Precision | Page 614 | News and reviews from the precision agriculture industry

TeeJet Announces New Guidance Technologies At Ag Connect Expo

Chuck ZimmermanJanuary 14, 2010Ag Connect Expo, Audio, Guidance

TeeJet Technologies, announced their new guidance system that offers guidance and live video displayed simultaneously. The news about the Matrix Guidance System with RealView Guidance Over Video was announced during the AG CONNECT Expo in Orlando, Fla. and comes in two screen sizes: 570G Model and 840G model with options for four or eight cameras. We’ve got a number of interviews and stories to post for you from the show like this one over the coming days.

In an AgWired exclusive interview with Rich Gould, vice president and guidance business manager at TeeJet Technologies explained that the really unique feature of the system lies in its ability to connect to a video camera and show real-time video images and in addition to show the guidance information overlayed on the video image. In other words, you are seeing your field on the screen.

Known as precision agriculture, this type of technology helps farmers to become more efficient whether planting, fertilizing or harvesting their crops. Ultimately, this information leads to reduced costs and higher profitability.

TeeJet has applied for a patent and Gould notes that, “This technology is applicable to anyone driving back in forth across a field.”

It can be used on any machine, manufactured by any company, in any country. This is an advantage for growers in developing countries in that they have the ability to jump ahead and adopt the latest technology immediately.

You can see photos from AG CONNECT Expo in our Flickr album and listen to the interview with Rich Gould, conducted by our Joanna Schroeder here.

Ohio Tillage & Technology Conference Coming in February

Kurt LawtonJanuary 14, 2010General

Growers from Ohio and surrounding states should make plans now to attend the annual Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference, February 25-26 on the Ohio Northern University campus in Ada, Ohio.

On Friday the 26, one of the concurrent sessions is all about planters and precision agriculture. Presentation topics include planter and drill adjustment, precision guidance systems for auto steer, introduction to RTK systems, variable-rate seeding, uniform spray applications, RTK and CORS networks.

Other concurrrent sessions that growers can choose from include Corn University, Nutrient/Manure Management, Soil/Water/Biofuels, Advanced Scouting Techniques, Crop Management & Soybean School, and Cover Crops. Check out the program for all the details.

For more information on registration, you can visit the Website that lists hotel room details, as well as a phone number to call for more information.

Hemisphere Adds New Outback Products

Kurt LawtonJanuary 12, 2010General

Outback A220 Smart Antenna

At this week’s AG CONNECT Expo in Orlando, Fla., Hemisphere GPS introduced a new Outback eDriveX hydraulic auto-steering system and the Outback A220 smart GPS antenna.

“We are very excited about taking our new auto-steering technology to market as it takes our product portfolio to a completely new level of precision steering and control performance,” said Steven Koles, President and CEO of Hemisphere GPS. “Our eDriveTC technology has been successful in steering sprayers and other farm equipment to better than eight inches. Now, with eDriveX utilizing our world-class Celestia sensor fusion technology, we are able to steer more demanding farming practices including high precision planting, strip tilling and bedding, requiring centimeter-level accuracy at a wide range of speeds. This opens up a whole set of new opportunities with our aftermarket and OEM customers as we offer them the means to maximize their return on their investments by adopting the next level of precision.”

The company offers several vehicle-specific installation kits complete with all the necessary hoses, fittings, brackets and detailed installation instructions, which make Outback eDriveX immediately compatible with over 145 agricultural vehicle models. Additional installation kits will also be made available over the coming months. When teamed with Outback S3, and Outback A220, Outback eDriveX offers centimeter level automated steering in Straight, Free Form Contour, and Circle Pivot Guidance modes.

The Outback A220 smart antenna is an easy to install GPS receiver and antenna in an all-in-one, rugged enclosure making it the perfect choice for both aftermarket and OEM applications. Powered by Hemisphere GPS’ dual-frequency Eclipse GPS receiver technology, it provides fast, portable, sub-meter and decimeter differential GPS (DGPS) as well as centimeter real time kinematic (RTK) positioning accuracy.

With the optional internal radio, Outback A220 works in RTK mode as either a base or rover. It also supports Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) signals and OmniSTAR(R) HP/XP corrections, and offers Hemisphere GPS’ exclusive COAST technology, allowing it to maintain an accurate solution for up to 40 minutes, even when a differential signal is lost. Outback A220 operates within RTK networks and with base stations from other manufacturers as it supports the most common open architecture formats.

Outback eDriveX and the Outback A220 smart antenna can be ordered at www.outbackguidance.com with availability in Spring 2010. These products will also be available through Outback Guidance Centers and other authorized Hemisphere GPS distributors in North America and worldwide.

