Precision Pays

Fertilizer Compliments Precision

Precision ag companies boast that their technologies boast can reduce input costs by reducing the amount of fertilizer farmers need to use. So, at first, it might not make sense for a fertilizer company to be so enthusiastically on board with precision technology as the International Plant Nutrition Institute. But Harold Reetz, the Director of External Support for IPNI, says the fertilizer industry has every reason to be involved in precision agriculture. He adds that’s why the IPNI not only participated but helped sponsor the 9th annual International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Denver, CO last month.

Harold says precision technology not only improves “production practices and profitability for farmers,” it also means they are “better able to use nutrients they way they should and do better management with nutrients.” So for Harold, precision and fertilizer work hand in hand, especially he says, when it comes to more environmentally-conscious agriculture. Harold says the IPNI is committed more sustainable approaches to farming.

I spoke with Harold about how fertilizer fits in with precision. You can listen to my interview with Harold here:
Harold Reetz, Director of External Support for the International Plant Nutrition Institute

FutureFarm and a Field of Robots

Dr. Simon Blackmore says he has his sights set on the future of agriculture. Not many could doubt that after considering the extensive breadth of research and development the world-renowned agriculturist continually applies to his work in precision farming.

Simon was a leading speaker at the 9th International Conference on Precision Agriculture, sharing his expertise on two main fronts: FutureFarm and Unibots.

FutureFarm is a project that’s meant to conceptualize and then fully manifest the European Union’s ideas on the Farm of Tomorrow. As manager of FutureFarm, Simon says precision agriculture techniques are critical to the development of agriculture. He says FutureFarm is researching and conducting real-world tests of how precision agriculture is reshaping farming practices around the world. It’s a project, he says, that considers and studies integration of information systems, real-time management support, implications of biofuels, socio-economic impacts, the development of robotics and more.

Unibots is the brainchild of Simon himself. Simon is the founder and managing director of Unibots Ltd, a company that commercializes academic research in mobile outdoor robots. Robots, not men, make up most of the labor force in Simon’s vision of the future of agriculture. There are many factors, Simon says, that support the need for such a robotic future. He points out that current technology means farming machinery such as combines, sprayers and plows get bigger to increase output. But, Simon says that trend cannot continue. There will be a point where size gets to big to handle.

Instead, Simon says the ag industry needs to focus on developing more intelligent machines that are sensitive to plant needs. He says replacing large manned tractors with multiple, small intelligent machines would offer numerous advantages. The use of robots, he says, can provide opportunities to conduct operations that are not currently possible or that currently cost too much time and money. Robots can be designed to operate on low energy. They can target inputs intelligently. He says they are also cost effective through incremental investment and integrated fleet management - such as implementing longer working hours, increased working rates and intelligent response to weather. For example, he says robots can work through the night. Or, he adds, they can be programmed to stop working during rainfall or high wind, simply waiting to resume work on-site once weather conditions become optimal again.

Simon isn’t dreaming all this up. His company has already developed robots that can intelligently work through the field, such as a cycloid weed hoe with retracting legs to avoid crop damage, notched disc weeding machines, autonomous tractors, remote controlled tractors, autonomous crop scouting with weed recognizing microsprayers and more.

The agriculturist says he is convinced that equipment will continue to become “smarter.” The industry, in his opinion, will continue improving the automatic control of well-defined tasks and automated data gathering. This, he says, will lead to improved data processing into real information. Simon says the possibility for fully autonomous vehicles with sensible behavior is entirely real and the opportunity for development is now. It’s time, he says, to begin designing and building a new, small and smart mechanization system.

You can listen to Simon give an overview of his extensive work here. I have also spoken with Simon on each topic in two separate interviews that will be posted in the near future.
Dr. Simon Blackmore speaks about FutureFarm and Unibots.

Precision Tech Versus Precision Science

The technology of precision and the science behind it are two very distinct things you ask Dr. Joseph Berry. Joseph is a leading consultant and educator in the application of Geographic Information Systems, or GIS technology. He possesses more than 40 years of experience in GIS. As far as how GIS applies to precision agriculture, well, Joseph’s work and research spans more than 15 years. When it comes to precision agriculture today, Joseph considers one specific question in particular:

“Is the technical cart in front of the scientific horse?”

Joseph says he believes the science of precision agriculture is at significantly different stage of development than the technology and application of precision agriculture. His focus is on the science.

