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On 3-6 December 2018, Ag Leader EMEA held their sales meeting in the historic and beautiful city of Prague, Czech Republic.

Over the course of 2 ½ days, the Ag Leader team presented product information on Ag Leader products both brand new and existing. It was also the first time that distributors were able to see the all new GPS 7500 and SteerCommand® with DualTrac™ products!

There was also plenty of time to meet with some of the Ag Leader product management, sales, support, and marketing teams during these days. We all had a fun evening out on Tuesday where we witnessed all things medieval!

The meeting culminated on Thursday morning where we held several face to face meetings with our distributors to discuss the current market conditions and the outlook for 2019. Overall it has to be said that whilst market conditions in most areas are tough right now, there is optimism for the future. Distributors are looking for new ideas and solutions for the market. They want to deliver to their customers reliable solutions that will help them make their operations more efficient and profitable.

We as Ag Leader are proud to be their partner and to summarise, I want to quote Ag Leaders owner and president, Al Myers: “Ag Leader is defiantly independent, and committed solely to helping growers better their quality of life and address agronomic issues through precision farming solutions. Here at Ag Leader, addressing the wants and needs of farmers is priority one”.

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We know not all fields are perfect – do you have recurring field obstructions that interrupt your guidance lines? Now with InCommand’s latest firmware, available here, you can specify a repeating space or break between guidance paths

with our guidance pattern called Access Paths. Access Paths can be used for roads, power lines, irrigation ditches or other field obstructions that require a break in the guidance paths and is available with the InCommand® 1200 and InCommand 800 displays.

Learn more about Access Paths by watching this short video: 

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Recently our Technical Support department, with input from the whole team, embarked on recreating their workspace for their dynamic roles. 

Before, the workspace was arranged in rows of workspaces typically arranged by a team or group. Though it did afford a reasonable amount of privacy and sound insulation, it was not as conducive to interaction.

We had a traditional cubicle structure for a long time and were looking to mix things up. This new layout provides a nontraditional setup that allows for easier communication and collaboration. – Tyler Anderson

The goals and objectives the department used to settle on this new layout include:

• Promote Open Conversations and Approachability
• Collaborative Environment
• Flexibility
• Acoustics
• Resources Accessibility
• Cost

Moving to an open seating concept allows for greater collaboration among our team and more accessible test stands. I feel like it’s literally torn down barriers in our communication! – Kara Nelson

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technical Support would also like to thank our maintenance staff, Josh Kokemiller and Dan Montgomery, for doing all the heavy lifting of this project to make it a reality. With their help, this project had zero impact on customer service.

The Technical Support department creatively brainstorms ways to serve and build relationships with each other, our customers and our dealers. The new layout is a testament to opening intra-department communication.

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Lora Howell entered into the 2018 crop year with limited experience in precision agriculture technology and ended it with a 20-bushel/acre yield advantage over 2017 production.

When the Danville, Ohio, farmer was named the winner of the Ag Leader Tech My Farm contest during the fall of 2017, she used the award to purchase Ag Leader tools that addressed specific needs on her farm, including an InCommand® 1200 display with AgFiniti® app, SureStop® planter clutches, OnTrac3™ assisted steering system, GPS 6500 receiver and yield monitor.

Now that the 2018 crop is in the bin, Howell is looking back on how her operation improved during the last growing season with her newly expanded technology toolkit and skillset. Her goal was to become more productive and efficient and also build a strong foundation of tech tools her kids can use once they take the reins of the farm.

“The year went well for us as far as learning the technology. This technology can show you where you’ve saved money and which hybrids produce best for you. It can bring a lot of information to light,” Howell said, adding that some of her corn fields saw a 20-bushel/acre yield advantage over 2017 production. “We were able to have documentation of each field’s yields based on variety for future reference, and I am buying seed for next year a lot differently than I was a year ago.”

 

Early precision payback

It didn’t take long for Howell’s new precision ag additions to show their mettle. With the InCommand 1200 display and advanced seed tube monitoring with SeedCommand® planting system, Howell was able to diagnose an early issue that ultimately boosted her corn yield by eliminating a common early-season problem. The singulation was off on one of her planter row units, causing the planter to distribute seed at the wrong rate. The InCommand helped catch the issue quickly, enabling the farmer and her local Ag Leader dealer, Evan Watson, to make the necessary adjustments to allow the planter to resume distributing the right seed population.

“The singulation on one row had a mechanical issue,” said Watson, ag technology specialist with Precision Agri Services in Minster, Ohio. “Every other row was planting at around that 96-97 percent accuracy range, which is fairly common for the type of finger pickup meters on her planter. One row was in the 80s. We went back and looked and her set brushes for singulation on the meter itself were not adjusted properly. We fixed it and got that row back up to that 96-97 percent range.”

It was a fairly simple fix, one Howell was able to make because of her new Ag Leader lineup. But when she harvested that field this fall, and Watson calculated the yield difference based on having returned that row’s singulation to normal levels, the yield difference was significant.

