Plant Leaves Switch Irrigation On and Off

Kurt LawtonCotton, Irrigation

Agricultural engineers Susan O'Shaughnessy and Nolan Clark adjust an infrared thermometer that measures crop canopy temperature as a way of controlling a center pivot irrigation system.

A system that turns irrigation water on and off automatically based on leaf temperature is being developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientist Steven Evett and colleagues in Texas.

Evett, a soil scientist at Bushland, Texas, and cooperators are developing time-temperature threshold (TTT) technology that is based in part on a discovery by Evett’s colleagues at Lubbock, Texas, that plants grow best at certain narrow temperature ranges that vary by crop species.

Later developments by Evett and his colleagues led to invention of an irrigation control system that uses feedback from the crop, in terms of leaf temperatures, to control irrigation and crop water use efficiency.

Evett’s colleague Susan O’Shaughnessy, an agricultural engineer at the ARS Soil and Water Management Research Unit at Bushland, has developed wireless infrared thermometers mounted on center pivot irrigation arms as well as in the field. She is also integrating sensors that can help determine whether to skip watering parts of a field because plants are suffering from disease rather than drought or because no plants have survived in that part of the field.

Ultimately, she and Evett will seek a cooperative research and development agreement with a center pivot manufacturing company that can build the sensors and control system into their equipment.

This research is part of the Ogallala Aquifer Program started in 2004, a partnership between ARS and the Ogallala region’s universities. The Ogallala Aquifer underlies eight states from Texas to South Dakota and is one of the world’s major aquifers. The goal of the Ogallala Aquifer Program is to protect the towns and their livelihoods, including agricultural industries, by stopping the depletion of the aquifer.

Water availability is key to farming in the Ogallala region. Automated irrigation systems are seen as one major way to move towards sustainable use of the aquifer because they can reduce water use while enhancing profitability due to the reduction in pumping costs.

For more details, read on…

North Dakota Precision Ag Field Days Next Week

Kurt LawtonEducation, Equipment, Events

The North Dakota State University Extension Service has scheduled Precision Agriculture Expos in conjunction with the NDSU Research Extension Center Field Day tours on July 12 at Casselton and July 14 at Dickinson.

The expos will include educational presentations, exhibits, field demonstrations, ride and drive demonstrations and user sharing sessions.

Precision agriculture includes management practices that allow farmers to be more precise in field operations and apply crop inputs more efficiently. A global positioning system (GPS) is the basis of most precision agriculture practices. The most common GPS applications in farming are operator-assisted tractor guidance systems and completely automated steering systems.

“However, farming in North Dakota includes an increasing number of other precision agriculture applications, such as variable-rate fertilization, crop yield monitoring, section and row control on planters and sprayers, precision irrigation and GPS-guided field drainage equipment,” says John Nowatzki, NDSU Extension Service agricultural machine systems specialist. “Specialized farm geographic information system (GIS) computer programs also are an essential element of precision farming. GIS programs are used to correlate crop and soil factors with satellite imagery. Farmers use remote-sensing products and in-field sensing technologies with a GPS to manage individual field sections based on potential productivity.”

The primary goals of the expos are to explore energy efficiency aspects of precision agriculture management practices and demonstrate precision agriculture technologies. More information and a registration form are available on the NDSU precision agriculture expo website at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/agmachinery. The public also is invited to visit and contribute to the expo Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/pages/NDSU-Precision-Agriculture/110144575694517?ref=ts. Expo organizers encourage people to join the discussion groups on the Facebook site to provide input into planning the events and activities for the expos.

The events at both locations will begin with the regular field day crop plot tours from 9 a.m. to noon. The tours include reports by various NDSU research scientists. More information about the Casselton field day tour is available at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/casselto/ and the Dickinson tour at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/dickinso/.

The precision agriculture expos will follow lunch with educational presentations from 12:30 to 2 p.m. There will be a variety of concurrent educational presentations, including the economics of precision agriculture, satellite imagery delivered on cell phones, GPS problems and concerns, online field mapping services, precision manure application practices and remote-sensing options for agriculture.

