Precision Workshops for Cotton Growers

Cindy ZimmermanCotton, Education, Equipment, Reach for the Stars, Software

Ed Barnes Cotton IncThe recent Cotton Incorporated Crop Management Seminar in Tunica, Mississippi featured workshops to help growers learn more about precision management.

Director of Agricultural Research Ed Barnes says they actually had two different precision workshops. “One for people who really had not done any work with precision agriculture. We had a workshop on the basics of how to scout your field, use a GPS and download data back to the computer.”

“Then we had a second workshop for people who are more experienced and wanted to take it to a new level, transitioning to zone management where you manage by soil type a little more,” said Barnes. The workshops concluded with a look at the “Green Seeker” variable rate application and mapping system that can help cotton growers make real time variable rate applications of plant growth regulators and defoliants.

Some 200 growers were able to attend the workshops and Cotton Inc plans to have another at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in January.

Precision Products For The Budget Minded

Chuck ZimmermanAudio, Equipment

GreenStar LightbarIf you’re looking for an economical way to get started using precision ag on your farm, John Deere has some new options.

Adding to the extensive lineup of GreenStar precision ag products, John Deere announces a new line of economical systems to help operators get started with precision ag or enhance the older systems they may already own.

“Let’s start with the new GreenStar Lightbar,” says Kyle Collins, senior marketing representative, John Deere Ag Management Solutions. “Many of our customers need a simple, economical parallel tracking display. Our new lightbar has 27 tracking LEDs to guide the operator as they are driving their equipment through the field. They easily steer the tractor or other self-propelled machine left or right based on which lights are illuminated.”

While I was attending the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention I spoke about the new budget precision options with Laura Robson, John Deere Senior Marketing Manager.

You can listen to my interview with Laura here: [audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/john-deere/nafb-trade-talk-robson-precision.mp3]

Precision Ag In The News

Chuck ZimmermanPrecision Ag in the News

Precision farming was in the news on LDNews.com. Here’s an excerpt.

“I know it sounds like you’re spending a lot of money, but when you sit down and put hard numbers to it, it pays for itself in a short amount of time,” Diller said. “Guys who are using it tell you it’s the best money they’ve ever spent.”

Two examples: Planters that are programmed can avoid double planting. And, tractors that have automated steering increase accuracy.

“Some guys will say that’s half the fun of being out there,” Diller said, eliciting some knowing laughs from his audience.

Happy Thanksgiving

Chuck ZimmermanCompany Announcement

Happy Thanksgiving From ZimmComm New Media

Have a Happy Thanksgiving from ZimmComm New Media.

And just in case you want to know more, here’s what Wikipedia says about it:

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it’s a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. Thanksgiving is a North American holiday with the dates and whereabouts of the first Thanksgiving celebration a topic of modest contention. It has generally become a national secular holiday with religious origins. Though the earliest attested Thanksgiving celebration was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida[1][2], the traditional “first Thanksgiving” is venerated as having occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621.

Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members.

Online Precision Training Module

Chuck ZimmermanEducation, University

TransAtlantic Precision Agriculture ConsortiumI was just searching for precision agriculture training and found the TransAtlantic Precision Agriculture Consortium. It doesn’t look like they’re currently offering classes but they do have an educational training module still online.

The presentations on this page cover 15 topics important to precision agriculture. After carefully reviewing these topics, you should have a good appreciation for the techniques, technologies, and principles important to precision agriculture as well as their applications to production agriculture.

The information below is derived from teaching material created by Dr. George Vellidis for APTC 3030 – Principles of Precision Agriculture, a course he teaches at the University of Georgia, and from teaching material developed by Dr. Hermann Auernhammer for precision agriculture courses he teaches at the Technische Universität München.

Precision Ag From The Air

Chuck ZimmermanAerial Imagery

Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems PlaneIndiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems is taking precision to the air with a successful test flight. This is a picture of one of their units from their website.

Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems (IUAS), a Muncie, Indiana based aerospace company and manufacturer of small unmanned aircraft systems, announced the first successful test flight of its Im VII Air Vehicle Two (Im VII AV-2) took place on Saturday, November 8.

Im VII AV-2 represents over six years of research and development into small flying wing aircraft that do not require an onboard flight computer to remain stable in the air. The company is the only designer and manufacturer of all-wing aircraft developed specifically for precision agriculture imaging applications. “Our all-wing platforms are world leaders in payload lifting and flight endurance capability as compared to similar-size aircraft of conventional designs,” says Jeff Imel designer of the Im VII and company founder.

The aircraft is integrated to hyper-spectral cameras for use in precision agriculture image capture and analysis. The images are used by growers to determine the health of their crops, insect infestation, storm damage assessment and nitrogen run-off analysis. IUAS will be working with universities, agriculture business, and farmers across the state of Indiana.

