RowSense Makes Sense

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Equipment

A new sensing system on corn heads called AutoTrac™ RowSense™ allows precision guidance to be used on combines that are harvesting corn.

“The biggest benefits to the grower include less operator fatigue,” said John Deere combine product specialist Steve Sporrer at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville this week. “We’re also on the row more consistently and it’s an absolute must for down corn.”

The system accurately guides the combine down the row at optimal harvesting speeds and even helps maneuver around curves, through waterways, or in weedy areas.

Read more about it here and listen to an interview with Steve here: [audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/nfms/nfms09-jd-steve.mp3]

See more photos here: NFMS 09 Photo Album

New Precision Tools at Farm Machinery Show

Cindy ZimmermanEquipment, GPS, National Farm Machinery Show, Precision Ag in the News, Research, Software

The latest in precision technology is on display at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, for both newbies and more seasoned users.

“On one hand we have new products for operators who have yet to get into precision ag,” says Kim Fletcher with John Deere Ag Management Solutions told me. “We came out with an entry level manual guidance system for parallel tracking. We came out with the StarFire 300 receiver, which is a WAAS only GPS receiver that can provide 13 inch pass-to-pass accuracy. And to pair that, we came out with a GreenStar Lightbar.”

For more advanced system users, Kim says they have new products for them as well. “We came out with a GS2 Rate Controller Multi-Product, which can control multiple products or multiple operations at once.”

Another product is Auto-Trac Row Sense. “We fused together data from mechanical row feelers on the corn head along with Auto-Trac GPS guidance to create one of the most accurate, most responsive corn harvesting guidance systems in the industry today,” Kim said.

Kim says they are getting more and more converts to precision every year because it really does save growers time and money. Check out some of the John Deere new products on-line here.

Listen to an interview with Kim here [audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/nfms/nfms09-jd-kim.mp3]

See more photos here: NFMS 09 Photo Album

New John Deere Planter is Precision Driven

Cindy ZimmermanEquipment, National Farm Machinery Show, Precision Ag in the News, Video

John Deere unveiled the largest planter in the industry at the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville this week.

Rob Rippchen, division marketing manager at John Deere seed in Moline, IL says the DB120 “next generation” 120 foot planter is generating a lot of interest at the show. “There’s kind of a ‘wow’ factor,” said Rob. “It’s so wide it can’t even unfold all the way in our booth.” But he says the outer four row units fold over on each end so it is still the same transport width as the DB90 and just about six foot longer in transport length.

“Not only is the planter wide, it’s high-tech,” Rob explains. “You’ll notice that there are no markers on it, most growers are using auto-steer or auto-trac to guide their planters so that allowed us to eliminate the need for markers. But, in addition to that, Row Command – our individual row unit clutch on-off system – is standard on this planter. So, as you come to a point row or do an area of field that you’ve already planted, it shuts the row unit off so that you don’t over-populate in that area of the field.”

The planter will plant somewhere between 90 and 100 acres an hour. John Deere will have a limited number of the new planters running in the fields this spring and will start taking orders for the big boy this summer.

Listen to an interview with Rob here [audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/nfms/nfms09-jd-rob.mp3]

Watch Rob explain some of the DB120 features here:

See more photos here: NFMS 09 Photo Album

Ohio Conference Features Precision Agriculture

Kurt LawtonEducation, Events, University

The popular Ohio State University Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference has a six-hour session on precision agriculture technology topics.

Last year, more than 770 growers, crop consultants and industry representatives from Ohio and surrounding states found big benefits from attending a wide variety of presentations at this conference. This year’s annual meeting is scheduled for February 25, 26 and 27 in Ada, OH at the McIntosh Center of Ohio Northern University.

Precision topics include yield maps to save fertilizer and maximize yields, auto-steering and GPS, variable-rate application for sprayers and planters, site-specific sampling benefits, RTK networks and the costs/benefits of adopting precision technology.

Other topics on the program range from cover crops, grain marketing and weather to scouting, nutrient management, soil and water issues, and much more–including a trader show. And you can check out last year’s presentations online, too.

Precision Learning From John Deere University

Kurt LawtonGeneral

Before your thoughts shift gears into full-time planting preparation, take a gander at the various precision learning online classes from John Deere University this winter.

Customers can get precision farming training at their fingertips. As a customer, you have multiple avenues to access training. Your local John Deere dealer can be a terrific source of information, whether through one-on-one assistance from an employee, or though a customer clinic/event. You can always check with the dealership to see what options are available. There’s even a Q&A section that can answer many other questions you might have.

For those more specific questions you might have regarding John Deere AMS products, be sure to check out the Tips & Troubleshooting section.

Variable-Rate Fertilizer Technology Adoption Needed

Kurt LawtonEducation, Equipment, Precision Ag in the News

With tighter margins and higher input costs, now is the time to implement the best management practices (BMPs) for fertilizer use, says Bill Herz, VP of Scientific Programs for The Fertilizer Institute.