Equipment and technology companies that sell precision agricultural technology will conduct field demonstrations, have displays and feature ride and drive demonstrations. Field demonstrations at both locations will include tractor and machine guidance, section control on sprayers, row control on planters and variable-rate fertilization. At the Casselton expo, there also will be field drainage software and equipment demonstrations. The Dickinson expo will have precision haying and manure application demonstrations.

Indoor and outdoor exhibit areas will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. An evening meal will be served from 5 to 7 p.m.

ParaDyme Offers Year-Round Benefits

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Insights Weekly, Planting

Insights WeeklyAnytime I hear a grower mention best corn planting in 38 years, my ears perk up and the brain wonders why? Then you hear corn seed savings of 45 bags of seed, or $9,900. Wow. I’m beginning to understand this best year deal.

Franksville, WI, grower Mike Borzynski attributes his personal best in the field due to his investment in the new Ag Leader ParaDyme steering system with the INTEGRA display. He used the system on part of his 3,500 acre grain and 4,000 acre vegetable operation—along with another 1,200 acres of custom work.

Borzynski used the INTEGRA to run the SeedCommand with his ParaDyme system to achieve those seed savings over 1,240 acres of corn. And after these results he plans to plant other crops with it in the future. “The ParaDyme worked great. After the first week using it, I bought another one,” he says. Using multiple ParaDyme systems on his operation, Borzynski is confident that he’ll see even more reduction in his input costs in the future.

The ParaDyme automated steering system can be easily transferred from one piece of equipment to another. This allows growers like Borzynski to utilize the ParaDyme not only for planting, but also for application and harvesting.

His next trial is moving this system into his John Deere 7230 tractor, using DirectCommand and his pull-type sprayer to reduce application costs. When asked if he would recommend ParaDyme to a friend or neighbor, Borzynski says without hesitation, “Absolutely. I believe in it 100 percent.”

The ParaDyme automated steering system can be used with the INTEGRA or EDGE display, and offers its users a wide range of benefits for their precision ag operations. For more information about the ParaDyme steering system, visit www.agleader.com.

For more information, visit
Ag Leader Technology Insights newsletter http://www.agleader.com/docs/insights-jun10.pdf

ParaDyme steering system http://www.agleader.com/products/steering/

TeeJet Updates Matrix Guidance System

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Equipment, GPS, Guidance

TeeJet launched its Matrix Guidance System with RealView Guidance Over Video earlier this year, and now it offers a software update, v1.04. The features being released are fully tested and bring significant improvement to the performance of this product.

Updates include:

  • Improved touch screen response
  • Split Screen option is available in RealView Guidance mode on the Matrix 570G
  • Improved touch screen calibration for the Matrix 570G
  • Up to eight cameras can be used on the Matrix 570G (with the 8-Channel VSM)
  • Updated translations to all languages except Swedish & Italian

Matrix v1.04 Software Update – software and instructions for updating your product.

TeeJet Technologies introduced the only system available offering guidance and live video to be displayed simultaneously, which helps improve accuracy and efficiency in field operations. Matrix Guidance System with RealView Guidance Over Video is an affordable system that allows growers to monitor what’s ahead or difficult to see machine parts or operations while at the same time viewing guidance information.

“The Matrix Guidance System offers growers exclusive features at an unbeatable price,” said Rich Gould, vice president and guidance business manager at TeeJet Technologies. “By combining guidance with live video instead of a virtual image, the operator now has access to more and better information to help make GPS guidance more intuitive to use.”

Matrix not only has the benefit of guidance over video, it can also be economically upgraded with automatic boom section control for use with sprayers and spreaders. Automatic boom section control helps minimize costly chemical consumption by automatically switching off sprayer boom sections when they enter a previously applied area.

Matrix is the interface for the FieldPilot® Assisted Steering System from TeeJet Technologies. Assisted steering helps improve accuracy, decrease input costs and reduce driver fatigue and stress. All of these benefits can improve operation productivity.