The concept of precision agriculture encompasses several roles for Joseph. He says it is a technique that’s applied when “doing right thing at the right place at the right time”. He adds that it also identifies and responds to field variability. That, he says, is where and when it applies to science. One thing Joseph says precision agriculture doesn’t do is “replace indigenous knowledge.” Rather, “it’s a mechanism to extend it.”

Joseph spoke at this month’s 9th International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Denver, CO. He gave listeners a brief overview of how GIS, specifically, transformed from a technology not necessarily related to precision agriculture into a science that specifically supplements the technologies driving precision agriculture. He says GIS in particular is a big deal:

“The U.S. department of Labor has said geotechnology is one of three mega technologies for the 21st century,” Joseph said. “We identified only three that are radically going to change society. The other two are biotechnology and and nanotechnology. So the field [precision agriculture] you’re tinkering in is thought to be a mega technology.”

Precision agriculture is also a technology that Joseph says is rapidly changing the entire agriculture industry. Joseph says the application he works with, fully integrated multimedia mapping analysis, is no different. For him, advances in GIS and mapping are enabling farmers to switch from what he calls a “whole field” approach to farming to a “site-specific” method.

The “whole field” approach is one that Joseph says assumes and relies on the fact that “average” conditions are the same everywhere within the field. A field is uniform and homogeneous. He points out though, that this is rarely the case. Thus, he concludes that applying such an approach leaves room for a tremendous amount of error when trying to maximize both procedural input and output.

Joseph’s solution is the “site-specific” method, where a field is broken into small consistent pieces, or cells. Specific conditions are then tracked at each unique location. Joseph says this method scientifically demonstrates the nature of significant variation in the field. He adds that, accordingly, as the variation is measured in such detail, the management action can be constructed to continuously respond to such variation.

The science, Joseph says, moves from whole field applications to site-specific measurement. The technology is then developed and adjusted to accommodate the science.

Joseph says the agriculture industry has “a long way to go with the precision farming process.” But, he says that’s exciting. The future of agriculture is just beginning.

You can listen to Joseph’s incredibly detailed explanation here:
Dr. Joseph Berry speaks about his ideas on the science behind precision agriculture.

Ideas Behind Precision: A Global Perspective

There is no one idea or definition of precision agriculture if you ask Dr. Rajiv Khosla. Raj chaired the 9th annual International Conference on Precision Agriculture earlier this month in Denver, CO. I attended the conference and, while there, I managed to gather more information on precision than I know what to do with… and there was still an immeasurable amount of information I didn’t even get to touch. Everything I did manage to gather though will be parceled out and posted here, on PrecisionPays.com. So, in the coming weeks, look forward to a wealth of ideas on precision ag science, innovations and applications from experts around the globe.

The first you will hear from is Raj. Raj opened the conference, challenging presenters and attendees alike to think about what, exactly, is precision agriculture. Raj challenged listeners to consider whether precision techniques are only related to technology, innovation, developed countries and large acreages or if they can also include the intercultivation techniques of a single farmer with just a half acre field, who walks through every row using a single wheel and single hoe, his optical sensors amounting an instrument no more complex than his own two eyes.

Raj estimated there were between 450 and 500 participants in this year’s conference, with 250 oral and poster presentations, 34 concurrent sessions on a plethora of precision topics and representatives from 43 distinct countries.

“I think that’s really amazing and very impressive to be able to attract so many people from diverse backgrounds with unique and rich experiences related to precision agriculture,” Raj said.

The precision expert and educator suggests that precision agriculture consists of ideas, technologies and solutions that depend upon where in the globe they’re practiced. He says precision “technology” can, in fact, be quite different from one country to another.

Simply put, precision ag is “the right input at the right time in the right place in the right manner.”

Raj urged listeners to think of precision ag as “something that’s not relative to one place but something that has a place everywhere on this planet.”

“What could be a better time than now to take advantage of precision agricultural technologies when the world is witnessing the largest rise in food prices, energy prices, input prices and the demand and supply of food to the hungry mouth,” Raj said. “Something to think about. I think it is an opportune time for us to take advantage of precision agriculture here and everywhere else.”

You can listen to Raj’s remarks here:
Dr. Rajiv Khosla speaks about his idea of what is precision agriculture.