Herz, who spoke at the recent Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association convention, promoted technology adoption–as reported by Farmweek. He urged farmers and fertilizer applicators to use available tools — such as precision agriculture, variable rate technology, soil testing, and on-farm strip trials — to ensure optimal fertilizer application rates.

An advisory board to the Environmental Protection Agency recently called for a 25 percent increase in nitrogen efficiency in row-crop systems, Herz reported.

He called on members of the fertilizer industry and farmers to act now before regulations are implemented later.

“We need to show we’re willing to do the right thing voluntarily or mandatory systems will be imposed on us,” Herz said. “We need to promote BMPs to make sure we’re using nutrients as efficiently as possible.”

Farm Machinery Show Will Go On

Cindy ZimmermanDisplays, Education, Equipment, Industry News, National Farm Machinery Show

Despite the icy weather that recently affected parts of Kentucky, the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show and Championship Tractor Pull will proceed as scheduled.

More than 150,000 Kentucky residents were still without power this week after ice storms the last week of January, prompting President Obama to declare more than 90 counties a major disaster area and order federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts.

Still, the 44th National Farm Machinery Show will return as planned to the Kentucky Exposition Center February 11-14. The nation’s largest indoor farm show features the future of farming with row after row of the newest products and services, hands-on demonstrations of the latest technological advancements, and a variety of free seminars.

Precision.AgWired.com will feature reports during and after the event, so stay tuned!

NRCS Precision Farming Initiative

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Conservation, Precision Ag in the News

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Alabama has announced a new Precision Farming Incentive for farmers in that state.

The Precision Farming Incentive is designed to encourage the adoption of variable-rate application of nutrients and pesticides and promote the use of GPS-enabled precision agricultural technology and equipment. The goals of the Precision Farming Incentive include improving water quality by targeting areas for reduced nutrient and pesticide application, reducing runoff and leaching of pesticides, enhancing soil quality through reduced erosion and soil compaction and energy conservation through accurate and efficient application of crop inputs.

A poster promotion for the incentive reads: “Want to save money? Want to reduce input costs for nutrient and pesticide management? Want to reduce the risks of these entering streams? New precision farming technology is proving that it can be done.”

The program is available this year to producers in 22 Alabama counties. Read more about it here.

Listen to a story about the program here from Julie McPeak with Southeast Agnet:
[audio:http://www.southeastagnet.com/audio/NRCS/02-05-09 Precision Farming Incentive.mp3]

Robotic Tractor and Sprayer Technology Coming

Kurt LawtonPrecision Ag in the News, Research, University

Spraying orchards is a messy but necessary job. And if Cornell researchers succeed, a driverless tractor and sprayer could simplify the task.

This fruit tree sprayer, fitted with sensors to determine location and height of trees, is part of a $3.9 million USDA-funded project at Cornell–in collaboration with the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University. The objective is to develop, test and evaluate a fleet of autonomous tractors designed for precision agriculture applications–and John Deere is delivering four tractors for testing at Southern Gardens Citrus in Florida.

Goals for the project include developing tree-level precision agriculture applications that leverage, at very low cost, autonomous mobile platforms and supporting infrastructure; reducing the cost for wide-scale adoption; and soliciting feedback from growers, regulators and technology suppliers. The researchers will also study such questions as how disease detection, yield estimation and precision spraying can be most effectively deployed from the mobile platform; how many platforms one operator can safely monitor and what the installation, setup and support issues are associated with the system.

Stay turned to Precision.AgWired.com as we explore more robotics work, being undertaken at John Deere, with an eye toward the future of automation.

Precision Technology Can Reduce Global Warming

Kurt LawtonCompany Announcement, Conservation, Tillage

A group of leading and innovative companies have joined together to recommend national legislation to slow, stop and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. And a national cap-and-trade carbon reduction system using precision technology is at the heart of the program.

Robert W. Lane, chairman and chief executive officer of Deere & Company, joined other business leaders in Washington D.C. recently to unveil the U.S. Climate Action Partnership’s “Blueprint for Legislative Action.” The blueprint is a comprehensive and detailed set of integrated policy recommendations for developing legislation that would create an environmentally effective and economically sustainable national climate protection program.

“We are pleased that USCAP has reached consensus on a comprehensive Blueprint for Legislative Action which reinforces our commitment to slow, stop and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  In order to effectively address climate change internationally, the U.S. must play a leading role.  Significant cost savings to the overall cap- and-trade system can be realized by utilizing robust levels of offsets, both domestically and internationally, as this Blueprint reflects.  

“The agriculture, forestry, and land use sectors have the potential to reduce and sequester a significant portion of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions, as well as generate renewable energy and produce low-carbon fuels.  A robust emissions offset program established from the outset of cap-and-trade will create opportunities to reduce emissions or increase sequestration practices that can generate revenue for rural communities, provide multiple environmental and social benefits, improve air quality, and ensure cost-efficient emissions reductions.” 

This effort includes 26 companies and five environment groups as members. Business leaders from these committed companies participated in Congressional briefings and a public press conference to announce the blueprint.

For more information, visit www.us-cap.org.