News from other sites

Earlier this year Ag Leader launched a new GPS guidance and steering technology called ParaDyme. While the product is still fairly new, growers are already raving about it. To learn more about its unique features and benefits, I spoke with Jeff Bentley, GPS Guidance and Steering Sales Manager for Ag Leader.

ParaDyme is a fully functional, fully integrated hydraulic steering system. It includes a cellular modem for correction by cell, wireless, as well as wifi that’s integrated for future uses and it can be installed into any hydraulic valve vehicle. Bentley explained that it is also scalable from WAAS to OmniStar all the way up to RTK. “So it’s fully scalable to several correction sources,” said Bentley.

A major advantage of using steering technologies is efficiency. “Efficiency is going to be your biggest advantage,” said Bentley. ParaDyme offers accuracy and ease of use and Bentley said when you come back to spray or come back to harvest, the straight rows are going to be a big advantage.

ParaDyme can be used with multiple brands of equipment going back 20 years. It can also be integrated with other Ag Leader products into two displays, Integra, which was launched this fall, and Edge, which was launched earlier this year. In addition, growers can use DirectCommand and SeedCommand as well as the Yield Monitor with ParaDyme.

Farmers have commented that some of their favorite product features include the display as well as the integrated modem. We have a lot of growers, especially those doing RTK connection through a cell modem like you have in Iowa through the DOE network, who really appreciate the integrated modem said Bentley. “The modem is already in ParaDyme. They don’t have to get their own cell plan – they just buy their cell plan through us and away they go.”

Bentley concluded that it’s been a great year and they’re looking forward to seeing how ParaDyme performs on the combine as well as in tillage applications.

You can listen to my interview with Jeff Bentley here. Jeff Bentley Talks ParaDyme

Farm Progress Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by: .

Big Bud is the world’s largest tractor so the Farm Progress Show is one of the best places to put this piece of history on display.

Big Bud is so big that I couldn’t fit the tractor in one picture. I mean Big Bud is BIG. It was built in 1977 in Montana by Ron Harmonn and his crew for a cotton farm in California. He is 27 feet long, 20 feet wide, 14 feet tall, and weighs 100,000 pounds.

Until this week, Big Bud has been on display in a farm museum in Dyersville, Iowa (the home of the famous ball field from Field of Dreams). He was moved to Boone, Iowa by Crop Production Services (Agrium), a company that provides agricultural inputs to farmers around the country.

Steve Sopher, an area agronomist with Agrium told me that they brought Big Bud in to give growers a walk down memory lane, and that he did. Between 15,000 – 20,000 people came to see Big Bud in person over the three days. It is estimated that nearly 100,000 people were at Farm Progress from around the world, so you can bet that most spent some time checking out Big Bud.

For those of you who missed out on this amazing piece of history, Sopher said that he will be back at the 2011 Farm Progress Show. You can also watch this video.

Farm Progress Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by: .

Ag Leader is known for their precision farming technologies and this year during the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, farmers were gathered around to check out their latest and greatest offerings. Ag Leader’s SMS Technologies are a big hit so I spent some time with Lucas James to learn more about how they worked.

James first walked me through their basic SMS desktop software which isn’t basic at all. The software allows a grower to house any information he has collected on the monitor or any prescriptions he has created in the past or any guidance lines he wants to import. Once a grower has all the info in the software he wants, he can then analyze the data, run reports and export it back out. For example, James said a grower can create prescription maps and these will tell the controller what to do.

From there, a grower can send information and record different field operations right into his hand held device. From there, the device can help a grower navigate to an area of his field he wants to take a closer look at. For example, he can check out a section of his field to conduct a soil sample. Once the grower has collected all the information in the hand held device, he can sync it back up with his SMS desktop software. This gives the grower a record of where it was taken.

While you don’t have to have both the SMS desktop software and the SMS mobile technology, they do work hand in hand to help a grower become more efficient and ultimately save time and money. Another benefit of the technologies is that they are nearly universal across all equipment systems.

I didn’t give the SMS technologies justice but James can and has on the product demonstration below. You can also visit www.agleader.com for more detailed information.

Farm Progress Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by: .

During a press conference hosted by Growth Energy, Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey stressed the importance of the ethanol industry to agriculture. Northey told the tale of how corn farmers were looking for a way to sell their excess corn back in the 80s and so they created the ethanol industry. And it worked. Last year, ethanol used 4 billion bushels of corn out of a total of 13 billion total bushels and many new companies and technologies have sprung up to support the industry’s growth, such as those companies offering corn farmers precision ag technologies.

