps on their smartphone. That was followed though by another third who said they only have zero to ten apps. Seventeen percent said they have 20 to 30 apps, thirteen percent said 10 to 20 and five percent said 30 to 40 apps. That’s a lot of apps! It’s amazing how useful these devices are becoming and apps are what make that possible.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Will USDA forecast for record 13.5 billion bushels of corn come true?” There’s been a lot of flooding and cool weather in the corn belt this spring. How much do impact will that have? Let us know what you think and thank you for participating.

And if you have any questions you want to suggest for future ZimmPolls please let us know.

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

Trimble Acquires MyTopo For Outdoor Enthusiasts

Melissa SandfortApps, technology, Trimble

Trimble announced that it has acquired privately-held MyTopo based in Billings, Mont. MyTopo is a leading provider of print and digital maps for outdoor enthusiasts. The acquisition expands Trimble’s ability to offer unique map content and new outdoor-centric products while simultaneously enhancing its popular mobile apps—Trimble Outdoors, AllSport GPS, Geocache Navigator, Cabela’s Recon Hunt, and Backpacker GPS Trails.

MyTopo offers several products to outdoor consumers using its topographic, satellite and aerial photograph map imagery. Products include print-on-demand custom waterproof maps, Internet-based map layers, digital map tiles for mobile devices and Terrain Navigator, a suite of mapping software products.

Trimble Outdoors’ customers can access the new maps at www.trimbleoutdoors.com. The digital maps are available on more than 300 smartphones and mobile handsets that run Trimble Outdoors mobile apps.

The Daisy #40

Melissa SandfortAgricultural Anthropology

I love butter. Isn’t everything better with butter? And I love sour cream. Not the fat free kind – the full octane spread it on your hips kind of “real” sour cream. With that attitude, I would’ve done well back in the early 1900s when everything was real and a size 12 dress (or was it 14?) was average.

This is a Dazey #40 butter churn, patent date of Feb. 14, 1922. Speaking of sour cream, after the cow was milked, a cream separator was used and then the cream would sit until it was actually SOUR. You got it – sour cream. They’d pour that sour cream into this butter churn and crank the handle until the whey was worked out of it. It was grainy at first, but with enough cranks, produced a creamy yellow REAL butter (they did have to add a little salt). The liquid left after the butter was taken out, the buttermilk, and it is said to have made the best pancakes in the world.

If the cream was too fresh or not the right temperature, they’d have to crank a long time on this wooden handle until it made butter. These days, if it’s not fresh, we just toss it out. Think of all the good butter we’re wasting.

The first version of oleo was actually white. That didn’t go over too well, so they’d send you home with an orange color capsule or dry powder to mix in it to make it yellow. It’s all about appearances, now, isn’t it? I guess a size 14 didn’t matter as long as the butter was yellow.

Until our next history lesson …

Planting Update Direct From Iowa

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyThis week, we caught up with Kent Johnson, farmer from centrally located Clemons, Iowa, for an update on the 2011 planting season and his use of precision ag equipment, direct from his tractor cab or as he refers to it, his “office”.

Kent tells us he got an early start on corn in mid-April, but then had to delay by a week because of cold Midwestern weather.

Kent utilizes Ag Leader’s SeedCommand, DirectCommand and SureVac Electric row shutoff, SureStop Clutches, SMS Advanced and SMS Mobile. As you can see, he is no stranger to precision ag equipment. He entered the precision ag field with yield monitors in 1995, a GPS on that yield monitor in 1998, and expanded from there.

He says putting a hard and fast number to ROI is tough to do, but his message to other growers is that it saves time, increases productivity, and reduces mental and physical wear and tear on the user.

Kent is truly a man of the times. He confessed to running on Autopilot and SeedCommand while sitting in the field watching YouTube videos on his smart phone on how to repair equipment. He demands a lot from his Ag Leader technology, which in turn, lets him do a lot more in the same amount of time.

Want to take a look inside his cab? Kent shot this video with his phone:

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.

Ag Innovation Showcase in St. Louis

Cindy ZimmermanEvents

The Danforth Plant Science Center will host an international conference focused on agricultural innovation this month in St. Louis.

The third annual Ag Innovation Showcase will highlight “innovative ideas and opportunities for agriculture to help solve long-term issues in food production and security, environmental and energy concerns.”

The two-day program will feature dialogue and discussion between participants and deal-making across the spectrum of ag-bio, food and nutrition, biofuels, sustainable materials, clean-tech, information technology and animal health. Innovations in various sectors will be spotlighted through presentations by 16 entrepreneurial companies selected in a global business plan competition focused on technology innovation and market and business vision. The winning companies represent some of the most promising innovations across industry sectors and worldwide geographies.

The showcase will be held May 23-24 in St. Louis. Registration and other information can be
found on the event website.

Volunteers Needed for Wisconsin Farm Tech Days

Cindy ZimmermanEvents

Volunteers are needed for the annual Wisconsin Farm Technology Days event this summer.

The three-day outdoor event showcases the latest improvements in production agriculture, including many practical applications of recent research findings and technological developments. Each year, it is held in a different Wisconsin county – on a different host family farm. This year’s host is Seehafer’s Acres in Marathon County. The dates are July 12-14 and the theme is “A Growing Tradition.”

About 1200-1500 volunteers are needed to help with the preparation before the show, during the show and for cleanup after the show. Volunteers will receive a t-shirt and admission pass. If you or a group of people are interested in the opportunity to be part of Wisconsin’s largest outdoor agriculture show right here in Marathon County, please contact Diane Borchardt at diane.borchardt@co.marathon.wi.us.

Next year’s event will be held in Outagamie County and in 2013 it will be in Barron County. The theme for the 2012 WFTD is “Innovations in Agribusiness,” but no theme has been chosen yet for 2013 and they are looking for ideas.