PRECISION AG UPDATE WI N TE R 2017
New Name, Same Folks You may have heard that there are a few changes on the horizon for Ag Technologies. We are excited to announce that Ag Technologies has joined the Trimble premier network of Vantage™ distributors and is now Vantage Southeast. While the name may be different, Vantage Southeast will be comprised of the same exceptional staff you have worked with previously and will continue to provide the same premier service and support you have come to expect. Offering the full Trimble Agriculture product portfolio, Vantage Southeast will provide growers, advisors, retailers, co-ops and local OEMs with precision agriculture solutions for the entire farm, improving farm efficiency and productivity while protecting natural resources and the environment. Our experienced precision agriculture professionals will still be here to advise you on the right technology solutions for your farm, along with providing high-quality local customer service, personalized training and technical support. The Vantage Southeast team understands how to address farmers’ biggest challenges using the total farm solutions that are available through Trimble including: • Guidance and steering systems that operate with most farm machinery—regardless of make, type or model • Flow and application control systems that help farmers increase yield and save on input costs • Water management solutions for irrigation and drainage that allow farmers to minimize water costs and efficiently distribute water • Agri-services to assess crop health, investigate soil properties and make prescriptive nutrient recommendations • Data collection and management solutions that enable better decision making
“We are excited to be a Vantage partner serving the precision agriculture needs of farmers in the Southeast,” said Brian Kelley, owner of Vantage Southeast. “Our commitment is to help farmers find the right technology solutions that best meet their needs, while providing ongoing support and training so they can experience the full benefit of their Trimble solutions.”
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Whiskey’s for drinking, water’s for fighting over It is somehow fitting that the Florida vs. Georgia water trial held this fall in a Maine courtroom coincided with the recent severe drought. As much of the region endured more than two months without a drop of rain and wildfires raged in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia, the importance of water, often taken for granted, became painfully obvious. Georgia, Florida and Alabama have been in and out of many courtrooms over the past 27 years trying to find a workable solution to the tri-state water war, specifically the future allocation of water in two major river basins that cross their borders: the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint basins.
Each state has its own concerns about the proper allocation of water: GEORGIA: As the upstream user, Georgia wants to have enough water for a booming metro Atlanta, estimated to be home to 10 million people by 2050, in addition to supplying cities such as Columbus and heavy agricultural usage in the state’s southwest corner. The problem is that Atlanta is not in a water-rich area of the state, and it sprawls across the tops of multiple river systems that drain into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. ALABAMA: Alabama is concerned that Atlanta’s ever-increasing thirst for water will severely limit its own use of water for power generation, municipal supply, fisheries and other current and future uses. FLORIDA: Florida wants enough freshwater to reach the Apalachicola Bay to sustain its multi-million dollar shellfish industry, which is under severe ecological stress resulting from low river flows and saltwater intrusion.
In the most recent litigation this fall in Maine, the U.S. Supreme Court appointed Ralph Lancaster as the “special master” to determine the validity of Florida’s 2013 lawsuit against Georgia and its alleged overconsumption of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers. If Florida prevails, then Georgia might have to cap its water use, which could have a severe impact on farmers. In the lawsuit, Florida targets farmers, claiming that they are using “exponentially more irrigation water from the Flint River Basin” to irrigate 900,000 acres of crops, including cotton and peanuts. As this publication goes to press, the recent trial has ended, but Judge Lancaster has not yet made his recommendation to the Supreme Court. However, he has indicated that neither side will be pleased with his ruling. It seems likely that conservation measures may be recommended for both states. Farmers who are pro-active have been anticipating further water regulation for a while and have taken steps to implement new practices, such as variable rate irrigation (VRI) to get ahead of the game. VRI allows growers to precisely control the water they use in the field, allowing for different variables that influence irrigation needs, such as soil type, topography, the shape of the field and different types of crops. With VRI, growers have the opportunity to increase water use efficiency and improve production on irrigated crop fields by applying the optimum application depths of water at both the right time and the right place. Fourth-generation farmer Mike Newberry of Hillside Farms, who grows corn, cotton, peanuts and wheat, and raises beef cattle on 1,000 acres in Early County, added his first pivot in 2015 and then another the next year.
“Both pivots have extreme differences in slope and soil types so they were perfect candidates for VRI,” he notes.
“We noticed that the crops seemed to show moisture stress a great deal more evenly than normal. Both years we had to irrigate to dig peanuts and the is soil moisture was very uniform. Normally after water application either of these pivots varies in soil moisture a great deal.” Although he was initially concerned with how well the hardware would handle power surges, particularly from lightning, he reports that he has had no problems.
