We would like to thank everyone who visited our booth at the Chatham Kent Farm Show, as well as at the Precision Ag Conference last week.
Here are some of what I considered as highlights from the Precision Ag Conference, as presented by Farms.Com.
Robotic Farming:
I’ll post some more about these at a later date. There are a couple of interesting ideas coming forward, one called “MARS”, the “Mobile Ag Robotic Swarm” concept, from AGCO – Fendt; and the other was a presentation by a Canadian Company, SeedMaster of Saskatchewan, with their version, called simply “DOT”
The DOT system is having a limited release in 2018 featuring a 30′ seeding unit!
Internet of Things:
This concept involves the placement of “sensors” on equipment so that it can be uploaded to a central site and the data monitored remotely. For example, weather stations, soil conditions, etc. In an equipment setting, a company called Uptake is using the sensors to monitor engines, gearboxes and mechanical parts so that they can been modeled for both optimum performance, but also to help predict failures and help plan scheduled, preventative maintenance.
Profitability Mapping:
A neat way to help manage variability in your fields. In a nutshell, the software helps you to set “goals” for your management zones, in the fields., based on breakeven yield, crop selling prices, and input costs.
Data Integration:
In short, farmers are looking to integrate their farm data as much as they can, from across their equipment platforms. This was regardless of farm size. Lots of support for platforms like Climate FieldView (data collection, post harvest analysis, data synchronization) as well as AgLeader SMS and, for those with JD equipment, JD Operations Centre. That said, the producers who made presentations often used a mixture of the three to accomplish their goals of understanding their farms, the variability, and making management decisions about them.
Here are some website links for more information, or contact us directly.
2018 Precision Ag Conference:
2018 Farms.Com Precision Ag Conference
DOT from Seedmaster:
DOT Farming System
Climate FieldView:
Climate