But to keep the ag industry strong, the country must pass long-term energy policy that will support increased market access for ethanol. “It is vital that Congress and the EPA move forward and approve these needed long-term policy proposals,” Northey said. “It is important that we send a signal to the industry and investors that support structures that will remain in place and allow the industry to continue to advance and adopt new technologies including eventually cellulosic ethanol.”

The Green Jobs Waiver, or E15 waiver would do just this. It would help to open up the markets for more ethanol. But any decision on this front is still a ways a way. According to Tom Buis, the CEO of Growth Energy, the EPA and DOE will finish testing on 2007 and newer cars this month and 2004 and newer cars by the end of November. No one knows for sure how the EPA will rule, but there is widespread confidence that E15 will be approved.

Approving the extension of the ethanol tax credit is also important in sending the message to investors that this industry is here to stay.

Northey also stressed that success of the ethanol industry has allowed the success of other companies as well, many who are participating at this year’s Farm Progress Show. Therefore, Northey concluded, it is not only important for many states’ economies and the agricultural industry for ethanol to succeed, but it is ultimately important for all forms of alternative fuels.

You can listen to the Growth Energy press conference here. Growth Energy Press Conference During Farm Progress Show

Farm Progress Photo Album

Precision Pays coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by: .

I’m here in Iowa at the Farm Progress Show. Although there are farmers from all over the world in attendance, farmers in Central Iowa have been struggling with excessive amounts of rain. This causes crops, such as corn, to lose nitrogen, which negatively impacts crop yield.

Nitrogen has also become more expensive over the past couple of years so more effective nitrogen programs are of great value to them. Enter the OptRx Crop Sensor by Ag Leader. This is variable rate technology that not only applies nitrogen, but adjusts the rate of application on the go. The sensor is able to determine if the soil needs more or less nitrogen and on the fly, makes appropriate adjustments.

Jessica Reis, with Ag Leader, explained that being able to adjust nitrogen offers a multitude of benefits but one of the most important of them is the ability to use appropriate amounts of nitrogen on each area of the field will improve yield and that means improved profit.

Check out our Farm Progress Photo AlbumFarm Progress Photo Album.

Precision Pays coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by: .

Instead of kissing babies and giving speeches, the Iowa politicians at Farm Progress Show 2010 were mostly wearing hats and doing interviews as they walked through the show talking constituents or potential voters.

Iowa’s Senator Chuck Grassley spent some time checking out all the new technology on display at the show, between media interviews. In the photo, he is being interviewed by Michelle Rook, of WNAX in South Dakota.

In a quick interview with Chuck Zimmerman, the senator talked about energy policy as well as the looming expiration of tax cuts and increase in the estate tax and the impact that has for agriculture. By the way, since he is a high-tech guy, the senator even tweets! You can follow him at twitter.com/ChuckGrassley.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with the senator here: Interview With Senator Grassley

Farm Progress Photo Album

Also at the show today was former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad who is running for Governor again after serving a while back in the private sector. He literally dropped by because he was in the neighborhood, since he lives right near the Farm Progress show site in Boone County.

In an interview at the Pioneer tent, Branstad talked about how agriculture continues to be one of the bright spots in the Iowa economy: Interview With Terry Branstad

Thanks to AgLeader Technology for helping to sponsor our coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show here on Precision Pays.

Farm Progress Photo Album

It was pretty wet out at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa on Wednesday morning after about four inches of overnight rain and wind storms. The weather did a bit of damage to some of the exhibits at the show, but it did clear up nicely during the day. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is the same for tonight.

Before the show got started Chuck went out and found a couple of examples of what the wind and rain did, but at the same time showed how well permanent location can handle the adverse weather.

Thanks to AgLeader Technology for helping to sponsor our coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show here on Precision Pays.

Think of it as precision dating for farmers who are single and looking, but too darn busy to waste time weeding through potential partners who just don’t get it.

The Farmers Only on-line dating service is still going strong after five years, because “city folks just don’t get it.” FarmersOnly.com was launched in August of 2005 and according to founder Jerry Miller, it quickly became THE place for farmers and ranchers to meet like-minded people.

“There have been countless successful matches and friendships made on the site. I get thank you emails and phone calls almost daily. In fact, there have been hundreds of marriages since FarmersOnly.com began,” Jerry says.

In the last five years, membership went from 2,000 to well over 100,000 members, and despite the name, FarmersOnly actually does include non-farmers looking for love – as long as they “get it.” That would mainly include good old fashioned, down-to-earth people who live in small towns and rural areas.