FieldPilot with Matrix Guidance can also easily be installed on older tractors. “There is a perception out there that you have to have a newer tractor to take advantage of precision ag benefits,” Gould said. “We have more than 65 custom installation kits for 275 different vehicles, new and old. It’s a great way for growers to add assisted steering capabilities without a costly investment.”

More Agriculture Crop Scientists Needed

Kurt LawtonEducation, sustainability, University, Weed control

Job opportunities in crop sciences are booming. Why? More than half of all crop scientists in industry and in government jobs will retire over the next decade.

A recent report by Purdue University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture predicts more than 54,000 agriculture-related job openings annually between 2010 and 2015.

“There isn’t a better business to be in right now,” says Randy Smith, a member of the Weed Science Society of America and a field research and development leader for Dow AgroSciences. “Agricultural scientists have an opportunity to feed a hungry world and to write the next chapter in the ‘Green Revolution.’ It’s a cutting-edge profession and a noble calling.”

But despite the promising employment outlook, there is a talent shortage in the applied agricultural sciences. Data from the National Academies shows 4,010 baccalaureate degrees awarded in agriculture business and management in 2007 – but only 177 in crop production. A 2008 USDA review shows Bachelor’s degrees awarded in agronomy and the crop sciences decreased by almost a third between 1984 and 2003. Several universities have dropped or consolidated programs in the agricultural sciences because of low enrollment and dwindling funds.

“The issue of talent development in the agricultural sciences is a topic of paramount concern within higher education and industry circles,” says Emilio Oyarzabal, technology development manager, Monsanto. “There are many students pursuing degrees in the marketing, sales and business side of agriculture, but the number in the applied agricultural sciences is declining steadily.”

Oyarzabal and other experts say a number of intersecting trends are contributing to the dwindling talent pool. Publicly funded graduate assistantships have evaporated. Budget cuts, retirements and competition from higher-paying industry jobs have resulted in the steady drain of agricultural sciences faculty – the very individuals responsible for recruiting and training. Grant monies are pouring into molecular biology and other basic sciences – not into applied sciences like agriculture. One possible reason:

“There is a misperception that the agricultural sciences have matured and aren’t as exciting as some of the newer, emerging sciences, such as biotechnology and molecular biology,” says Roger Gast, product development leader, Dow AgroSciences. “But nothing could be further from the truth.”

Don Wyse, Ph.D., a professor of agronomy and plant genetics and director of the Center for Natural Resources and Agricultural Management at the University of Minnesota, says changing demographics also play a role.

“The number of students raised on a farm has plummeted, and we haven’t yet figured out how to engage and recruit students from urban communities,” he says. “The link between their lives and how their food is produced is really remote at best.”

Initiatives to build a sustainable agricultural workforce

What’s the solution? The Weed Science Society of America and nearly 30 other scientific societies and agricultural industry partners have begun to collaborate on ideas for building a sustainable agricultural workforce. Some of the proposed initiatives include:

• Promoting an awareness of career opportunities in the crop sciences.
• Building a pipeline of students in middle and high schools who are interested in pursuing degrees in applied and basic agricultural sciences.
• Generating awareness of the importance of sustainable agro-ecosystems and the crucial role of the agricultural sciences in feeding a growing world population.
• Funding scholarships to attract the best students into agricultural science studies and to support applied learning programs.
• Developing innovative recruitment and training programs to attract high-quality graduate students with leadership potential.

Most agree it will take a sustained investment of resources to reverse the talent shortage. And the need has never been more critical.

“To feed a growing population, experts predict we will need to produce more food over the next 40 years than we’ve produced over the past 10,000 years combined – and with diminishing land and water resources,” says Lee Van Wychen, Ph.D., science policy director of the Weed Science Society of America. “The stakes couldn’t be higher.”

Continue Your Precision Farming Equipment Knowledge

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Education, Insights Weekly, Retailers

Insights WeeklyAlmost every farmer I’ve interviewed about their precision agriculture investment over the years talks about technology complexity and the HUGE value they place on their retailer’s expertise.

To that end, I like to hear about companies and their retailers continually offering product and software training to customers. Starting next week and running all summer, dealers for Ag Leader Technology will be hosting day-long product training sessions across the Midwest.

