AG TECH NO LOG IE S
FALL 2014
PRECISION AG U PDATE AgView Helping Farmers Get Feet Wet with Remote Irrigation By Allison Floyd
By and large, farmers are a conservative bunch. Most of them like to watch how new technology works for a few years before they make a leap. Still, most producers are all about efficiency and will adopt just about any practice that makes for a better yield and saves cost. Ag Technologies’ newest product, AgView Irrigate, is giving those farmers a new option to control their pivots remotely, a system that lets them try out the freedom and efficiency of new technology without replacing otherwise working equipment. “The biggest advantage is that customers can utilize the equipment that they have; they don’t have to replace equipment,” said Travis Kelley, the company’s executive vice president of technology. AgView Irrigate can monitor and control a center-pivot irrigation system – whether it’s Valley, Zimmatic or Reinke – using the existing hardware and panel. As with other systems, the farmer can log in from his smart phone, tablet or laptop to turn on his irrigation equipment or check on the progress of the irrigation. With AgView, a farmer can turn equipment on and off, get a warning if the system encounters any trouble and even get a text when the cycle is complete. He can collect information that he may have missed before about how the pivot is running. “We’ve got a lot of customers who are farming land that spans multiple areas and they are just tired of driving around,” Kelley said. In other cases, younger farmers are taking over existing farms and upgrading. Depending on customers’ feedback, engineers may add features to AgView – like variable-rate capability – but presently the company is working with farmers who are just now adding remote capabilities and want an easy-to-use, affordable system. This article is reprinted with permission from GrowingAmercia.com. Growing America covers the business of agriculture and tells the stories of the people who make the industry work. Producers who subscribe to one of Growing America's 35 newsletters wake up to an email every morning that gives them a heads up on all the ag-related news in their state and across the country.
No more checking irrigation in the dark, getting your truck stuck, missing dinner with family, or spending hundreds in gas...
agview
TEAM MEMBER
SPOTLIGHT
Better Data, Better Knowledge, Better Decision Making
Debbie Smith CORDELE, GEORGIA
Corporate Administrative Assistant
EXPERIENCE
Prior to relocating to this area, I was employed as a purchasing agent for a hospital. Our family also owned and operated a poultry business for a several years. Since returning to the workforce, I’ve done primarily clerical work. I have had the privilege of working with Ag Technologies since December 2010.
BEST THING ABOUT THE JOB My position strikes a nice balance between providing support for our sales and service teams as well as giving me the opportunity to interact with our customers each day.
For The Yield, Better Data, Better Knowledge,For The Field, For The Life Better Decision Making Of The Farm For the yield, for the field, for the life of the farm
Manage Your Farm from the Ground Up
It is that time of the year to be thinking about your soils once harvest is completed. Trimble’s Soil Information System™ (SIS) solution delivers the world’s most accurate 3D soil data. This enhanced data provides more information about your soils over traditional soil sampling methods and can help with irrigation, drainage, fertility, and amendment applications.
FAMILY
Armed with more detailed and accurate soil information, here are a few examples of how our customers are using this data: Making critical farm management decisions with irrigation, drainage, fertility and amendment applications Saving time and operating costs by using soil variability to target precise sampling locations, sometimes reducing the number of samples taken by 60% over traditional sampling methods Improving input application by showing where they need to be applied to maximize plant growth
HOLIDAY PLANS
The process is simple, here are the three steps to getting better data: 1. Your AgTechnologies field representative brings the SIS equipment to your farm
SPARE TIME
I enjoy cooking, traveling and doing home improvement projects with my husband, Tim.
Tim and I have four adult children; Riley, Ben, Katy and Wes. We also have four precious grandchildren; Kale, Jase, Kiley and Ty.
We are looking forward to a trip to Florida sometime in December but plan to spend most of the holiday season celebrating with family and friends.
to collect the data.
2. The data is processed and given back to you. 3. You and/or your trusted advisor uses the data to execute a plan.
Harvest Your Data
Now is the perfect time to be thinking about how to utilize your field maps after harvest. Mapping provides both basic and advanced layering functionality while maintaining a complete field record keeping system.