Ag Expo to Debut in Orlando 2010

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has announced its plans to host a new international agricultural exposition. The AEM says event will showcase leading innovation and technology within the ag sector and provide a forum for interaction with industry experts. Mark your calendars for the first-ever Ag CONNECT Expo January 12-15, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

Manufacturers, dealers, distributors and producers from almost every sector of agriculture want to be globally competitive. At AG CONNECT Expo, they will have knowledge-sharing opportunities to better evaluate their position in the world marketplace while networking in a global environment and learning how to gain a competitive advantage.

Education is a key focus of the show. In addition to showcasing a wide variety of new equipment, technology and services, AG CONNECT Expo will offer information on some of agriculture’s most important business management issues. Internationally recognized speakers will address topics such as high-tech farming, safe equipment operation, alternative fuels, alternative energy sources, general management issues for efficiency and issues pertinent to family-run businesses.

Charlie O’Brien (OQ – into the future.)

Charlie O’Brien (OQ – agriculture comes together.)

Charlie O’Brien (OQ – within their operations.)

Dennis Slater (OQ – bring the industry together.)

Dennis Slater (OQ – other industry professionals.)

Hand-Harvested is now Precision Harvested with John Deere

Tracking labor performance and product quality now comes at the touch of a button… or the flash of a scan rather. The all-in-one Labor Performance and Product Quality Management Systems, one of the newest products from John Deere Agri Services, boasts unmatched data collection for hand-harvested crops. The hand-held device measures crew output and productivity, harvest performance, and crop quality, quantity, location, attributes and more through the use of barcodes on worker IDs, RFID tags and GPS field location. All information and data is then instantly uploaded to a specialized website accessed through unique user and password information. John Deere says the bottom line is, the device allows farmers to, well, increase their bottom lines by giving them more control and manageability over production and workers alike.

I spoke with Richard Johnson (pictured left), the National Account Manager of Production and John Deere Agri Services about the Labor Performance and Product Quality Management Systems. You can listen to my interview with Richard here:
Richard Johnson Interview Interview (7 min. mp3)

More Control with Swath Control Pro

Swath Control Pro is getting more popular with growers every season. Kirk Swihart says that’s because the technology reduces overlap and helps farmers improve their input costs. Kirk is the Technical Assistant Supervisor with John Deere. He reminds growers that all 4000 series sprayers are compatible with the Swath Control Pro. He says growers do need John Deere’s StarFire application or another third party receiver to use the technology. He adds that Swath Control Pro offers farmers an improved coverage map, and, coupled with John Deere’s AutoTrac, growers can use it to cover more acres in one day than ever before.

Here is the second part of an interview that Chuck did recently with Kirk: Kirk Swihart Interview (4 min. MP3)

Making the Most of Manure Management

Peter Kyveryga says it’s no secret that manure applications can be difficult to handle. It also should be no secret that the Iowa Soybean Association offers manure management resources to farmers through its On-Farm Network. Peter says the On-Farm Network encourages farmers to conduct their own manure management techniques through trials and field tests, but he adds that there is plenty of information and data available through the On-Farm Network. ISA’s manure management program looks at the performance of manure, considers the nutrient value of different manures and looks at manure variability. The On-Farm Network has also developed protocols for using precision farm equipment to record and locate areas of trials and field tests.

Chuck interviewed Peter about ISA’s Manure Management. You can listen to Chuck’s interview here: Peter Kyveryga Interview (6 min. MP3)

AMS Expert at Your Service

Bottom line: John Deere wants consumers to truly master new products and technologies the company offers. That’s why John Deere’s Ag Managment Solutions has developed its Dealer-Consultant Strategy. The strategy is simple: have an AMS expert available to dealerships nationwide. In some cases its an expert or two. Mark Theuerkauf says the Dealer-Consultant strategy is a unique channel of expertise and is an invaluable too for dealers and customers of AMS products. He says such a support system is necessary for a technology that is still considered relatively new. Mark says there are currently 270 AMS consultants throughout the country.

Chuck interviewed Mark about AMS’s Dealer-Consultant Strategy. You can listen to Chuck’s interview here: Mark Theuerkauf Interview (5 min. MP3)

Deere Machinery Compatible with Universal Software

The new John Deere Rx Converter makes John Deere hardware more compatible with various software applications. Darin Krantz with John Deere Ag Management Solutions says compatibility is an integral part of modern machinery and that’s why Deere is offering the Rx Converter for free. Darin says as Deere’s GSII packages become more popular, more software vendors are wanting to become compatible with the technology.

Chuck interviewed Darin about the Rx Converter and where users can go to find it. You can listen to Chuck’s interview here: Darin Krantz Interview (4 min. MP3)