Precision.AgWired.com: Precision Mixing? There’s an App for That!

John DavisAg Leader, Audio, Precision Pays Podcast

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast

In this edition of the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology, we hear about a new app that can help producers more precisely mix crop protection products.

Precision Laboratories, an agricultural chemical company, has developed, Mix Tank, an iPhone-based app that allows you to save custom tank mixes and share them via email, Twitter and Facebook.

You can hear more about how Precision Labs developed and continue to work on Mix Tank from the company’s Vice President Jim Reiss and Marketing Director Daniel Ori in this edition of the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast in the player below below. [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/precision/precision-podcast-19.mp3″ text=”Precision.AgWired.com Podcast”]

You can subscribe to the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast here.

You can find out more about Mix Tank through the Precision Laboratories website.

Japan Disaster May Benefit U.S. Exports

Chuck ZimmermanZimmPoll

The earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan has repercussions in a variety of industries. Agriculture is no exception. Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How will Japan disaster affect US exports?” 61% said it will increase exports while 23% said decrease and 17% said no impact. So how has this disaster affected agriculture in Japan? You can learn more in this week’s ZimmCast, the weekly podcast of our AgWired website.

It’s mid term for the current administration in Washington, DC. So we thought it would be interesting to get your take on how you think our U.S. Secretary of Agriculture is doing. Here’s your chance to grade him. The new poll is now live and asks the question, “What mid-term grade would you give Ag Sec. Tom Vilsack?” Let us know what you think and thank you for participating.

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

USDA Wraps Up Conservation Forums with National Meeting

John DavisConservation, USDA

Throughout March, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, with some help from the American Farmland Trust and Farm Foundation, has been holding a series of regional meetings across the country to examine conservation programs and policies. Now, the ideas talked about at those meetings will be brought together at the National Agricultural Landscapes Forum April 7-8 at the Marriott Metro Center Hotel, Washington, D.C:

“At a time of increasing competition for natural resources, it is important for all interested parties to offer their perspectives on how best to sustain the nation’s water, soil and natural resource assets,” says Farm Foundation, NFP President Neil Conklin. “Multiple viewpoints are needed to insure that public and private leaders have the tools they need to make informed decisions-decisions that may well have long-term impacts.”

This national forum is targeted to anyone with an interest in soil, water and natural resources conservation, including Congressional staff, agriculture and conservation organizations, farmers and ranchers, Tribal officials, state and federal agency staff, and others concerned about the future of the nation’s agricultural landscape.

A panel of nationally-recognized thought leaders in soil and water conservation and agricultural landscapes was appointed to contribute to the regional and national Agricultural Landsape meetings. Members are: Roger Allbee, former Vermont Secretary of Agriculture; Varel Bailey, Bailey Farms, Inc., Anita, Iowa; Craig Cox, Environmental Working Group; Otto Doering, Purdue University; P.J. Haynie, Haynie Farms, Hague, Va., and National Black Grower’s Council; Teresa Lasseter, Moultrie, Ga.; A.G. Kawamura, former California Secretary of Agriculture; Pat O’Toole, Ladder Ranch, Wyoming and Family Farm Alliance; Ross Racine, Intertribal Agriculture Council; Charles Stenholm, Olsson, Frank, Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC; and Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Communications.

If you want to attend, you need to register by this coming Thursday, March 31. Information is available on the National Forum website.

It’s a Family Affair

Melissa SandfortAgricultural Anthropology

This column has caused quite a stir. Not only do I get the pleasure of writing about the farming history of my Grandfather and some of the “ways of yesteryear” from my Grandmother, but today, I have my Aunt to thank for “loaning” me a story idea. This truly has turned into fine family fun!

When you were younger, did you have one of those red GAF viewmasters? It was a version of a 3-D stereoscopic toy for viewing seven images on photo disks. I had one as a kid…in fact, it’s in the closet for my son when he gets older.

What I didn’t know was that 3-D was around long before the viewmaster. This is a stereoscope, which features two photos which are ever so slightly different, positioned side-by-side, one for the left eye and one for the right. When you look through the glass, these two flat images combine into one image that gives the illusion of depth, or 3-D. Stereoscopes were first made in 1840.

Between the 1840s and the 1920s, they were used for entertainment and education purposes, and virtual travel. They taught children about geography, natural history and many other subjects.

