Precision Ag

R7 Web-Based Tool Combines Satellite Images with Data For Variable Rate Seeding, Application

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:23:00 +0000

Mounds of data and layers of field maps are common elements of precision farming systems. A new web-based tool simplifies variable-rate technologies, combining historical field satellite imagery with test plot data to field-tailor seed selection and prescriptions for planting and fertilizer application.

Four Steps to Implement Variable Rate Seeding in 2013

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:34:00 +0000

Source: Pioneer

Variable rate seeding (VRS) can help maximize overall profits by selecting the best planting rates for each area of the field. VRS plans are most appropriate in fields with greatly varying soil composition or water holding capacity.

Make Variable Seeding Work

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:03:00 +0000

Variable-rate planting can boost profits but requires good data.

Keith Alverson and his family started to variable-rate plant in the 1990s, and now find benefit with the practice on every corn acre. He, his father Ron and uncle grow corn and soybeans on rolling land near Chester, S.D. In the early 1990s, they started reducing seeding rates manually in the dry corners of pivot-irrigated fields, where yield potential is always much lower. The practice cut seed costs by 25% in unwatered sections, and was especially beneficial in dry years, Alverson says.

Crop Sensors Come of Age | Farmers Prove Technology Can Deliver Comfort, Payback

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:52:00 +0000

In-crop optical sensing, also called canopy sensing, is boosting yields and cutting costs for Robert Goettl, his brother Jerome and nephew Justin. Their GreenSeeker crop sensing system allowed the Le Center, Minn., farmers to shift away from reliance on all fall nitrogen (N) application. For the past four years they have combined a base fall rate with variable in-season applications using a coulter cart. Yields were up 10 bu./acre or more in the drier-than-normal 2012 season.

Crunch Your Scenarios | Spreadsheets are Vital to Risk Management

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:42:00 +0000

Roy Wendte, a farmer from Altamont, Ill., remembers the first spreadsheet program, Visicalc, from 1982. His University of Illinois master's thesis at that time focused on crop-production software. He’s built his own spreadsheets ever since then for budgets, crop production and yield analysis. “I don’t know how a producer could track of all of the farm data without spreadsheets’ immense time savings and analysis of 'what if' scenarios,” he says.

Sensored Soils Boost Agronomics | New Sensor Technology is the Next Management Frontier

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:01:00 +0000

Imagine, or just push the fast-forward button: You activate your sensor network to take soil, root and leaf readings and report data. You receive temperature, moisture, plant hormone levels and more from georeferenced points. Your computer integrates them with already-identified and mapped organic matter (OM), pH and electrical conductivity (EC) zones in those fields, with the specific variety planted.

Monsanto Integrated Farming System

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 17:47:00 +0000

To better understand yield monitor numbers, Monsanto started experimenting with variable-rate seeding, soil map inadequacies and testing hybrids differently. Adding Precision Planting to optimize the process, the company came up with the Integrated Farming System (IFS). Ted Crosbie, strategy lead for the program, talks about what led to the IFS solution.

Data Drive Market Agility | Use Technology to Prepare for the Worst, Succeed in Good Times

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:06:00 +0000

The recent drought in half a century was a reminder that market moves in all directions make it prudent to arm your business to ride through any price scenario. Efficient use of data has bullet-proofed Nick Frey’s farm business. "Data make you a better farm manager," says the fifth-generation farmer with WCI Family Farms in Linden, Ind. Frey attributes his knack for using data effectively to his Purdue farm management degree.

Irrigator Innovator | Young Nebraska Farmer Pushes Variable-Rate Irrigation Forward

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:50:00 +0000

A young farmer from eastern Nebraska is pushing irrigation management to a new level of precision. Nick Emanuel, founder and president of CropMetrics, is a leader in variable rate irrigation management. The innovations he developed on his farm are helping growers match water application rates to soil type, conserving water and reducing yield variability. “He’s a small-town Nebraska boy who is making a global impact on water management,” says Dave Varner, a University of Nebraska Extension scientist in southeast Nebraska.

World Food Prize Selection Shows Importance of Water to World's Food Supply

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:37:00 +0000

World Food Prize Daniel Hillel's selection reminds us of how important irrigation is to the world's food supply.

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