Ethanol production is taking off throughout the U.S. It seems a new ethanol plant is popping up every week. Well, maybe not every week. But, it is safe to say that, with the recent high gas prices and the recent push for alternative fuels, ethanol plants are coming online at an accelerated rate.
This recent surge in ethanol production means corn growers are looking at corn in a new way. Starch is now a high dollar attribute of corn and that means farmers are interested in ways they can get more starch out of each crop yield. Therein lies the problem. Matias Ruffo, a post-doctorate researcher from the Crop Physiology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says his studies have found that nitrogen fertilizer can have a negative impact on ethanol yield and starch concentration in corn.
But, Mattias says his research in the U.S. has found ways to minimize that loss and optimize ethanol yields from corn. Mattias says that through the use of a variable rate nitrogen, a precision farming technique, farmers can have a positive impact on ethanol yields compared to the traditional uniform nitrogen application. In effect, Matias says growers can increase their ethanol yields through an exact nitrogen rate application to their crops. This technique, he says, means corn will have a less negative response to Nitrogen as it relates to ethanol yield. This result is even more successful, he says, when it’s applied to specific hybrid corn varieties. Mattias says nitrogen will have a more negative impact on yellow, non-specific corn than on a hybrid designed specifically for ethanol yields.
“The ethanol plants will be benefited by having a precision ag program as far as their work with farmers because they will see an increase in their ethanol yield as a grain with improved quality,” Mattias said.
The ease of precision agriculture has given a couple agriculture instructors the opportunity to offer their students some hands-on education. Well, an article in the Emporia Gazette said both precision ag and access to the Deer Trail Implement complex located just west of Emporia made the hands-on lesson a reality.
Thirty-five K-State students trekked form Manhattan, KS to Emporia, KS to try out John Deere’s 4830 and 4930 self-propelled sprayers first-hand. Both sprayers are equipped with precision agriculture hardware and software. The 4830 Sprayer uses a GreenStar 2 monitor with precision guidance mapping and variable-rate software in it’s cab, while ag enthusiasts can find a SpreadStar Controller in the cab of the 4930 Sprayer. A SpreadStar™ Controller offers operators precision dual-product rate control from the cab. The technology can apply single or dual product or fertilizer at 20 mph with a spread pattern up to 105 feet. The Emporia Gazette article reports that the Deer Trail Implement complex was meant to foster a learning atmosphere:
When Deer Trail Implement was building its $2.3 million complex west of Emporia on U.S. Highway 50, one feature Deer Trail Manager Richard Garber was excited about was having a smart classroom.
Garber envisioned the room being used by the community and students as a place to learn about agriculture.
Last week, the classroom fulfilled that vision when 35 K-State students traveled from Manhattan to Emporia. The students were juniors and seniors enrolled in a chemical applications systems course taught by John Slocombe and precision ag technologies class taught by Dr. Randy Price.
The students spent more than an hour in the classroom learning about the latest in agriculture spray technology. They then spent time outside driving John Deere’s 4830 and 4930 agriculture sprayers.
To help demonstrate the value of precision farming equipment John Deere put together a short video clip that includes farmers describing what it has meant to them and their operations. GPS has been around for years and now it’s really popular in cars, mobile phones and PDA’s. But now GPS is literally steering tractors on farms all over America. Sonia Martin has the story on the newest generation of farm tools.
You can learn all about the latest products John Deere has to bring precision farming to your operations by visiting John Deere Ag Management Solutions.
The Precision in Practice column brings you the latest reports from producers across North America who have put precision farming into practice in their own operations. Visit this column regularly to see what your neighbors are saying about precision farming and how they use it on their farms.
Short broadcast interviews with these and other producers can be found in the Precision Ag Minute archives.
Steve Hafner
Leroy, MN
2,200 acres of corn and soybeans
John Deere components used: Starfire RTK
Q: How do you utilize your guidance system?
A: I strip till in the fall, place dry fertilizer, build a burm and record all my passes. I put the data card in, come back in the spring and plant right on the fertilizer I just placed the fall before, on the same exact tract. The repeatability is a necessity. It also takes the fatigue out so I can watch the implement work.
Q: What system would you recommend?
A: For my operation and no-till/strip-till when you need repeatability and the ability to stay in the same track, I’d recommend RTK. For someone doing the same work I’m doing, I would go right to the RTK system – I wouldn’t start out on a “lower,” less expensive system. Within a year, I ended up with RTK because it’s that much more accurate.