“With that one row being around 80 percent accurate at first and getting it back up to around 97 percent, that’s every bit of about 20 bushels/acre. If she hadn’t had that Ag Leader system like before, she would have never known it was an issue until harvest,” Watson said. “That window into her planter was something she’d never seen before. It was a failsafe. She made an adjustment at planting by having more data at her disposal, and it paid off at harvest.”

Howell found another benefit from her InCommand 1200. By tracking crop moisture levels as she harvested, she had a leg up on how she stored and handled her corn. “We knew our moisture levels spot-on, so I knew exactly where to set the grain dryer. The monitoring system worked beautifully,” Howell said.

Technology plays to strengths

One of the tools Howell added to her operation through the Tech My Farm program was an OnTrac3 assisted steering system, something that initially was seen as more of a comfort and convenience tool than one for productivity. But Howell’s farm features a lot of irregularly shaped, contoured fields that can pose challenges, especially with planting and in-season fertilizer and pesticide applications. Combined with a GPS 6500 system, the OnTrac3 did make an operational difference. One major change: It prevented breakdowns by allowing her to keep her eye on the field in front of her, rather than the implement behind her. So in encountering any field obstacles, she could react quickly before they inflicted damage on her machinery. 

“It just takes some of the stress off during major field operations. There’s a lot to watch when you’re planting, spraying or harvesting, but having assisted steering and being able to monitor the fields knowing the system is helping you control everything helps eliminate stress and you don’t have as much to worry about with things like overlap and leaving gaps. She can be more efficient now,” Watson said. “That GPS 6500 really performed well this year. It did its job so she could focus on doing her job.”

Results when it counts

Tools like the InCommand 1200, OnTrac3, GPS 6500 and yield monitor added up to real results at harvest. Howell was able to closely monitor her yields and see just how much of a difference the tools made at key times during the growing season. But the true benefit came later when she was able to take that information and apply it to early decisions for her 2019 crop.

“This technology is changing her decision-making. While she was harvesting corn, she got into one field that was doing really well, yielding around 200 bushels/acre in spots, and she was tickled to death. She knew she’d had issues in some spots, but she also knew what she had planted, and that there were different varieties. One had weaker stalk strength than the other, and it didn’t perform as well as the other one,” Watson said. “She was able to pick up on that because of her technology at harvest, and I would say that will go a long way to helping her make better seed decisions for next year.”

Building blocks for the future

The Ag Leader components Howell added to her operation this year are likely just the beginning for the Ohio farmer. She knows some of her fields lack adequate drainage, which she may remedy down the road with precision tiling. She’s also discovered a lot of variability in soil fertility through her new precision ag tools and hopes to get more consistent with variable-rate applications in the future. And through her improved attention to soil conditions, Howell now has the information on which to base future purchase decisions to better match field operations to her soils.

“She may want to consider a downforce system to add to her planter,” Watson said. “With downforce sensors on all the rows on her planter and having that information displayed on her InCommand 1200, she can make adjustments to her down pressure automatically. That can increase her yields. Downforce simply pays by getting that seed planted at the right depth. With good growing conditions, it just leads to more consistent yields.”

Creating a legacy for the next generation

On top of using her new Ag Leader tools to improve the output and efficiency of her crop operation, Howell has found unique value to the technology in other ways that will have long-lasting impacts on not just her farm, but her area’s ag economy. She recognizes her children — daughter Lindsey and son Justin — will one day take on the ownership and management of her family farm, as will other local teens and recent college graduates. She knows their aptitude for adopting new precision ag technology is higher than many in her generation, and she knows how important it is to share her experience with local youths, so they are prepared to one day be ag leaders themselves.

“We had the local FFA chapter on the farm this fall, and Justin was on the combine showing them what all this technology does. When push comes to shove, I call Lindsey and she is there at the drop of a hat. I am really proud of these kids, watching them learn,” Howell said. “I wanted this technology for the kids, so the kids can make the decisions on this farm someday.”

Her adoption of Ag Leader technology — and the legacy she hopes her children will continue in staying attuned to evolving technology — is something Howell credits to the guidance and expertise of Ag Leader service technicians and company leaders who have helped her become one of the area’s most tech-savvy farmers.

“All of this technology has to work with the equipment on every operation. It has to be tailored to your operation and how it’s been built, and every operation has a different makeup,” Howell said. “Ag Leader is good at it. Those guys, they all know what they’re doing so well and can talk you through everything, and I really appreciate that.”

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In the second installment of this blog, we will talk about preparation for laying out tile, how to create tile plans and the software tools available to make the job easier. The first installment of this blog series can be found here. 

If a tile plan has been built and exported from SMS™ software, that plan can be imported to the InCommand®  as a reference where the tile is intended to be placed. If using the tile plan to install, it is crucial to make sure the plan was built based off accurate elevation data.
In the display, take the surveys that were created in the tile plan and verify that all of the install parameters (See figure 2) are accurate and match with where you want to place the tile.

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Create a new survey with the display for where you want the tile to lay in the field. Then check over parameters (See figure 2) to ensure accurate tile placement. The Intellislope® system can be used standalone, without any preplanning in SMS.
In both cases when setting install parameters it is always good to keep in mind both the max depth the tractor can pull the plow and the amount of ground cover (minimum depth) the grower wants over the tile to avoid interferences with other field operations, like tillage.

