Remote Sensing Still Developing

Chuck Zimmerman

The first of the two keynote speakers at the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is Dr. David Mulla, University of Minnesota. Dr. Mulla is a past chair of the conference btw. His topic was “Key Advances and Remaining Knowledge Gaps in Remote Sensing for Precision Agriculture.” So he talked about what we know and what we don’t know. It’s clear from his remarks that there is still a world of opportunity in the area of precision agriculture.

Dr. Mulla’s presentation is packed full of terminology that any agnerd will love. I heard quite a few I was not familiar with like SPAD meters, cokriging and more. When it comes to his conclusions about what is still needed in this area he mentions how we have managed crops by field but now the “Challenge is to manage individual plants in real time.” Can you imagine that for let’s say 1,000 acres of corn?

Listen to or download Dr. Mulla’s remarks here: Remarks by Dr. David Mulla

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere
Ag Groups, Audio, Precision Agriculture

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 358There are precision agriculture enthusiasts from 45 countries attending the 11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture. This conference is held every two years and is taking place in Indianapolis, IN.

To learn about what’s new for this year’s conference I spoke with Dr. Rajiv Khosla, Colorado State University, who is the President of the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), an organization that was formed at the last conference and is now responsible for it.

Besides sessions on precision nutrient management, remote sensing, and information management Dr. Khosla says there will some new sessions focused on precision conservation and carbon management as well as machine visioning and imaging applications. Water is also going to be a big topic this year as precision applications and equipment can help manage this valuable resource. Get the whole preview of this year’s conference by listening to my interview with him.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: 11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture

You can find photos from the conference here: 11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

I’d like to thank John Deere for sponsoring my coverage of the 11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture!

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

AgWired coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere
Ag Groups, Audio, Precision Agriculture, ZimmCast

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Wyffels: Geared for Pro Midwest Corn Growers

    John Davis

    Many times we hear about how big a company is or its reach throughout the world. That can be all well and good, but sometimes you want a local company that understands your needs and might be able to be more flexible. That’s where our friends at Wyffels Hybrids come in. During the recent Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies in Vincent, Iowa, Chuck sat down and talked with the company’s Matt Barnard, who explained that a corn crop is a very emotional investment, and Wyffels is there to help farmers adjust, especially during tough seasons like this one.

    “Our business is selling to professional corn growers… folks that like growing corn. So what we wanted to do is listen to them. What do they need? What keeps them up at night?” Barnard said they find some of the best speakers in the nation, set them up on location at actual corn fields, and talk about the issues worrying corn farmers in a non-pressure environment. He added that Wyffels’ local nature helps them customize what works best for farmers in Iowa and Illinois. “We build products for the Midwest, not for ocean-to-ocean, but for the Midwest. It makes it pretty neat to be able to figure out what a grower’s real hot issue is and help them get over that,” concluding that this year the big question is population and the drought.

    Listen to Chuck’s interview with Matt here: Interview with Matt Barnard

    2012 Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Audio, Corn

    Real Farms Show Real Results on Tour

    John Davis

    One of the nicest things about trips such as the Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour is the chance to see real farms with real crops growing under real conditions. Chuck stopped at Marcus Maier’s farm in Illinois where they were showing split application of nitrogen on corn. Maier explained they’re trying to display how varying rates of nitrogen in particular areas and depths across a field can be effective and how it fits into the overall conservation theme.

    “We’ve always done no-till beans and minimal-till for corn, so hopefully, this is just showing us some ways to fall apply and spring apply some nitrogen to take advantage of the product itself,” Maier said. He added this also cuts down on the amount of nitrogen that might leach into groundwater, showing good conservation practices in that sense.

    Maier said this is the first year they are using AGROTAIN‘s SuperU product to control nitrogen loss. He’s looking forward to the results, especially since he’s heard from others that SuperU has increased yields by 20-30 bushels an acre.

    Listen to more of Chuck’s interview with Marcus here: Interview with Marcus Maier

    2012 Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by AGROTAIN
    Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, Corn, CTIC, Farming, Fertilizer

    Flying High to Provide Good Ground Cover

    John Davis

    A dozen years ago, if someone told me they were flying to create good cover for the field, we would have been talking about fighter pilots protecting troops on the ground. Well, it’s not exactly warfare, but after hearing one of Chuck’s interviews with some folks on the Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour, now that phrase means using aerial application of seeds for cover crops.

    “Typically your crops will [still] be out in the field, and we need to get the seed out there,” said Eric Smith, a pilot with Pontiac Flying Service and a northern Illinois family farmer who presented at one of the tour stops looking at the benefit of cover crops, such as tillage radish or rye grass. Smith explained in his part of the country, they are applying the cover crop seed in mid-August to mid-September, when the corn is already pretty tall. The aerial application allows for a nice, even distribution of seed, and the resulting cover crop doesn’t interfere with harvest. In fact, he says some farmers have even told him it actually helps by cutting down on dust.