Today, we have transitioned to television and movies which are available in 3-D. This just goes to show that the technology was around long before we imagined. We’ve just adapted and grown those technologies into ideas on a much larger scale. Or maybe I should say, on a much larger screen.

Until our next history lesson …

Hands Free Options Give Growers Efficiency and Freedom

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights Weekly
As you prepare for the 2011 planting season, you might be looking for ways to make your application and planting equipment more efficient. One way to do that is to utilize autosteer capabilities, giving you hands-free options to focus on other aspects of your business while in the cab.

One example is the ParaDyme system from Ag Leader — a full-featured steering system with integrated wireless and cellular communication capabilities providing operators automatic steering control with sub-inch accuracy, improving product placement and fuel efficiency while significantly reducing operator fatigue.

Randy Szczypiorski farms about 2,900 acres near New Carlisle, Ind., raising seed corn, soybeans and commercial corn. He eased his way into precision agriculture with a lightbar on his sprayer six years ago, but when his neighbors put up a base station, and after speaking with his local dealer, Randy made the switch and now has three ParaDyme systems in use on his operation for anhydrous, spraying and fertilizer.

“Farming is more than 8 to 5, Monday through Friday,” Randy says. “I got tired of staring at a lightbar all the time. After 35 years of farming, I can now enjoy watching the planter while it’s operating. And it’s so easy to use.

“You can’t have hooked ends – you need to get squared up with the planter before you start planting seed corn. Maybe I’m just picky about straight rows, but ParaDyme is a very responsive system and simple to operate and allows me to start out straight.”

Operators also have access to in-field technical support with the remote diagnostics capability of ParaDyme.

“These days, so much can be done over the Internet with no farm visit required. I was in the cab of my sprayer and didn’t know what was happening. I called my Ag Leader dealer 80 miles away, and he was able to move me over to a WAAS signal,” Randy says. “After a 3-minute conversation, he had diagnosed the problem, switched me over to WAAS and I was able to farm the rest of the afternoon.”

Randy says ParaDyme gives him the ability to farm more because he’s not so stressed at the end of the day.

ParaDyme supports WAAS, OmniSTAR HP/XP and RTK differential signals and over 350 vehicle platforms. Contact your local Ag Leader dealer or visit AgLeader.com for more information.

The John Deere FarmSight Strategy

Cindy ZimmermanJohn Deere

john deere farmsightJohn Deere introduced FarmSight during the Commodity Classic earlier this month and we told you about it at the time, but I also had a chance to learn more about it from Audrey Bartlett, product manager for John Deere Ag Management Solutions.

“John Deere FarmSight is really all about having these advanced technology solutions integrated with our platform equipment – tractors, sprayers, combines – and also how the dealer will be a valued and trusted advisor to make your operation more productive and efficient,” Audrey told me. “It’s really a strategy and underneath that strategy we have three main pillars.”

Those pillars are:

john deere farmsightMachine Optimization – John Deere FarmSight provides solutions that will get the most out of your machine using precision technology and wireless, mobile data networks for higher levels of productivity and increased uptime.

Logistics Optimization – John Deere FarmSight will better manage logistics and machinery use from remote locations through fleet management solutions and increased machine to machine communication.

Ag Decision Support – John Deere FarmSight provides user-friendly monitors, sensors, and wireless, mobile networks to provide easy access to machinery and agronomic data essential to making proactive management decisions for your operation.

Listen to Audrey explain the FarmSight strategy here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/john-deere/cc11-jd-audrey.mp3″ text=”Audrey Bartlett with John Deere”]

Find out more about John Deere FarmSight by going to www.johndeere.com/farmsight

2011 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Are You Ready To Plant?

Chuck ZimmermanZimmPoll

The latest ZimmPoll results are in. So your answer to the question, “When will planting season start this year?” is as follows: 37 percent say later than average, 36 percent say at the five year average (late March) and 27 percent say sooner than average. I’m guessing that some of those “sooner” folks are already out in the field!

Our next ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How will Japan disaster affect US exports?” Our hearts go out to the people in Japan by the way. It is a disaster of monumental proportions. There are many organizations providing assistance and we hope you’ll support them. Let us know what you think and thank you for participating.