Deere Offers RowCommand For Chain-Drive Planters

Kurt LawtonJanuary 11, 2010Conservation, Equipment, John Deere, Planting, seed

John Deere’s RowCommand, which allows for seed savings by avoiding overplanting, is now available for chain-drive planters.

Introduced in 2008 for Pro-Shaft drive planters with MaxEmerge and Pro-Series XP row units, RowCommand has become a widely used planter component for many row-crop producers.

“As the cost of seed continues to rise, more producers are looking for ways to maximize their seed investment through more precise placement in the field and to reduce overlap,” says Chris Savener, product manager, John Deere Seeding. “The availability of RowCommand as a field conversion attachment to chain-drive planters gives more producers an opportunity to realize the value of this technology in their operations.”

The RowCommand system controls seed delivery by automatically engaging and disengaging the chain drive clutch on each individual row unit based on GPS field maps and boundaries. “The system allows operators to reduce overplanting in point rows and around headlands, thereby reducing seed costs and the yield drag associated with double planting,” Savener adds.

RowCommand requires a GreenStar2 1800 or 2600 display and SeedStar2 monitoring system installed on the planter for operation. The RowCommand system is compatible with the following chain-driven John Deere planter models and row configurations:

1720: 12-row narrow; 12-row wide; and 16-row narrow
1760: 12-row narrow
1770: 12-row narrow
1770NT: 12-row; 16-row; and 24-row narrow
1770NT: CCS 12-row; 16-row; and 24-row narrow
DB 44: 24-row, 22 in.

Crop Consultants Help Precision Farming Strategies

Kurt LawtonJanuary 8, 2010Ag Leader, Dealers, Displays, Education, Equipment, Fertilizer, Guidance, Harvesting, Insights Weekly, Planting, seed, Spraying

When the term ‘crop consultant’ comes to mind, growers often think in terms of scouting, insects, diseases, soil fertility and testing, and perhaps input buying recommendations. But have you stopped to think about their value in helping you properly invest in tools of precision agriculture?

Retailers who sell precision ag equipment know the technology, but do they know your operation as well as a crop consultant might? Michael Vos, software sales manager for Ag Leader Technology, says that crop consultants often have an advantage of knowing agronomics, and that gives them a broader perspective of a grower’s operation.

Place seed, place fertilizer. “For example, just yesterday we were talking with a crop consultant who was answering grower questions about the placement of fertilizer and especially micronutrients. He says the first thing he reminds growers is not to forget the fundamentals—placing the seed accurately in the field,” Vos says. “He says that once growers do that, then they can look at using precision technology to band fertilizer and micronutrients and plant right over the top of it—reducing rates compared to broadcast.”

Vos says consultants that they work with often dovetail that discussion into asking, ‘Well, then how are you going to make sure you are applying fertilizer accurately?’ “That’s when they talk about the value of a controller monitor like our InSight or INTEGRA models, that not only control rates (flat rate or prescription variable rate), but it monitors the rates and records them to help improve future decision making. And, in combination with a guidance system like our ParaDyme, they can optimize seeding and fertility in a strip-till system.”

See the big picture. “Crop consultants understand the breadth and depth of the entire farming operation—from agronomics to technology to marketing. That allows them to see the weaker links in an operation, and help point growers in the best direction to improve their efficiency,” Vos says.

Not only can they help correct the inefficiencies, a good crop consultant can also help growers prioritize their precision farming investment. “Some farmers may be better off starting out with a precision ag tool for their planter. Others may get a quicker payoff by adding technology to their sprayer. Still others may want to start with a guidance system,” he says.

Other resources:

Why Hire A Crop Consultant? (Corn & Soybean Digest)

How to Choose a Crop Consultant (Citrus & Vegetable)

How to Choose Your Crop Consultant (AgProfessional)

What a Consulting Engineer Can Do For You

National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants

American Society of Agricultural Consultants

Global Agricultural Technology Showcased Next Week in Florida

Kurt LawtonJanuary 7, 2010Ag Connect Expo, Company Announcement, Displays, Education, Equipment, Events, Industry News, International

If you’re headed to Orlando next week to catch the first-ever world-class AG CONNECT Expo, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn about the latest precision technologies from around the world, as well as ‘kick the tires’.

New products and technologies will be showcased during the January 13-15 trade show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. You can also check out some of these products posted on the show’s Web site, where you can even rate the products.

Many educational sessions led by industry experts are scheduled every day. Topics range from top tech trends, top shops, trading machinery, crop marketing, robotics and more. And you can also register to attend smaller interactive educational breakout sessions on such topics as energy, technology, farm management, family business management, risk management, high yield and a plan for success workshop.