Once people see what it does, it sells them. It almost has to be experienced to be fully appreciated. Guidance systems have just cracked the tip of the iceberg with what they can do now compared to what they’ll be able to do down the road.
The Precision in Practice column brings you the latest reports from producers across North America who have put precision farming into practice in their own operations. Visit this column regularly to see what your neighbors are saying about precision farming and how they use it on their farms.
Short broadcast interviews with these and other producers can be found in the Precision Ag Minute archives.
Q: What exactly is yield monitoring?
A: Yield monitoring is often the first step that producers take in precision farming. This device is an electronic tool that collects data on crop performance for a given year.
Q: What are some of the benefits of yield monitoring?
A: Yield monitoring helps to identify weak areas so growers are able to properly target these specific areas. After targeting deficient areas growers are then able to properly fertilize. This process helps improve weak areas while also saving money. Instead of fertilizing the entire field, yield monitoring makes it possible to single out and fertilize only the segments that are considered weak and lack a proper amount of nutrients.
Q: Can you use yield monitoring by itself?
A: Yes. However, it seems to work better with other avenues such as grid and soil sampling. With grid sampling we find that different areas need different amounts of fertilizer.
Q: How has yield monitoring benefited growers?
A: Growers gain knowledge and insight from devices such as yield monitoring and grid sampling. This allows them to better manage their farms while also making better management decisions. When weak areas are identified and addressed, growers see positive environmental benefits while also seeing economic gain.
Q: Do growers save a significant amount of money while using this technique?
A: Through yield monitoring and the maps they provide, growers are able to identify the most underperforming areas. Growers can then sample the soil of these specific areas while not having to do the rest of the farm. This allows growers the ability to cut back on products. Not every part of a farm needs the same amount of fertilizer, and yield monitoring, with the help of soil and grid sampling, helps producers be selective in what parts of their farms need special treatment.
The Precision in Practice column brings you the latest reports from producers across North America who have put precision farming into practice in their own operations. Visit this column regularly to see what your neighbors are saying about precision farming and how they use it on their farms.
Short broadcast interviews with these and other producers can be found in the Precision Ag Minute archives.
Ron Reimann
8,000 acres
Apples, sweet corn, potatoes, wheat, field corn, green peas
John Deere components used: Starfire RTK, GreenStar 2 System
Q: How does the RTK make planting potatoes easier?
A: Before the RTK system, we’d mark out ahead of time so the planter could follow the straight lines of the previous tractor. It took 1 planter operator, 1 marking operator and 2 tractors and usually someone riding on the planter. We’ve eliminated a few of those processes/people now and now the operator can monitor the planter through an on-board computer. The RTK system has really cut our expenses and we get better, more accurate row spacing.
It’s made us much more efficient. We had no idea, once we got into it, the extent of how much it saves us. We use it in all of our planting operations. On corn, we plant more acres with 1 large, 12-row planter using RTK than we did with 2, 8-row planters and no guidance system.
Q: You’re a record-keeping guru. How does GreenStar 2 help you?
A: We use the Grower Approved Practices (GAP) program, meaning that the people buying our food want to make sure we’re doing things right. What we do is track our diesel usage, the time we’re working this ground, and these are all records that processors are requiring. Instead of writing everything down at the end of the day, the GreenStar 2 System is recording all of this for you.
It’s rapidly becoming a necessity – it’s so cost-effective and we couldn’t survive without it.
John Deere’s iTEC Pro (intelligent Total Equipment Control) is a completely automated system that can be used on 8030 Series Wheel Tractors with integrated AutoTrac. The system not only guides the tractor precisely through the field, but also automates implement controls, ground speed, and end turns at headland and interior boundaries.
Check out the YouTube video to see and hear what one iTEC Pro user has to say about it. The video clip was sent in by Chris Horob, John Deere AMS Regional Specialist in Fargo, ND and created with the help of AMS consultant Brian Verkuehlen of RDO Equipment, who provides the commentary by voice mail. The video was shot in various locations around Minnesota with a digital camera and edited on a Mac.
Anybody else out there have some precision agriculture video they would like to share? Let us know - we’d love to use it here on PrecisionPays! Email your video to Melissa.
The Precision in Practice column brings you the latest reports from producers across North America who have put precision farming into practice in their own operations. Visit this column regularly to see what your neighbors are saying about precision farming and how they use it on their farms.