Jerry designed the site after talking to a frustrated divorcee who found that the regular on-line dating services were populated by “city folks” who “just don’t get” the lifestyle of farming. “I talked to farmers and ranchers all over the country and discovered they all had the same problems. They already knew everybody in their immediate areas. They didn’t have enough time to socialize. When they did find time, they didn’t want to hang out at a bar. They wanted to find someone who understood their lifestyle,” he said. “The need for this new online dating service became very clear and six months later, I launched www.FarmersOnly.com.”

Check it out if you’re single and looking on the farm.

Hello from the 2010 Farm Progress Show taking place in Boone, IA. There’s a lot of precision on display and in coming days we’ll feature stories as we find them.

I’m on location with one of our editors, Joanna Schroeder. Between us we’ll be conducting interviews to share with you. We also have a photo album started so feel free to enjoy: Farm Progress Photo Album. This one is from this morning as I arrived prior to the start of the show. Yes, those clouds meant rain and we got some. But as of this posting we’re in the clear.

Precision Pays coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by: .

As the nights begin to cool, we know harvest is just around the corner. But before your mind gets totally wrapped around the culmination event of your hard work, take a break to visit and learn at one of the best outdoor farm shows, the Farm Progress Show, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2 near the central Iowa community of Boone.

If you’re going to the show, Ag Leader Technology has a special free t-shirt offer with a chance to win an EDGE display. Before you go, just visit the Ag Leader Facebook page and click on the invite under the tab ‘EDGE Giveaway.’ Then fill out the survey and bring it to the Ag Leader booth (Lot 517).

While at the booth, check out the live demonstration of the OptRx Crop Sensor. A Hagie sprayer, complete with the OptRx sensors, INTEGRA display and ParaDyme steering system, will be gathering crop condition data on live corn plants.

Also check out the new SMS Mobile PC software that will be available this fall for PC-based devices such as laptops, netbooks and tablets that run Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.

And stop inside the tent to learn more about all the products from Ag Leader—from displays and guidance to planter/sprayer controls and software that handles all the data. Product experts will be on hand to help you learn what can best fit your operation.

Visit these links for more information.

Farm Progress Show Website http://www.farmprogressshow.com/

Ag Leader Precision Point Blog: Calling Farm Progress Show Attendees!
http://www.agleader.com/2010/08/23/calling-farm-progress-show-attendees/

Ag Leader Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/AgLeader?v=app_4949752878

Survey for Free t-shirt and EDGE drawing http://www.agleader.com/mirror/FB-EDGE-Survey.pdf

OptRx Crop Sensor http://www.agleader.com/products/directcommand/optrx/

Fall Release of SMS Mobile Software http://www.agleader.com/2010/07/19/ag-leader-announces-fall-release-of-sms-mobile-pc/

German company RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of five identical Earth Observation satellites, announced today that over a period of just three months, 95% of the contiguous United States has been imaged. Almost 80% of this imagery was captured by the RapidEye satellites with less than ten percent cloud cover.

The campaign, which began May 1 and was completed on July 31, produced an abundance of imagery with many areas covered multiple times. Not only the United States was covered; 97% of Mexico was collected and almost 60% of Canada. Many areas were imaged more than once over this three month span and totaled 17 Million square kilometers of North America. All of this imagery is currently available for purchase in the RapidEye Library.

The company also has released a success story with the French precision farming company S2Bvisio about how RapidEye has delivered nitrogen fertilization maps for canola and wheat fields for the customer. You will find details about this project at http://www.rapideye.de/upload/documents/References/Customer_Reference_S2B_08_06_2009_ENG.pdf.

RapidEye images the Earth in unparalleled quantities and will continue to make its satellite imagery available through its Library, which can be searched either through a local distributor or directly through its Customer Service department. To find a distributor visit the RapidEye website at www.rapideye.de/distributors. Additionally, a selection of RapidEye products can be searched for, purchased and immediately downloaded through the RapidEye Geodata Kiosk at www.geodatakiosk.com.

The debut of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Precision Ag Practicum is next week at the Ag Research and Development Center near Mead.  There is still time to enroll if you are looking for an opportunity to sharpen your Precision Agriculture skills and learn about the latest developments with this technology including irrigation applications.

This new program offered by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension is designed for:

• Farm operators wishing to get more return on their precision ag dollar investment
• Crop consultants and industry agronomists who desire to provide more accurate information and better service to their customers
• Corporate industry and government agency personnel needing to know and understand the technology being used in today’s production agriculture.
• Precision ag instructors

Learn more at http://ardc.unl.edu/precisionagpracticum/.