We’ll have reports from the show, so stay tuned. And if you’re into the social media tool Twitter, you can follow along with everyone who posts at #agconnect.

Post Update: Listen to a show preview with ZimmComm’s Chuck Zimmerman in his weekly podcast, the ZimmCast below:

Using Crop Dusters for Aerial Imaging

Cindy ZimmermanJanuary 6, 2010Aerial Imagery, Ag Leader, Audio, Precision Pays Podcast, Research

Clouds can often interfere with aerial imagery from satellites or high level aircraft, while wet conditions on the ground can make it difficult to use ground based sensors. Research being done in Australia combines ground type sensors with low flying aircraft to deal with those situations.

For this edition of the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology, we go to the Precision Agriculture Research Group (PARG) at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia where they are working on Ultra Low Level Airborne (ULLA) sensing. I spoke with group leader David Lamb about the system and its potential for helping growers who need timely aerial imaging information in challenging weather conditions and potentially saving them both time and money in the process.

Subscribe to the Precision.AgWired.com Podcast here.

Listen to or download the podcast here:

Precision Agriculture Gets a Stock Mention

Kurt LawtonJanuary 5, 2010Industry News, Trimble

It’s not very often that the investment media or advisors mention much about main street agriculture companies, outside of the industry titans. Well, Trimble (also in engineering and construction markets) got a mention yesterday from a writer with the popular “The Motley Fool” investment advisory folks.

The writer did call precision agriculture “a budding field” which raises my eyebrows about his agriculture savvy. But irregardless, he recommends to investors they “should monitor Trimble (Nasdaq: TRMB) with great interest.”

I first became aware of Trimble when I started researching precision agriculture. This budding field involves the application of positioning technologies like GPS to farming. Trimble’s positioning solutions — which extend to construction, transportation, and other industries — are backed by over 900 patents. That intellectual property portfolio should support the company’s competitive position relative to other precision ag players likeRaven Industries (Nasdaq: RAVN) and privately held Ag Leader.

Demand for Trimble’s wares got socked this year along with other agricultural equipment suppliers like Lindsay(NYSE: LNN) and AGCO (NYSE: AGCO). The long-term outlook for this sector, especially in emerging markets like China, is nevertheless very strong.

And here’s the rest of the story.

Add News from Precision.AgWired.com to your Web site or Blog

Kurt LawtonJanuary 4, 2010General

As we kick-off a new decade here at precision.agwired.com, I wanted to remind you of some features that can help you keep on top of the latest news in precision agriculture.

1. If you have a web site or blog, we have a free widget you can add that will automatically post our latest stories. All you have to do is paste some code onto your web page. The widget also allows you to choose some display options. Not sure what a widget is? Learn here. To get the Precision.AgWired.com widget for your web site just click on “Get Widget” at the bottom of the display below. If you want to see how it looks on a web site, you can view it here on my web site.

2. You can subscribe to our email newsletter that contains highlights of past content. Just click on “Subscribe to e-newsletter” under the Precision Links header in the right-hand column.

3. You can subscribe to our audio podcast, which is like a short 5-10 minute radio program that includes discussions with interesting people across the industry. Just click on “Subscribe to podcast” under the Precision Links header in the right-hand column. Listen to our latest podcast.

4. And, if you’re a fan of RSS feeds, you can also subscribe to our stories via your email system, or on your MyYahoo or iGoogle pages. Just click on “Subscribe to the RSS Feed” under the Precision Links header in the right-hand column. I have built industry pages on MyYahoo to track news from my favorite web sites and blogs.

Let me know if you have any problems or questions.

2009 Top Stories on Precision.AgWired.com – Products

Kurt LawtonJanuary 1, 2010Ag Leader, Company Announcement, Equipment, Fertilizer, GPS, Guidance, Harvesting, Industry News, John Deere, Planting, Remote sensing, seed, Software, Spraying, Tillage, Trimble

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In our final installment of looking back at the top stories of 2009, here’s a list of newsworthy stories that featured new or updated products. I list the stories starting with the most current from December, working back to January of 2009. No ranking of importance is included…but feel free to post your comments about these products.

Lindsay Adds Remote Irrigation Pump Control

Trimble Adds Harvest Capabilities to Monitor

Ag Leader Welcomes Dealers To New Facility

Leica Offers Cost-Effective Lightbar Guidance

New RTK Module Receives Tower or Cell Signals

Topcon Launches On-The-Go Crop Nutrient Sensor

Six New Products From Ag Leader Technology

Raven Buys Interest in SST Software

Trimble Adds Modem To Enhance RTK Signal

Take Command of Planting With SureStop

New SMS Software From Ag Leader Technology

Deere Adds New AutoTrac Guidance Products