Farmers harvest data to make operations more profitable

Kearney, NE — With farm income half what it was just a few years ago, growers are turning to technology to manage every aspect with precision.

“Whether you put iPads or tablets in your tractors and combines to remotely watch them or you grid sample, zone sample to take closely looks at soil fertility,” Jason Kock of Central Valley Ag says precision agriculture is agriculture.

Precision agriculture used to be reserved for a select few.

“Focused on the technology geeks, let’s call it,” said Jeremy Wilson of Illniois.

But Wilson says you can’t buy a piece of equipment that doesn’t have technology capturing data.

And the value in it, is about dollars and cents.

“I’m looking for a tool that, you know what, I’ve got some acres that can I really justify planting a kernel of corn on it or soybean on it?” Wilson said.

Farmers don’t want to spend more on expensive inputs like seed, fertilizer, and water than they have to.

Kevin Royal of Northwest Missouri State said, “It’s a big deal to allocate the dollars you spend to the parts of the field that’ll give you the best return on investment. And that’s really what precision ag’s about. Where do you put those dollars to maximize your income.”

The industry is creating standards, yet many farmers find themselves with technologies that don’t work together.

Kock said, “One of these days eventually it’ll be really nice that all this stuff will come together and we’ll use it across a lot of different platforms.

“That’s a big challenge, moving data back and forth. That’s where data standards are going to be helpful down the road,” Royal said.

The NEATA conference brings together many early adopters of new farm technology. Not only is it about economics, Kock said it’s about tracking environmental impact, and giving consumers more information.

“So they can have traceability and a story from seed to their plate,” he said.

Jeremy Wilson says the harsh reality is economics.

“If you’re planting corn or soybeans in my part of Illinois right now, money’s going to be tight. Economics are tight,” he said.

Farm income in Nebraska is less than half what it was just five years ago, so farmers use high tech tools to manage the cost of doing business.

“To bring the profitability and return we need to survive,” Wilson said.

Farmers say they’re still looking for a common platform that will be the Google of agriculture. Those in the industry said they’re working to achieve data interoperability.

Courtesy: NTV