Precision Farming 2009: What We Learned

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Education, Fertilizer, GPS, Guidance, Harvesting, Industry News, Insights Weekly, Planting, Remote sensing, Satellite, seed, Spraying, Trimble

Insights WeeklyIn general, the past year in the world of precision agriculture has been one of consolidation among industry players. “We’ve really streamlined into 4 or 5 major players in precision ag,” says Matt Darr, Iowa State University Ag Engineer.

“Rather than a lot of companies that offer a segment of products, we’re getting down to a core set of companies offering full-service solutions—products for every type of ag operation,” he says

For example, Darr cites the recent Ag Leader and AutoFarm partnership. “And Trimble purchased numerous smaller precision ag companies to fill out their portfolio of products (like Farm Works software, NTech GreenSeeker and Tru Count).”

From a technology introduction standpoint, there haven’t been a whole lot of truly new products in 2009, according to Darr. “The largest growth segment of products has probably been in the area of CORS-compatible GPS equipment. Trimble, Topcon, AutoFarm—they all have CORS-based capabilities,” he adds.

Impact of CORS? There’s more and more grower interest. “I always tell growers that CORS isn’t going to provide a better RTK solution, as the accuracy of a single base solution is still governed by the distance to the base station, just like traditional RTK. What it does is bring coverage to every farmer in the state Iowa (and in other states that have CORS network),” Darr says.

It wasn’t but a couple years ago that it cost $50,000 for an RTK system—not even including the cost of auto-steer. Today, you can get a complete CORS auto-steer system in the tractor for $15,000 to $17,000.

Coming in 2010. Darr says we’ll continue to see expanded interest in CORS network products. “Auto-steer will continue its rapid adoption, because the efficiency, the savings and intrinsic benefits of less stress and greater productivity in the cab will drive sales.”

As the price of agricultural fertilizers begins to increase again, he sees an increased interest in nutrient management and variable-rate products. “There continues to be a need for real-time sensing of nutrients. These products—GreenSeeker (Trimble), OptRx (Ag Leader) and Crop Spec (Topcon)—are still very young in their developmental stages. These technologies have huge potential to make an impact on both the economic and environmental aspects of agriculture,” Darr says.

“The perpetual rising price of seed will continue rapid adoption of the DirectCommand AutoSwath-type products that provide pretty immediate payback on seed and chemical savings. A $300 bag of seed equals $120 per acre seed costs. An auto-steer system and planter unit control will save a minimum of 2 percent (not including possible variable-rate seeding savings), which equates to $2,400 per year over 1,000 acres,” he adds.

Precision Agriculture Starts At Soil Level

Kurt LawtonConservation, Education, Fertilizer, sustainability

While we often talk product and technology innovation, you truly cannot achieve real efficiency without knowing your various soils in every field.

It all starts with regular soil tests, and many astute growers use this information to build management zones in every field–as the basis for variable-rate applications. Soil testing is not a budget line-item that should be cut.

University of Wisconsin soil scientist Matt Ruark wrote a good reminder recently about the Economics of Soil Testing. He lists two main misconceptions about soil testing:

MISCONCEPTION #1: Soil testing is expensive.
FACT: Routine soil testing costs less than 40 cents per acre. University of Wisconsin soil testing recommendations are to analyze one composite sample per 5 acres and to soil test at least once every four years. Using a standard rate of $7.00 per analysis, this averages out to $0.35 per acre per year. Most, if not all, certified laboratories will also provide fertilizer recommendations based on University of Wisconsin recommendations along with the soil test values.  Some laboratories may have slightly higher prices or may charge shipping costs.

MISCONCEPTION #2: Maintenance applications of P and K are good enough.
FACT: Soils testing in the very low to low range for P and K require additional inputs beyond removal rates to optimize yield.
FACT: Soils testing in the high to excessive range require less than removal rates to optimize yield.
In either case, money is lost from either reduced yields or over application of P and K. When soils tests indicate the soil is in the very low to low category, this suggests that there is a very high likelihood that yields will increase due to application of fertilizer. However, it also indicates that the crop would benefit from building the “fertility” of the soil through additional P and K inputs over time.

For more information on soil testing, check out “Sampling & Analysis.“

Precision Farming Technology That Pays

Kurt LawtonEquipment, Farmers, Guidance, Planting, Spraying, sustainability

Yield monitor data, auto-guidance and planter/sprayer section controls are helping growers improve their bottom line, according to Indiana farmer Doug Davenport–as reported in Indiana Prairie Farmer.