The focus is on products involved in fall operations, everything from harvest to fall tillage. “Our summer hardware training sessions will talk about Ag Leader displays, DirectCommand setup and operations, automated steering with ParaDyme and OnTrac2, yield monitoring systems and other topics,” says Andy Boyle, Training Coordinator, Ag Leader Technology. “We’ll have opportunities for customers to ask questions and bring up issues from this past year to help optimize performance and gain tips for smoother operation.”

Currently, the company has 17 sessions scheduled, winding through Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and more (see link to sessions below). “Check with your local Ag Leader dealer and ask if they plan to hold a training session,” Boyle says.

“Dealers will tailor specific topics to local needs, and primarily discuss what to do before heading to the field at harvest—such as what components to check and how to calibrate and when recalibration is needed,” he adds.

Registration is $25, which includes a meal. To register call Kimberley Warnick at 515-232-5363, extension 6205.

For more information, visit
Customer training http://www.agleader.com/customer-support/training-sessions/

Product training schedule http://www.agleader.com/customer-support/training-sessions/hardware-training/

International Conference to Focus on Precision Ag

John DavisAg Leader, Audio, Precision Pays Podcast

Precision.AgWired.com PodcastProfessionals, professors, scientists and some farmers will be traveling to Colorado next month for the 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Denver … an event that happens every two years, and this year happens July 18th through the 21st at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver.

In this edition of the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology, we talk to Raj Khosla, a professor of Precision Agriculture at Colorado State University and the chair of this year’s conference who says this a landmark event, as they mark 20 years of meeting like this.

“It started as a small workshop with a bunch of people in Minnesota.” He says there are several scientific and practioner-oriented papers at this year’s meeting for the anticipated 500 attendees.

While much of the conference is focused on information for the scientists and consultants, he’s hoping to attract more frontline farmers and producers.

“I strongly believe there’s a lot of information for them.”

More information, including how to take advantage of the early bird discount for those who sign up before July 9th, is available on the International Conference on Precision Agriculture website.

We’ll have coverage from the conference, and in the meantime, you can hear more of my conversation with Khosla in the player below. [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/precision/precision-podcast-10.mp3″ text=”Precision.AgWired.com Podcast”]

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

Learn How To Tell Your Story To Consumers

Kurt LawtonEducation, Farmers, Resources, sustainability

Making your farm more efficient, more profitable, more sustainable are all critical precision goals. But what about your ultimate customer, the consumer? Do they believe you are as precise with your fertilizer, manure, herbicides, animal care as you believe you are? In this age of rural and consumer disconnect, isn’t communications with your ultimate customers just as important on your chore list as precise variable-rate crop feeding? If you don’t, will they be more inclined to push more regulation, or reduce subsidies?

To this end, I’m sharing a story written by Michele Payn-Knoper, who is building and training a wonderful coalition of farmers who want to speak out and help their cause. To help reconnect rural and consumer. I hope her words stir you to join a most worthwhile effort… for your livelihood.

Mindset Matters: How will you agvocate?

Are you adept at adapting? Are your reacting or reaching out? Are you living in 2010 or 1990? Being adept at reaching out in 2010 looks very different than it did in 1990 (the pre-internet era) . As is the case in any revolution, this means exciting opportunities exist. I believe the 460 million people on Facebook and 50 million tweets per day translate to agriculture’s chance to engage.

Many people reference their birthdate when opportunities around social media are brought up. Let me share a bit of a reality check; thought leadership doesn’t come with a birthyear – nor does the proper mindset to leverage tools that just make sense for farms and ranches.