    Check out Chuck’s interview with Eric here: Interview with Eric Smith, Pontiac Flying Service

    2012 Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by AGROTAIN
    Audio, Conservation, Corn, CTIC, Farming

    Go Bold With Butter

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Are you bold enough to go with butter? “Go Bold With Butter” is a social media campaign of the American Butter Institute. Here’s how it’s doing. Note the results correlation between increased content on their blog and “fostering increased butter usage.” How about that blogging thing!

    ABI’s social media campaign “Go Bold With Butter” was launched on March 19th, just before the Easter holiday. Overall the campaign is continuing to drive momentum and results so far shows that the campaign, which focuses on maintaining levels of positive consumer awareness of butter and fostering increased butter usage, is continuing to improve as content on the blog continues to build. Repeat visitors have increased, reflecting that the site is considered a good resource for recipes and information about butter.

    “We are pleased with the results so far with this new emphasis on communicating the benefits of butter in home cooking recipes through social media,” said Mark Korsmeyer, President of ABI. We’re engaging more consumers with this effort and I expect it will help build the category in both the short and long term.”

    Blog traffic continues to increase rapidly since the launch of the campaign, outperforming initial goals delivering over 98,000 visits in the month of June. Engagement metrics have continued to improve as content on the blog continues to build. This includes repeat visitors, and reflects that the site is considered a good resource for recipes and information about butter. The campaign’s Facebook page has 33,092 likes, which in an increase of 76% over May numbers. Facebook content has the potential to reach 11.3 million people. 95% of the Facebook page likes are in the key 25‐54 age target demographic.
     Read More

    Ag Groups, Dairy, Social Networking

    FMC Stand & Be Heard Singing Contest Update

    Chuck Zimmerman

    During the FMC Anthem Field Plot Tour this week I spoke with Rick Ekins, Product Manager, to get an update on the FMC Anthem Stand & Be Heard Singing Contest. There are only two days left to enter the contest. Rick is seen while we were out in the field during the demonstration portion of the tour. I think we should have made him sing the National Anthem out in the field!

    According to Rick there are over 130 entries in the contest already. That’s impressive I think. You can see some of those entries on the FMC Stand & Be Heard website. Of course when it comes to voting that’s a lot of singing of the National Anthem to listen to. I already listened to several and they were all good. During my interview he explains how you can vote starting July 23.

    STUDENTS: Singing the National Anthem
    Could Win You a $10,000 Scholarship

    We’re investing in farming’s future with our new Anthem™ herbicide (coming soon – EPA registration pending) and $25,000 in college scholarships as prizes in our Anthem Singing Contest.

    Students (ages 13-21): enter by submitting a video of you singing the National Anthem. Videos will be posted online for popular voting to determine four finalists. The four finalists will be interviewed and their performances recorded for airing on national TV. Online voting will determine the grand prize winner.

    Videos must be received by July 15. Must be a member of a national ag-related student organization such as FFA, 4-H or student NAMA to enter.

    Check back soon to cast your vote!

    List to my interview with Rick here: Interview with Rick Ekins

    FMC Anthem Field Plot Tour Photos

    Agribusiness, Audio, FMC

    FMC Anthem Field Plot Tour

    Chuck Zimmerman

    FMC is holding a series of Anthem Field Plot Tours around the midwest. I had the opportunity to attend the event in Ames, IA this week. To find out what we were going to learn I spoke with BJ Fuhrman, Retail Marketing Manager for FMC.

    To start with, the event brings in retailers from across the state to learn about new FMC products and see them in test plots in the field. Of course Anthem herbicide was a big part of the program. BJ says the company is hoping to have full EPA registration of the product by this fall which would allow for some fall sales and of course leading into spring 2013. The field plots we got to see after some opening presentations showcased Anthem in both corn and soybeans. He says they were designed to show Anthem’s strength not only on its residual components but also against some of the competitive products currently on the market. This information is very helpful to their retailers when it comes time to market the product. It is a new active ingredient chemistry which is a broad range herbicide that will have a focus on corn first in 2013 and then soybeans.

    List to my interview with BJ here: Interview with BJ Fuhrman

    You can find photos from the event here: FMC Anthem Field Plot Tour Photos

    Agribusiness, FMC

    Wyffels Corn Brings Efficiency to Harmon Farm

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The Wyffels Corn Strategies event held at Harmon Farms had four generations of Harmon family on hand. Here’s the family receiving a gift of appreciation for allowing the event to be held on their farm by Bill Wyffels, President.

    I spoke with Sean Harmon, pictured behind the little cutie in the middle. Sean is the 4th generation on the farm and his Dad and Grandfather were also attending the event. Sean says they’ve gone three weeks without a rain but the soil in his area really holds the moisture well, so his corn crop is in good shape. He says that every year the Wyffels seed he plants makes some of his best corn. The farm has its own grain elevator and he says people were making a lot of comments that there are commercial grain elevators that don’t have as much capacity! He says that efficiency is the name of the game. As he puts it, “We’ve got big fields and we can get a lot of grain in and out of this facility real quick.” He’s looking forward to Wyffels new refuge in the bag. He says, “We can fill the planter clear full and just go plant until we’re out of seed and just fill it up again and keep going.”

    Listen to my interview with Sean here: Interview with Sean Harmon

    2012 Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Audio