Speaking on a precision farming panel discussion, Davenport highlighted his list of precision efficiencies:

  • Yield monitor data proves need for tiling, and how it will pay
  • Auto-guidance allows for needed long days of planting, yet keeps you refreshed
  • Automatic planter row shut-off and sprayer boom control to prevent overlap are no-brainer technology investments to save money.

Lindsay Adds Remote Irrigation Pump Control

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Equipment, Fertilizer, Irrigation

FieldNET's user-friendly web portal

FieldNET's user-friendly web portal

Crop irrigators can now monitor and control their entire center pivot irrigation systems via the Internet thanks to Lindsay’s added pump control on their existing FieldNET system.

“Lindsay is proud to offer the industry’s first fully-integrated pump and center pivot irrigation monitoring and control package,” says Reece Andrews, GrowSmart Product Manager at Lindsay. “This means for the first time growers have the ability to use a combination of cutting-edge irrigation and pump control technology, all in one package, to save energy, water and labor costs.”

FieldNET, the industry’s first full control Web-based irrigation management system, allows growers to monitor and control their pivots from any Internet connection or cell phone. With a user-friendly Web portal, FieldNET provides growers a quick view of every pivot, providing information on pivot location, pivot status and water usage.

With FieldNET pump control, growers now have information on their entire water delivery system, allowing them to monitor and maintain each pump and pivot for peak performance. This integrated solution automatically tracks and reports pump start-ups and shutdowns and sends alerts for any disparity of normal operations, such as flow alarms.

“By integrating the pump network with the pivot network, we created a pump and center pivot irrigation system that is self-regulating. A unique solution called Dynamic Demand Control (DDC) automatically lowers the pump’s pressure requirement when higher pressures are not needed so the system is always running at maximum efficiency. This significantly reduces the grower’s water, energy and labor costs while providing the convenience of controlling or monitoring the pump and pivot system from anywhere on the globe via the Internet,” Andrews says.

FieldNET with pump control is available in two service levels and can be installed on both new and existing Lindsay systems as well as on systems from other manufacturers.

Trimble Adds Harvest Capabilities To Monitor

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Displays, GPS, Guidance, Harvesting, Software, Trimble

Yield and moisture monitoring as well as mapping capabilities are being added to Trimble’s AgGPS FmX integrated display–to go along with it’s AutoPilot or EZ-Steer systems that steer the combine.

Farmers can use the recorded yield data to analyze performance and create variable rate prescription maps using Trimble AgGPS EZ-Office software. Yield data stored on the FmX display can easily be transferred to the office using a USB storage device. EZ-Office software can help farmers evaluate field performance and identify problem areas.

The yield monitoring functionality allows growers to perform accurate area calculations using the auto cut width feature when the header is not full. This is an advantage for harvesting odd-shaped fields, point rows or areas already harvested. It relieves the farmer from having to manually adjust actual cut width when not harvesting a full swath.

“Yield monitoring is beneficial for farmers who want to analyze how well their fields perform. They can record and monitor results, and then adjust their seed and fertilizer application rate to generate higher yields,” said Erik Arvesen, vice president and general manager for Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “In addition, growers can now perform yield monitoring with the same display that steers their vehicle, reducing cab clutter.”

The yield monitoring and mapping functionality upgrade is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2010 and is priced at US$995 MSRP. For more information, call 1-800-874-6253 or visit www.trimble.com/agriculture to find a Trimble reseller.

The Move To Automatic Steering

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Audio, Education, Fertilizer, GPS, Guidance, Harvesting, Insights Weekly, Planting, Satellite, Spraying

Insights WeeklyAs more mainstream mid-sized farmers move further into precision farming tools beyond the yield monitor or lightbar, they are fortunate to reap the benefits of those early-adopter farmers. These early users pushed companies to constantly improve their products. And the price tag on these systems has dropped dramatically, thanks to competition and better engineering.

ParaDyme System

ParaDyme System

Such is the case with auto steer. Among the dozens of farmers I’ve interviewed regarding their auto steer, they have given me numerous benefits/comments:

  • It will pay for itself in a short time if you combine it an RTK correction with spray boom and planter controllers because of input cost savings and fewer passes across a field.
  • The intangible benefits are worth huge savings – more relaxed time in the cab; you feel better at the end of a 10- to 12-hour day; improved ability to monitor implement and combine functions; fewer mistakes made; etc.
  • Make sure the system you buy is upgradable.
  • The less expensive system (lightbar and WAAS guidance) won’t save you as much as a better guidance and monitoring system.
  • The steering guidance system that mounts to steering columns is not as smooth a ride as an integrated system.
  • Find the best area dealer with dedicated and knowledgeable precision farming technicians.