After completing the tile installs, the install data can be exported out of the InCommand display and imported into SMS for post analysis, map printing, and record keeping. Continue reading to learn more about some SMS tools that can be used when making a tile plan ahead of time.

Tile Planning and SMS

SMS Advanced software provides a number of tools to help analyze fields you wish to tile. One of the most helpful is Terrain Analysis. Wetness Potential, Watershed ID, Elevation and Drainage Area are just a few of the attributes that Terrain Analysis generates. It is also important to remember to use highly accurate GPS data when setting 3D grids and using Terrain Analysis. Other layers that you can use to help focus tile include maps that you can get today such as soil survey layers, yield data, and imagery that may show water stress through the growing season.

Water Management Tools

The Water Management tools will allow for the placement of tile runs in specific locations that follow unique specifications. These tools do the hard work for you, taking into account tile size, soil types, drainage, elevation and slope in order to determine if the system is flowable or not. In addition to making sure water will flow through the system, SMS also helps prevent issues such as silting-in or erosion from occurring. All of these options working together will help to generate the best possible tile installation while taking a lot of the guesswork out of planning.

Exporting a Tile Plan

Once the tile plan is valid, it can then be exported out to an InCommand 1200 display with Intellislope as mentioned previously. A plan can be exported like any other prescription or boundary, by using the Device Setup Utility. Once the plan is in the Ag Leader InCommand, it can use the individual runs as survey lines, greatly speeding up the install process.

For more Intellislope resources, check out the InCommand Feature User Guide and the Ag Leader® Integra Quick Reference Guide. 

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From all your friends at Ag Leader, we wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving! Ag Leader will be closed Thursday and Friday to enjoy the holiday, we will return Monday, November 26. Enjoy! 

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With harvest coming to an end, it is time to start thinking about preparing for tile planning and installation. From checking over tiling equipment to designing and creating tile plans, both can save time and headaches while in the field. Below are a few items to keep in mind when starting to prepare for the tiling season.

 

At the beginning of the season before getting to installing tile it is good practice to check the plow and system over to make sure everything is ready to both survey and install.

Things to check/remember:

• Plow wear points
  • Make sure plow wear points are within spec according to your plow manual
• Cable connections
  • Check to ensure cable connections are fully seated, if components of the system have been used for other operations since last season. (e.g. RTK GPS receiver)
• Hydraulic connections
  • Verify that pitch up/down commands make the plow respond in the proper manner.
• Verify plow measurement
  • Plow measurements should be checked to ensure elevation recordings are accurate. This is especially important in cases where the grower is using a different brand RTK receiver than last season.
• Pitch Zero calibration number
  • To ensure the Pitch Zero calibration number is still accurate, it is good practice to perform a blank AutoTile® install run. Pitch Zero can then be compared to the Suggested Calibration, if value difference is greater than 10, update Pitch Zero to match Suggested Calibration:

Stay tuned for part two of this blog where we’ll discuss water management operations in SMS. For more Intellislope resources, check out the InCommand Feature User Guide and the Ag Leader® Integra Quick Reference Guide. 

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This fall has been a challenge for many producers across the U.S. pertaining to the amount of rain that f you may have had. Now that harvest is finished or is near completion, fall tillage and fertility is next on many of your lists. Corn production requires nitrogen (N) fertilization to supplement what is available from the soil. After N, phosphorous (P) is the nutrient that is likely to be deficient for effective corn production. 

Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) is very important when trying to decide whether to apply N in the fall or spring. Placement and timing of N affect the NUE and management decisions within your production system. As a reminder weather, soil type, and timing of crop N uptake are important to N loss potential. Applying N in the fall is thought of as the riskiest N management practice. The reason being is there is a high loss potential from leaching, volatilization, and denitrification compared with later N application. The time between fall N application and when N is needed by the corn crop in the spring is a large enough time gap where the factors mentioned previously can take place. 
The goal should be to apply enough N to corn when the crop needs it without supplying too much that can be potentially lost. If N is lost it not only reduces your profits it can also harm the environment. 

N is needed in large quantities by the corn plant because N is an essential component of all protein within the corn plant. When N is deficient, normal growth and development are hindered. In fact, when corn is stressed by a lack of N at any time during the plant’s growth and development the yield is reduced similar to any other plant stress. The following chart shows the approximate amount N removed in corn grain and stover which represents the minimum amount of N required to grow your crop.

When applying N in the fall, the rule of thumb is, not to apply fall N until the ground temperatures remain below 50°F from the time of application to spring (the colder the better). Cool soil temperatures help to reduce the activity of nitrifying soil bacteria that convert ammonium to nitrate forms of N. If applying N in the fall this practice should be managed carefully. 

Fall N management tips include:

• Only Ammonium sources of N should be used such as Anhydrous ammonia
  • Other N sources such as Urea and UAN nitrify too quickly which increases the chance for loss
• Nitrification inhibitor should be considered to further slow conversion to nitrate
  • Examples of Nitrification inhibitors include:  N-Serve®, and Instinct
• Avoid soils that are more prone leaching
  • Sandy Soils
  • Poorly drained soils