If you are a person who’s adept at adapting and have reached out to build a community to be an “agvocate”, it may be time to move your skillsets to the next level. Perhaps you have a Facebook, but you’re not sure how to fully use it to share your farm story. Or, you’re on Twitter and have found it interesting, but don’t really “get it.” There’s been a conference designed just for farmers and ranchers who are ready to move up the technology mindset ladder. The AgChat Foundation just announced an”Agvocacy 2.0 Training Conference in Chicago on August 30-31. The program includes agriculture’s best and brightest in social media, with the training set in a variety of learning formats for 50 selected people. Core areas of interest include:

  • Bridging basic communications with social media
  • Community Building for Twitter and Facebook
  • Extending your community beyond ag
  • Creating effective content for YouTube and blogs

Read More

Precision Agriculture Workshop in California

Kurt LawtonEducation, Farmers, Fertilizer, GPS, Remote sensing, Research, Resources, sustainability, University

UC Davis has prepared a great all-day workshop on Site-Specific Management to help increase widespread adoption of this valuable tool. It will be held July 14 in the UC Davis conference center (the day before Weed Day). Here’s a look at the program:

Workshop Goal: Present and discuss SSM concepts and applied research in order to provide the audience with a comprehensive understanding of how to identify and manage within-field variability to improve crop management.

Target Audience: Soils and crop management professionals, including UCCE Farm Advisors and Specialists, Pest Control Advisors, Certified Crop Advisers, Growers and others having an interest in improving their knowledge of SSM techniques.

Session I (8:30 AM to Noon) – Theory of SSM: Overview of concepts and techniques used to identify and manage within-field variability, Jose P. Molin, Biosystems Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Integrating geospatial technology with agronomic practices, GPS/GIS overview, methods for detecting soil and crop variability, use of sensors and yield monitors, creation of maps and variable rate input recommendations.

Noon to 1:00 PM – Lunch break

Session II (1:00 to 5:00 PM) – Applied research findings and examples illustrating the practical benefits of this technology

  • Use of Precision Agriculture in the West – Rob Mikkelsen, Director, Western North America IPNI
  • Site-specific methods for reclaiming salt-affected soil using electrical conductivity; and Use of Remote sensing on cotton fields for irrigation management, planning defoliation and its relationship with cotton growth and yield. Richard E. Plant, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis
  • Site-specific nutrient management in California orchards – identifying almond yield and fertility variability and its implication on fertility management. Patrick Brown, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

3:00 to 3:15 PM – Break

  • Site-specific herbicide applications based on weed maps provide effective control. Tom Lanini, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis
  • Site-specific management at Bowles Farming Company – Cannon Michael, Vice President Bowles Farming Company
  • Knowledge Acquired, Intelligence Applied: Tomorrow’s Technology for Today’s Crops – Jason Ellsworth, Regional Technology Specialist, Wilbur-Ellis Company

5:00 PM – Adjourn

Please contact Andre Biscaro for details: asbiscaro@ucdavis.edu  (661) 974-8825

Click here to register: http://ucanr.org/sites/paica/Registration/

Click here for flier: http://ucanr.org/sites/paica/files/13632.pdf

Seed Savings With Planter Row Shut-Off

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Education, Equipment, GPS, Guidance, Planting, Tillage, Trimble

Northern Illinois corn and soybean grower Todd Glendenning says he saved an estimated $1,200 per day during spring planting with his Trimble guidance and row control system, according to a story in the June issue of Trimble’s StraightTalk newsletter.

“After planting with RTK and implement guidance, I would
never want to plant any other way,” says Glendenning. “I used
to spend a lot of time looking back, and trying to compensate for the planter sliding down sidehills, but now I don’t have to.”

Glendenning also added Tru Count air clutches to all 24 planter row units. “We have countless acres of point rows and waterways, so we used to have a lot of overlap and wasted seed. With all the multiple-trait seed we plant, seed costs are around $125 per acre. I’d estimate we saved $1,200 in seed costs per day this spring. And since we aren’t overlapping in the headlands, the plants won’t be overcrowded and lodging. That should improve yield.”

Tillage is another benefit Glendenning sees from his Trimble
equipment. “We’ve found WAAS is just not accurate enough
for doing skip rows on 200-acre fields; by the end of the field
you can end up being off by six to seven feet. But if we pair an
EZ-Guide® 500 system with the Ag3000 modem in our tillage
tractor, we can till very efficiently.”

To learn more, check out the June issue.