At the recent Ag Leader Technology media day and training center dedication, I caught up with Matt Leinen, Product Manager for Displays, GPS and Guidance products. In the audio interview below, we discussed numerous topics:

  • How growers (both beginning and mid-level adopters) should assess their operation before investing in the tools of precision agriculture.
  • The role of the local dealer.
  • Talked about the uniqueness of the ParaDyme steering system. How it delivers any level of accuracy desired, how it auto calibrates, needs fewer sensors and has remote diagnostic capabilities.

I’ll let Matt tell you the details…

Matt Leinen, Ag Leader Technology

For more details…

http://precision.agwired.com/2009/12/precision-farming-adoption-and-payback/

http://precision.agwired.com/2009/10/gps-accuracy-how-accurate-is-accurate/

http://www.agleader.com/complete/

Trimble Expands Variable-Rate Control Capabilities

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Displays, Equipment, Fertilizer, Planting, seed, Spraying, Trimble

New Field-IQ from Trimble is a modular system designed to work with its AgGPS FmX integrated display or EZ-Guide 500 lightbar system to help growers precisely control a variety of inputs, saving costs and applying prescription amounts.

The Field-IQ system combines input control capabilities into one comprehensive, modular system, including map-based planter row unit shutoff for seed and liquid fertilizer, variable rate seeding, variable rate liquid fertilizer, variable rate spreading and real-time variable rate nitrogen application. The Field-IQ system reduces the need for complex calibrations—farmers can simply purchase the components they need, set up, test and begin operations.

The modular functionality of the Field-IQ system allows growers to:

Automate Individual Row Control for Seed
Reduces overlap and overcrowding, helping growers use less seed while improving yields. Use the new, easy-to-install Tru Count Meter Mount air clutch to shut off seed row units.

Automate Individual Row Control for Liquid
Easily shut off liquid fertilizer for individual rows with new Tru Count LiquiBlock valves. These valves connect to Tru Count air clutches, sharing the same air source, allowing growers to simultaneously shut off seed and liquid.

Perform Variable Rate Application
Vary the rate of seed, granular material or liquid fertilizer application using Rawson variable rate drives to provide precise control. No lag at the beginning of a pass so seed, granular material or liquid fertilizer is applied at a steady rate at the start of each row.

Control up to 48 Sections
Automatically control planting and precise seed placement for up to 48 individual rows with the Field-IQ system.

Record Coverage and Mapping Automatically
The FmX integrated display or the EZ-Guide system records where the grower has been and what activities have been performed, eliminating the need to manually turn on and off application and logging.

Perform Real-Time Variable Rate Nitrogen Application
The Trimble GreenSeeker optical sensing system registers the amount of nitrogen needed by the plant, then automatically prescribes the right amount of nitrogen for the sprayer to deliver it on-the-go.

“Precisely controlling inputs allows farmers to save on seed and material inputs while enhancing yield. Field-IQ puts automatic shutoff and variable rate application capability within reach of farmers who previously thought the technology was too complex or expensive,” said Erik Arvesen, vice president and general manager for Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “Designed to combine a broad range of capabilities into one flexible, modular system, Field-IQ allows farmers to choose the capabilities they need now and add new input controls as their operations grow.”

Field-IQ is expected to be available in January 2010 through Trimble’s Agriculture reseller network. For more information, call 1-800-874-6253 or visit www.trimble.com/agriculture to find a Trimble reseller.

Ag Leader Welcomes Dealers To New Facility

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Company Announcement, Dealers, Displays, Education, Equipment, Events, GPS, Guidance, Planting, Retailers, Spraying

Arriving just ahead of a blizzard bearing down on Iowa yesterday, more than 200 key dealers got their first glimpse of the big, new Ag Leader Academy training facility in Ames. The group will get hands-on experience over the next several days, learning all about new products and the steering technology and services gained from the partnership with AutoFarm.

There was a lot of buzz about teaming up two new products in particular, which highlights the strengths of the new partnership between Ag Leader and AutoFarm. The ability to pair the new ‘flagship’ products—Ag Leader’s INTEGRA monitor with the high-accuracy automatic steering ParaDyme product from AutoFarm—will offer the most advanced and innovative precision ag system ever, say the companies.

The INTEGRA full-featured, year-around display, comprised of a 12-inch HD touchscreen, features a new hardware platform that can handle mapping, planter and application control, yield monitoring, real-time data logging and more—controlling virtually every operation from the cab.

And to make this a fully integrated system, a patented dual-antenna roof module called the ParaDyme, delivers a unique steering system that can handle any correction (from WAAS to RTK), plus it offers factory-activated and integrated wireless and cellular communications for remote diagnostics. It not only can provide sub-inch accuracy with RTK or the CORS Network, but it can track pitch, roll, yaw, vehicle position and heading.