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

Old Tractors

Melissa SandfortAgricultural Anthropology

Our family farming operation bleeds green. To any John Deere lover, you know what I mean. The tractors today are bigger, have more horsepower, more options and enable growers to accomplish so much more in a short amount of time. It wasn’t always so.

The top photo is a Mogul 8-16 breaking sod on our family’s farm in the early 1900s. This was McCormick’s (International Harvester) first attempt at a smaller tractor and was manufactured in 1915. It had one forward and reverse speed: 1.5 miles per hour.

The middle photo is a Titan 10-20, also an International Harvester, and was also built in about 1915. It had a maximum speed of 3 miles per hour. My grandmother’s family used this tractor to harrow 70 acres per day. (Brand new, the price was $950.)

Both the Mogul and the Titan ran on kerosene.

The bottom photo is a Farmall … my great grandfather’s first tractor he purchased in 1929.

Today’s equipment is built to cover more ground, more efficiently, in an effort to provide food for a growing domestic and world population. Just remember – bigger doesn’t mean ‘corporate’. It just means there’s a farmer out there working long hours, farming more acres, so that you can go to the grocery store and buy affordable, healthy food for your family. Farmers today just have more mouths to feed.

Until our next history lesson …

Count Down to AGRITECHNICA

Cindy ZimmermanAgritechnica, Equipment, Events, John Deere

2011 commodity classicOnly eight months until the world’s largest agricultural machinery and equipment exhibition opens its gates in Hanover, Germany with more manufacturers of tractors, agricultural machinery and equipment than ever before.

During the 2011 Commodity Classic, I had a chance to chat with our friends Malene Conlong and Annette Reichhold with DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft – German Agricultural Society) who organize the bi-annual Agritechnica. “It is in fact the biggest show,” Malene said. “It’s got 355,000 visitors from all over the world and many of them are from America. In fact, 3-4,000 people come from North America to visit the show and 2,300 exhibitors.”

“It’s not only the largest in the world but it’s the most modern in the world and it’s very well organized,” Annette added, explaining that they have 18 halls under the show roof, structured by topic and interest for farmers who attend.

They also choose a special topic to highlight during each Agritechnica and this year it is “smart farming,” according to Malene. “You guys in America actually started this off with your precision farming and this is something that we’ll be exploring in depth,” she said. “We’ll have interactive displays on things like navigation, GPS, sensor technology and we’ll be focusing specifically on protecting the environment and cost reduction for farmers, how to produce more efficiently.”

Agritechnica has partnered with the AgConnect Expo here in the United States to build up a similar show on this side of the Atlantic on the off years – even though they will technically be held in the same calendar year. Agritechnica 2011 will be held November 15-19.

Listen to or download my interview with Malene and Annette here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/commodity-classic/cc11-agritechnica.mp3″ text=”2011 Agritechnica Preview”]

Thanks to John Deere for sponsorship of our coverage of the 2011 Commodity Classic
2011 Commodity Classic Photo Album

FS Green Plan Provides Agronomy Based Solutions

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Farmers, Growmark

Planting season is almost upon us now, which means a new year for farmers to discover how they can increase yields and profitability.

GROWMARK FS Green Plan Solutions helps farmers do just that. I recently spoke with Jim Spradlin, vice president of agronomy for FS Green Plan, about how they help their farmers.

“The FS system works very hard to differentiate ourselves by providing good, strong agronomic advice to our growers,” Jim told me during the “Pursuit of Maximum Yield” conference earlier this year. FS Green Plan Solutions also offers On-Farm Discovery, a scientific-method based trial program, helping farmers answer their questions on their farm with their data. The Pursuit of Maximum Yield is an On-Farm Discovery program specifically geared toward increasing yield per acre in light of a booming world population and rapidly increasing demand.

“We had some 200 On-Farm Discovery plots out last year, over 100 of them were Pursuit of Maximum Yield specific,” Jim said. “We’re doing trials on other things so that we’re extracting good information and accurate results so we can present back some of the findings from the trials.”

Jim notes that because every field, every operation and every farmer is different, everyone needs to develop their own “recipe” based on what they learn works best for them.

Listen to my interview with Jim here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/growmark/pomy-spradlin.mp3″ text=”Jim Spradlin Interview”]

FS Green Plan Solutions, an integrated, solutions-based approach designed to help producers enhance farm profitability by providing complete agronomic recommendations from a trusted team of FS specialists.