Precision Ag Can Help Harvest Down Corn

Chuck ZimmermanAudio, Corn

Laura RobsonAt the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention in Kansas City last week I spoke once again with Laura Robson, Senior Marketing Manager, John Deere. This is actually a picture of Laura from Commodity Classic earlier this year.

I asked Laura what Deere is doing in the precision area that will help farmers who are still trying to get their corn out of the field since it has been a wet, late season for so many in the midwest. She says that producers might want to look at Auto Trac Row Sense. It uses mechanical feelers on the corn head in conjunction with automatic guidance to guide the head precisely down the row. She says this is especially useful for down corn which has been a problem in areas hard hit recently by high winds.

You can listen to my interview with Laura here: Laura Robson Interview

Automated Systems For Apples and Oranges

Chuck ZimmermanEquipment, University

CarnegieMellon UniversityIt looks like more precision equipment is coming to apple and orange growers. You may not want to compare them except when it comes to the equipment you use to grow them though.

Two groups of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute have received a total of $10 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to build automated farming systems. One is for apple growers and one is for orange growers, but both are designed to improve fruit quality and lower production costs.

The systems use sensors on autonomous robotic vehicles or at fixed sites within the orchards to gather a multitude of data about tree health and crop status. Robotic vehicles will be used to administer precise amounts of water or agricultural chemicals to specific areas or trees. The vehicles also will be used to automate routine tasks such as mowing between tree rows.

The projects were funded this fall through the USDA’s new Specialty Crop Research Initiative. The Comprehensive Automation for Specialty Crops (CASC) Program, led by Sanjiv Singh, research professor of robotics, received a four-year, $6 million grant to develop systems for the apple industry. The Integrated Automation for Sustainable Specialty Crop Farming Project, led by Tony Stentz and Herman Herman of the Robotics Institute’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), received a three-year, $4 million grant to develop systems for the citrus industry. Both project grants will be matched dollar for dollar by industry, state governments and other funding sources.Read More

Precision Myth Busting #3

Cindy ZimmermanEducation, University

Raj KhoslaThis is the third and final precision farming myth busted by Raj Khosla of Colorado State University. You could call this one the money myth – and the whole basis of Precision.AgWired.com.

jd bankMYTH 3: Precision farming will not pay for itself

First of all, Khosla points out that “precision farming is not just the addition of new technologies, but is rather an information revolution, made possible by new technologies that result in a higher, more precise farm management system. To this end, precision farming can be applied at with any level of technology and at any field scale.”

Producers that have used precision farming for several years have paid for the initial equipment investment through increased farm profitability and productivity. How long it takes to pay for itself will depend entirely upon how much capital was initially invested and the type and scale of the farming operation.

A recent study from Colorado State University indicated that precision farming practices can result in as much as $71 more return per acre when compared to traditional farming practices. In their study, the researchers used a method of varying N fertilizer that is based on black-and-white aerial photographs combined with the farmer’s past management experience. Other than the time required to obtain a black-and-white aerial photograph (aerial photos are free-of-charge from the Farm Service Agency or the NRCS District Conservationist) and for the farmer to identify the areas on the photograph that were high and low yielding, very little time and money was required to create a prescription nutrient map. Hence, precision farming can and does pay for itself. Like any technological tool, one needs to assess which particular tool or technique would bring about the most benefit. Again, this depends on the type and scale of the operation. A “one-size-fits-all” approach does not fit in with precision farming.

Read all of Khosla’s article “Myths of Precision Farming” here.

Precision Myth Busting #2

Cindy ZimmermanEducation, University

Raj Khosla Here is the second myth busted by precision farming specialist Raj Khosla with Colorado State University in CSU’s May-July Agronomy Newsletter.

precision farmerMYTH 2: Precision farming is too difficult to implement

Khosla says it’s not the physical implementation of precision farming that’s difficult, it’s opening one’s mind to change. “There is a steep learning curve with precision farming. But, once in place, precision farming can actually make your farming operation “easier” than it was before adopting it.” Before deciding it is too difficult, he urges farmers to consider the benefits, such as less time in the tractor, lower fuel costs and increased fertilizer-use efficiency.

Every producer knows that the entire field doesn’t yield the same all the way across. There is always that area of the field that just doesn’t yield, no matter how much N and/or water are put on. Agronomists have addressed this and in doing so, have turned traditional wisdom upside down with their unique approach to fertilizer management by viewing each part of the field as a potential investment. Only those areas of the field that are sound investments (i.e., have high productivity potential) receive a high amount of input. In contrast the poor investments (i.e., areas of the field that have a low productivity potential) receive very little, if any input; why invest in something that won’t give you a return? This strategy is known as “site-specific” and has been used widely in conjunction with management zones. The bottom line of this approach is that the total amount of input to be applied to a field is redistributed such that the areas of greatest potential receive the most and visa-versa.