ParaDyme System

ParaDyme System

“With ParaDyme, we’ve taken automatic steering to a whole new level,” says Michael O’Connor, Chief Technology Officer with Novariant, the parent company of AutoFarm. “This sets the standard in single-system solution to precision farming, when combined with the Ag Leader INTEGRA monitor system.”

What impressed me during the presentations was the simplicity behind the complex and all-encompassing capabilities of this system. For example:

  • The ParaDyme platform fits both entry level users and the experienced RTK-intensive, variable-rate users, simply by swapping out monitors, steering systems and selecting the right correction signal—from sub-meter to sub-inch accuracy.
  • No more complex steering calibration—you push a button and the computer automatically calibrates by turning and learning the tractor movements.
  • No more need for a front-wheel sensor, due to the patented dual-antenna system configuration.
  • There’s a seamless upgrade path for growers who want to start with an entry-level Edge monitor and assisted-steering, then move up later. The ParaDyme unit doesn’t change (only the signal), and the INTEGRA monitor uses the same cables and bolt-on hardware as the Edge monitor.
  • With a decade of precision-steering experience, AutoFarm technology fits on more than 370 different vehicle brands.
  • With ParaDyme, you are directly connected to your local dealer with a service plan (for a fee) to minimize downtime. If you have a problem, you push the help button on the monitor and it contacts them. Not only can they view your screen, they can actually make remote adjustments and troubleshoot it, without waiting for their truck to arrive.
  • And for growers who live in states with good CORS networks coverage, the built-in cell phone system in the ParaDyme will automatically chose the best local carrier for your signal to run RTK—without you or your dealer worrying about another cell phone, and carrier, and service. Plus, you can activate it in 30-day increments, so no need for year-long contracts.

There are many more details, so contact your local dealer.

Make Plans for AG Connect Expo 2010

Cindy ZimmermanAg Connect Expo, Audio, Education, Equipment, General

January in Orlando is looking pretty good right now to most of us in the frigid Midwest.

Ag Connect ExpoSo if you have not made plans to attend AG Connect Expo 2010 in Orlando on January 13-15, take this snow day to get on line and make your reservations.

Besides offering the opportunity to get away to a warmer climate, Expo 2010 will provide a world-class event for the global agriculture industry—bringing together the latest in equipment, technology and ideas. The show was developed by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) with the support of a variety of industry organizations and companies, including Precision.AgWired.com parent company ZimmComm New Media.

Listen to an interview here with AEM vice president of agricultural services Charlie O’Brien, conducted by ZimmComm reporter Joanna Schroeder, about what AG Connect has to offer producers – in addition to the escape from winter!

Precision Farming Adoption And Payback

Kurt LawtonAg Leader, Company Announcement, Education, Farmers, Fertilizer, GPS, Guidance, Planting, Spraying, sustainability, University

Ag Leader Technology and AutoFarm joined forces today in Ames, Iowa at the official opening of the new Ag Leader Academy to talk about their combined tools of precision agriculture with the media.

Matt Darr, Iowa State University

Matt Darr, Iowa State University

Amidst the talks by management, touting the excitement of this alliance and their complete precision farming product offering, was a presentation by Iowa State University agricultural engineer Matt Darr.

He paralleled the adoption curve of hybrid corn (which took 18 years) to grower adoption of precision farming tools. In 2010, some 18 years since its birth, surveys predict that 50% of U.S. farmers will have adopted some form of precision farming.

“Since 1992, the industry began in the data collection phase, and has evolved into the steering control and variable rate application. And now we’re entering the third phase, which is implement control,” Darr says.

“Precision farming has enhanced productivity, has put the operator back in control, has enabled precision placement, provided cost savings and environmental benefits, has reduced production variability and much more,” he adds.

Favorite quotes. Darr talked of a few favorite quotes heard during University precision ag field days. 1. “Just being able to watch my planter is payback enough to own auto steer.” 2. “Precision guidance along with statewide RTK (CORS network) will finally make strip-till easier to adopt.”

While paybacks vary on given farms and operation styles, Darr outlines his views based on current research…

– Lightbar guidance: 300 acres/year for payback

– Universal auto steer on tractor: 400-500 acres/year

– Integrated auto steering: 900 acres/year

– Auto swath sprayer: 1,800 sprayed acres/year

– Site specific (variable rate) solutions: harder to put numbers on right now

In the future, Darr added that he sees success in real time nutrient control, and a greater push to biorenewables for energy–which will be delivered by precision tools.