Short broadcast interviews with these and other producers can be found in the Precision Ag Minute archives.
Paul Smith
Balcarres, Saskatchewan
7,000 acres
John Deere components used: AutoTrac
Q: How has precision agriculture helped your operation?
A: We were running on an 8770 4-wheel drive tractor last year but switched to a 9400 this year. We can take our AutoTrac off the planter and use it on the sprayer and on swath in the fall. We saved a lot of overlap, ran 24 hours a day when we were seeding and could see where things were done and where they weren’t. It just makes things easier to operate and helps with fatigue throughout the day.
It’s surprising – the lack of overlap by using the system – and you realize just how much you DID overlap at times with the equipment. Hybrid seeds and chemicals become costly. But the system does pay. You can take someone with a little less experience, show them how the equipment works and away they go. Labor is hard to come by, so anything you can do to simply things, helps.
Q: How do you use the mapping feature?
A: You can see the equipment on the screen (with no lightbar). You can see what’s been done, what hasn’t been done and acres inside your boundaries. At the end of the day or the season, you can download it on the computer for record keeping. We also use variable rate fertilizer applications, and with mapping, we know where things are lacking.
John Deere precision ag is easy to use their support/dealerships are really good – if you have any questions, they’re right there to help.
You can listen to the interview with Paul Smith here: Paul Smith (4 min mp3)
The Precision in Practice column brings you the latest reports from producers across North America who have put precision farming into practice in their own operations. Visit this column regularly to see what your neighbors are saying about precision farming and how they use it on their farms.
Short broadcast interviews with these and other producers can be found in the Precision Ag Minute archives.
Gerald Thompson
Colfax, Illinois
John Deere components used: AutoTrac
Q: What value does your precision ag system deliver?
A: Until you use it, you don’t realize how much time you spend steering the tractor through the field. AutoTrac allows you to work longer, avoid overlapping by 5 feet (over doing it by hand), eliminates skips, and allows you to work in inclement weather conditions.
Your last trip is as good as the first one, day in and day out. My father is 77 years old and his attitude is: “Leave me alone – I don’t want to get out of this nice, controlled environment!”
We also chose to buy a smaller combine with AutoTrac because we’re still more efficient. And it’s easy to switch from planting to spraying to harvest.
Q: What would you tell other growers thinking about investing in precision ag?
A: When you buy a new tractor, I wouldn’t buy it without it. It’s like buying a tractor without air conditioning! I just wouldn’t do it. Give it a try – I know you’ll like it.
You can listen to the interview with Gerald here: Gerald Thompson (3:30 min mp3)
Precision in Practice column brings you the latest reports from producers across North America who have put precision farming into practice in their own operations. Visit this column regularly to see what your neighbors are saying about precision farming and how they use it on their farms.
Q: You’re planting corn. What are some benefits you’re experiencing with the RTK system?
A: I spend 12 to 14 hours a day in the tractor with a 36-row planter. Once I get turned into the rows, I can hit the AutoTrac button, let it go, then watch the row units to make sure everything is adjusted as it should be. This allows me to keep my mind on what the planter is doing instead of turning my knuckles white having to watch the row markers in front of the tractor. It’s easy on me, and my hands aren’t tired from holding the steering wheel all day.
Q: What cost savings have you seen?
A: Seed corn was $75 per bag in 1982. Now it’s $220 per bag. With new planters and the RTK system, I’m more accurate, which in turn, saves money. One of the most cost-effective operations is swath control by saving on nitrogen, and it helps improve yields in the long run. Most people just don’t know what the system is capable of doing. But It all pencils out.
Q: What are you telling your neighbors?
A: More farmers need to invest in precision agriculture. They don’t have to do it all at once, all in one year, but it will quickly pay for itself time and time again.
You can listen to the interview with Delbert here: Delbert Armstrong (4:00 min mp3)
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Ethanol production is taking off throughout the U.S. It seems a new ethanol plant is popping up every week. Well, maybe not every week. But, it is safe to say that, with the recent high gas prices and the recent push for alternative fuels, ethanol plants are coming online at an accelerated rate.
The ease of precision agriculture has given a couple agriculture instructors the opportunity to offer their students some hands-on education. Well, an article in the 
Steve Hafner
Q: What exactly is yield monitoring? 
Delbert Armstrong, Jr.