In this edition of the Precision Pays Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology, we listen to an explanation of how precision agriculture sometimes actually misses the mark.

The whole idea of precision agriculture is being able to precisely place seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and any other applications in the exact right place at the exact right time in the exact right portion, right? Well, it’s not always that easy. And attendees at the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture heard that sometimes you just have to realize that precision agriculture is not that precise.

Auburn University associate professor and extension specialist John Fulton held a session where he explained some of the limiting factors you have to consider when using precision practices. He explained you have to consider the actual physics involved to get the molecules of chemicals to the nozzle tip and how the speed the tractor is moving can affect the actual application.

His biggest advice to the audience was to slow down.

You can hear more of my conversation with Fulton in this edition of the Precision Pays Podcast it in the player below below. Precision Pays Podcast

You can subscribe to the Precision Pays Podcast here.

Publication year: 2010
Source: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 23 August 2010

C.F., Machado , S.T., Morris , J., Hodgson , M.A., Arroqui , P.A., Mangudo

This paper details the rationale and procedures included in a web-based simulator containing production of beef cattle and cash crops. All biophysical and economical definitions including management in terms of rules constitute user-defined scenarios, which can be saved, retrieved, modified and deleted. Herbage growth may be either provided by the user or estimated from daily climate information. Scenarios are simulated and their outcomes are sent to the user's e-mail as a spreadsheet file, including data and pre-designed graphs to facilitate the interpretation of results. An example simulation study of a grazing-based finishing beef steers with a cycle of 12 months...

Graphical abstract Research highlights: ▶ This paper details the rationale and procedures included in a web-based simulator containing production of beef cattle and cash crops. ▶ Scenarios are simulated and their outcomes are sent to the user's e-mail as a spreadsheet file, including data and pre-designed graphs to facilitate the interpretation of results. ▶ The potential use of the web simulator as a flexible tool for investigation, training and decision making are discussed.

Precision ag was highlighted at the Nutrient Use Efficiency Expo during the recent Conservation in Action Tour by a company called Geosys. Company representative Don Lampker says they do a lot with satellite imagery and have a product called FieldInSite which helps farmers map their fields so they can make decisions on which areas are most productive. They can then create nutrient management plans for variable rate application systems.

It’s all about the more efficient use of nitrogen so Don says there may be some areas of a field where they actually apply more nitrogen while in other areas it will be reduced if it’s not getting used efficiently.

Listen to an interview with Don from the CTIC tour here: Don Lampker Interview

Conservation In Action Tour 2010 Photo Album

Coverage of the Conservation In Action Tour was made possible by and the

Publication year: 2010
Source: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 21 August 2010

M.B., Hossain , D.W., Lamb , P.V., Lockwood , P., Frazier

Electromagnetic induction sensors, such as EM38, are used widely for monitoring and mapping soil attributes via the apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) of the soil. The sensor response is the depth-integrated combination of the depth-response function of the EM38 and ‘local’ electrical conductivity (ECaz) at depth. In deep, Vertosol soils, assuming the instrument depth-response function is not perturbed by the soil and where volumetric moisture content at depth (θv(z)) dominates ECaz, EM38 should be capable of predicting average moisture content without recourse to mathematically complicated, and unstable profile inversion processes. Firstly a multi-height EM38 experiment was conducted over deep Vertosol soils...

Publication year: 2010
Source: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 21 August 2010

John A., Kershaw Jr. , Evelyn W., Richards , James B., McCarter , Sven, Oborn

Spatial structure of forest stands is one of the main drivers of forest growth and yield, and is an important indicator of wildlife habitat, aesthetics, and other non-timber forest uses. Because spatial structure is costly to measure, a number of approaches for simulating spatial structures have been proposed. In this paper, we propose a simple approach that is capable of generating multispecies stand structures. Based on the method of copulas (Genest and MacKay, 1986, Am. Stat. 40:280–283), we utilize a normal copula to simulate spatially correlated stand structures. Species composition, diameter, height, and crown ratio distributions of each species, and...

Graphical abstract Research highlights: ▶ A spatially correlated stand structure system is developed based on the method of copulas and is implemented in the R statistic package. ▶ Standard Normal copulas are utilized to transform random normal variables into correlated variables. ▶ Example datasets and methods to estimate the required marginal distributions and correlation coefficients are presented. ▶ The system is capable of simulating a variety of forest stand structures from relatively simple single species structures to complex multispecies structures.