Newberry says that his decision to give VRI a try was partly based on foreseeing efforts of lawmakers to implement and enforce water regulation. “We definitely were looking at the future of water use and conservation measures to come. We can only assume that this will be more important in the future so we wanted to begin to explore options for more efficient use of this precious resource.” As concerns for optimizing available water supplies grow, the importance of water conservation continues to increase. Variable rate irrigation could be the resource-saving tool you need.
For more information on variable rate irrigation, contact your Vantage Southeast representative to help you evaluate your needs.
EQIP Offers Funds to Aid Growers with Water Conservation The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary program administered by the USDA that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to plan and implement conservation practices that improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and related natural resources on agricultural land and non-industrial private forestland. EQIP may also help producers meet Federal, State, Tribal, and local environmental regulations. Owners of land in agricultural or forest production or persons who are engaged in livestock, agricultural or forest production on eligible land and that have a natural resource concern on that land may apply to participate in EQIP. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pastureland, non-industrial private forestland and other farm or ranch lands. Financial assistance payments through EQIP are made to eligible producers, to implement approved conservation practices on eligible land or to help producers develop Conservation Activity Plans (CAP) to address specific land use issues.
To get started and see if you qualify for EQIP, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/nation al/home/?cid=stelprdb1193811.
We’re not just changing our name; we’re bringing you new hardware, support and data service offerings to provide the total solution. Raven Hawkeye Nozzle Control system The newest innovation in Raven technology – and the next application control system for your sprayer. The Hawkeye Nozzle Control System is ultra-precise. This pressure based product control system allows for precise sprayer application in a variety of conditions, reducing spray drift and getting the most out of every nozzle. Each nozzle is controlled by its own individual pulsing valve giving you a consistent spray pattern as speed and conditions change.
Raven Sidekick Pro The Sidekick Pro™ direct injection system sets a new standard for chemical applications of every type, with unprecedented precision, savings and safety. No tank mixing required and with the industry’s first automatic calibration feature, you’re ready to go in minutes. Utilize Rinse Assist to automatically flush the pump quickly and thoroughly. The whole system is amazingly simple and pays off with greater precision, higher yields and unrivaled efficiency. With the Sidekick Pro™ direct injection system, you can save more in time and inputs—and get more for it when applying costly herbicides, insecticides, liquid fertilizer and nitrogen stabilizer. And because there’s no pre-mixing in the tank, there’s no waste from unused product—and no cleanout/disposal issues when you’re done.
Net Irrigate WireRat Agriculture’s universal, best-selling center pivot copper theft alarm and irrigation monitoring solution. Patented WireRat Technology detects for span cable cuts without external power requirement. Receive alerts when your pivot’s safety circuit opens or when it stops walking. Know where your pivot is via our free mobile app or web site, and use a convenient mobile app to shut down your pivot from anywhere. The program alerts to let you know where your pivot is on the field or have it automatically shut down at predefined headings. Lost signal alerts take the guess work out of coverage and alert you of poor cellular signals within your field. Know if your WireRat has been compromised with automatic diagnostic testing.
185 Fish Hatchery Road Cordele, GA 31015
It is our mission at Vantage Southeast 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.
Vantage-Southeast.com
MapShots AG STUDIO For over 25 years, MapShots has been a leader in the precision agricultural software industry. The defining characteristic of MapShots is their ability to develop powerful, yet easy-to-use software for farmers, service providers and retailers. MapShots recognizes that agriculture today is an extremely data rich environment. It takes the most up to date and feature-rich software available to work with this data and present it in a format that is easy to understand and use. Use AgStudio to automate and track your data to create better plans and manage fields, crops, fertilization, planting, scouting and harvest! AgStudio, the central tool within the MapShots’ suite of products, is a fifth generation agronomic data management software application. AgStudio provides a high degree of task automation, simplifying working with large volumes of data. AgStudio provides the right solution for farmers by allowing them to take control of their personal agricultural data and analyze the data to make effective business decisions.
Precision Planting is the headquarters for new ideas and technology that contribute to better seed spacing, better depth control and better root systems. Now availble from Vantage Southeast!
877-585-4GPS
REGIONAL
PRECISION AG CONSULTANTS Central Georgia Lance Childers | 855. 601.4477 SW Georgia, SE Alabama Cody Tabb | 855.602.4477 South Georgia, North Florida Lance Childers | 855.603.4477 East Georgia & South Carolina Jesse Neidlinger | 855.604.4477 Central & South Florida Ken Lodge | 855.605.4477 Reach us anytime at sales@vantage-se.com 877.585.4GPS
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