Farm Works™ Mapping is the industry’s leading desktop software that uses information gat Data can be imported from most precision farming displays or entered manually. Easily int expand your software capabilities.
Key Features
Manage fields, equipment, supplies, and personnel Maintain detailed equipment record precision farming displays including Trimble, Case IH/New Holland, John Deere, Ag Leader layers Create, edit, and manage guidance paths Design basic and advanced prescriptio
Stay Connected Get more detailed field information for better farm-management decisions with two new applications for the Connected Farm web-based management solution, which provides farmers with access to key information impacting farm operations such as rainfall totals, weather forecasts, commodity tracking, fleet management, crop health maps, and irrigation monitoring and control. With this information farmers can make better decisions about their operations. Connected Farm Field, a field data management tool for the farmer and Connected Farm Advisor, a field data management tool for the farmer’s trusted advisor, both allow for the management of fundamental field information. Users can easily import their field data into Connected Farm in one of three ways — by using the Connected Farm Scout app; by using Office Sync, Trimble’s office to field wireless data exchange service; or through the new File Sync utility that allows a user to upload data from various industry in-cab displays via a USB flash drive. In addition to field data management, the Field application includes tools for ordering, managing and viewing PurePixel crop health maps, including the ability to download these maps for use in other data management platforms or desktop software tools including Farm Works Software. In addition, users can also access tools for ordering, managing and viewing the new RainWave Contour Maps, which provide precise rainfall amounts within an entire field or farm. For the farmer’s trusted crop advisor, the Connected Farm Advisor application allows for collaboration on the creation, editing and sharing of variable rate prescription maps based on soil sample data. The tool further enables advisors to create variable rate application (VRA) prescriptions by selecting an interpolation method for the soil data and a VRA formula. VRA prescriptions ensure the plant receives the right amount of nutrients in order to maximize yield, and they are easily shared between the farmer and advisor.
thered during the growing season to help you make smarter management decisions. tegrate other modules in the future such as accounting or water management to
ds Print a variety of maps and field record reports Compatible with a wide range of , AGCO, CLAAS, and more Import yield data and compare it to varieties and other n maps Analyze profit maps to verify which parts of the fields are more profitable
REGIONAL SALES
REPRESENTATIVES Central Georgia ERNEST COOK 855. 601.4477
Southwest Georgia & Southeast Alabama ROBBIE TABB | D. J. WHITE 855.602.4477
South Georgia & North Florida MARTY SAYLOR 855.603.4477
East Georgia & South Carolina JESSE NEIDLINGER 855.604.4477
Central & South Florida KEN LODGE 855.605.4477
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It is our mission at Ag Technologies to provide progressive-minded customers a complete solution of precision agriculture with superior products and a professional staff to help inspire, educate and provide first class service and support.
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Crop Mazes Bring Extra Revenue for Fall As the end of the fall growing season approaches, some farmers are earning additional revenue with family-friendly attractions like corn mazes that allow visitors to wander through carefully cut and marked paths in a field. According to Modern Famer, crop mazes can provide growers with an annual revenue of $5,000 to $50,000. Trimble’s Farm Works offers the perfect combination of software and mobile solutions to create your own maze. This solution can handle anything from simple designs to elaborate mazes that people will be talking about for years, and the best news is that the entire set-up will pay for itself within the first year. The first step is designing the maze. You can do this yourself or hire a maze designer. Then, utilize the Farm Works Maze Kit and easily geo-reference your design using simple mapping tools on your desktop computer. Next, take your image to the field on a mobile computer and start cutting the design using GPS. The Farm Maze kit also includes valuable desktop software for maze creation, as well as printing for posters, flyers and other promotions. The crop maze kit includes valuable software and hardware that can be used for other farm purposes such as field record-keeping, farm mapping (including yield, soil test, soil type, and other maps), field boundary mapping, soil sampling, and scouting.