Publication year: 2010
Source: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 21 August 2010

Diwan P., Ariana , Renfu, Lu

Hyperspectral imaging under transmittance mode has shown potential for detecting internal defect, however, the technique still cannot meet the online speed requirement because of the need to acquire and analyze a large amount of image data. This study was carried out to select important wavebands for further development of an online inspection system to detect internal defect in pickling cucumbers and whole pickles. Hyperspectral transmittance/reflectance images were acquired from normal and defective cucumbers and whole pickles using a prototype hyperspectral reflectance (400–740nm)/transmittance (740–1000nm) imaging system. Up to four-waveband subsets were determined by a branch and bound algorithm combined with the...

Graphical abstract Research highlights: ▶ The optimum four-waveband sets for fresh pickling cucumber were 745, 805, 965, and 985nm at 20nm spectral resolution and they resulted in 94.7% classification accuracy. ▶ The optimum four-waveband sets for fresh whole pickles were 745, 765, 885, and 965nm at 40nm spectral resolution and they resulted in 82.9% classification accuracy. ▶ Spectral resolution between 20 and 40nm would be appropriate for defect detection of pickling cucumbers.

Publication year: 2010
Source: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 21 August 2010

T., Rumpf , A.-K., Mahlein , U., Steiner , E.-C., Oerke , H.-W., Dehne , ...

Automatic methods for an early detection of plant diseases are vital for precision crop protection. The main contribution of this paper is a procedure for the early detection and differentiation of sugar beet diseases based on Support Vector Machines and spectral vegetation indices. The aim was (I) to discriminate diseased from non-diseased sugar beet leaves, (II) to differentiate between the diseases Cercospora leaf spot, leaf rust and powdery mildew, and (III) to identify diseases even before specific symptoms became visible. Hyperspectral data were recorded from healthy leaves and leaves inoculated with the pathogens Cercospora beticola, Uromyces betae or Erysiphe betae...

Graphical abstract Research highlights: ▶ Automatic identification of plant diseases with Support Vector Machines. ▶ Combination of spectral vegetation indices. ▶ Multi-classification of different plant diseases. ▶ Early prediction of plant diseases before appearance of visible symptoms.

We all know the complexity and challenges of precision farming technology, along with the value of a local technician who can resolve issues quickly. Since change is rampant in this industry, quality education leading to skilled employees is paramount.

To this end, it’s always refreshing to know that companies are working with universities to make sure today’s students are gaining practical experience and hands-on learning—along with critical thinking and communications skills.

Iowa State University began a Precision Ag Lab in 2007, thanks to the donation of equipment, software and support by Ag Leader Technology. “I’ve been working with Matt Darr, who teaches the TSM (Technology Systems Management) 333 ‘Precision Farming Systems’ course every fall semester,” says Michael Vos, Software Sales Manager at Ag Leader.

Vos has worked with Darr since he was in the graduate program at Ohio State University before his arrival at Iowa State. Now they work together to make the class the best it can be. And not only do Iowa State students benefit, but so do students at South Dakota State, Kansas State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Off-site students at the three partner universities will watch the recorded lectures. For the lab work, Iowa State sends each ag engineering college the precision ag hardware, SMS software, simulation software and complete installation instruction to set up their own lab.

“In the lab, students have a computer with a precision agriculture display next to it. The computer has simulations of planting, spraying and harvesting, giving hands-on experience in running each task, recording data, transferring data to our SMS software, writing prescriptions, working with aerial imagery, soil samples and much, much more,” Vos says.

Iowa State Professor, Matt Darr updating Ag Leader personnel on Iowa State’s precision ag programs/classes.

Vos, backed by his ten years of experience with Ag Leader since he graduated from Iowa State, also guest lecturers in Darr’s class. “I give students perspectives into the world of precision agriculture, the types of jobs available, as well as answer many questions during the course. We want to make sure students have a fundamental understanding of the complexity of this technology, the critical thinking skills needed to make processes and technology work, and as much hands-on experience as they can get to help prepare them to resolve conflict—in sensors and people,” Vos says.

Visit these links for more information.

2007 Story on Ag Leader Creates Precision Ag Lab at ISU
http://www.abe.iastate.edu/no_cache/news-events-amp-seminars/news-article/article/1368/1311.html

ISU Technology Systems Management (TSM) Program
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~catalog/2007-2009/courses/tsm.html

ISU Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
http://www.abe.iastate.edu./