Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
The busy conference season continues with Agronomy Update in Red Deer, AB this week. All things are quite on the farming front as we deliver the last of our wheat and canola this week. That is, once we clear the six-foot snowdrifts away from the grain bag!This week in Beyond Agronomy News, I’ll discuss the use of the GreenSeeker crop sensor as a mapping tool. Next, I’ll provide a brief example showing the power of data capture and telematics. Last, I’ll provide an update on planter trials in peas. We’ll finish with technical grain market news.
Have a great week.
GreenSeeker not just a VR nitrogen tool
Two years ago I bought a GreenSeeker with the intention to begin streaming on variable rate nitrogen. See video on how the GreenSeeker works here. After two years of quasi mapping and getting used to the system, I’ve learned the GreenSeeker offers a lot more than just VR nitrogen. I now use the GreenSeeker as a real time mapping and scouting tool that allows me to ground truth problem areas as soon as I finish the field.We have six sensors mounted on our 60-ft Spray Coupe, which is the equivalent of taking 3 m resolution NDVI imagery. This system works well because after we finish spraying, we can upload the map quickly on to an ipad or tablet and ground truth the field within minutes. We don’t have to go through a satellite imagery provider, we own the data when we’re finished and we can capture as many images as we want in season. Most of all, we can ground truth the imagery immediately, not a week or two later when often times the symptoms have disappeared.
Here are the areas where mapping can be of value:
1. Pre-seed herbicide timing: The GreenSeeker can map out areas of heavy plant density like wild oat patches, brome grass or cleaver patches.
2. Herbicide timing: You can map emergence patterns, seeding depth issues, residue management issues or weeds, insects and disease pressure.
3. Fungicide timing: You can map yield potential, nitrogen requirements or define areas of poor drainage.
4. Pre-harvest timing: You can map differences in maturity and weed pressure.
The NDVI image above was taken of our CPS wheat at fungicide timing on a 160 acre field. The NDVI readings averaged between 0.85 and 0.94, which is a high reflectance value, meaning high yield potential. What’s interesting is that I can pick out the lower NDVI readings marked in yellow and orange on the east half of this field. I know they stripped this field of clay on the east side to build the road thirty years ago and the effects still show up in the imagery. Now that I know the NDVI values for that side, I can start fine tuning nitrogen rates to match the nitrogen that’s in the crop with the nitrogen it needs to hit my target yield. That means a lot less guesswork. The dark red areas are flooded areas, fertilizer misses or us forgetting to turn the mapping on along the west headland.
The cost of a six sensor GreenSeeker is roughly $22,000 US, which is a lot of money for just a variable rate nitrogen tool or even a mapping tool. But, if you use those maps to target wild oat patches instead of entire fields, figure out seeding depth issues, map yield potential, calculate more accurate nitrogen requirements and eventually build zone maps, the GreenSeeker starts to make a lot of sense.
Steve’s quick math for a 4,000 acre farm
$24,000 CDN ÷ 4,000 ac ÷ 10 years = $0.60 ac
As an agronomist, I dream of having real time client data flow into my scouting software so I could ground truth problem areas in-season during my herbicide, post-herbicide and fungicide checks. Crop sensors like the GreenSeeker add a better set of eyes in the field and allow us to monitor crop health all season. It provides us with a better chance to tissue test in the right areas, adjust fertility rates, discover drill issues or find problem areas that aren’t quite visible to the human eye. As farm margins shrink, squeaking out that extra $10.00 or $20.00 an acre will be extremely important. I believe that is possible with this technology. SL
Photo credits: S. Larocque
Lazy machinery operators, Big Brother is watching!
The world of data collection and transfer is getting easier all the time with technologies like JD Link from John Deere and Connected Farm from Trimble. Farm owners and managers can watch their fleet real time and map equipment patterns to look at logistics and machinery efficiency. In some cases it can help correct poor logistical choices at harvest like the example you see here.The image above was downloaded from MyJohnDeere.com and shows a 38-ft CTF system. The areas in pink are the tramlines and the lines in blue are where the grain cart operator decided to cut corners and drive off the tramlines. Needless to say, the farm owner gave a lesson with handy images of what not to do on his CTF farm. Be careful out there. Big brother’s watching and he knows exactly where you went, how you got there and how fast you were going in what gear. SL
Source: Quenten Knight, Precision Agronomics Australia, WA
Update on planter trial in peas
2013 yield results
Last year I updated you on the results of a research trial that compared a John Deere 7200 Max Emerge vacuum planter on 15-inch row spacing to a John Deere dual shank Conservapak on 12-inch spacing. As we know with field pea seeding rates above 200 lbs/ac, air distribution systems struggle to place seed evenly down each furrow. This leads to gaps, bunches and uneven densities across each furrow. In 2013, James Jackson from Jarvie, AB conducted another side by side trial with the MaxEmerge planter but this time compared it to his John Deere 1895 disk drill on 10-inch and 20-inch spacing.Results from 2012
- Conservapak: 56 bu/ac; 88 plants m2; 101 days to maturity; 6.75 standability
- JD MaxEmerge: 53 bu/ac; 68 plants m2; 103 days to maturity; 4.5 standability
- Note: yield difference was not significant.
- JD 1895, 10-inch spacing: 58.11 bu/ac
- JD 1895, 20-inch spacing: 56.45 bu/ac
- JD MaxEmerge, 15-inch spacing: 58.29 bu/ac
- Note: yield difference was not significant
Photo: James Jackson, Jarvi, AB
Travel Schedule & Speaking Engagements
My winter speaking schedule is below. Maybe we’ll have a chance to catch up if you’re attending one of these events.ManDak No-Till: Minot, ND, Feb 7,8
Agronomy Update: Red Deer, AB, Feb 14,15
FarmTech: Edmonton, AB, Jan 28-30
GRDC Update: Ballarat, Victoria, Feb 5
GRDC Update: Lake Bolac, Victoria, Feb 6, 7
ORM Meeting: Lake Bolac, Victoria, Feb 7
GRDC Advisor Update: Temora, New South Wales, Feb 11
GRDC Update: Corowa, New South Wales, Feb 12, 13
Market News
Canola Nov 14: The long and short term trends are down.
HRS Wheat: Dec 14: The long and short term trends are down.
Corn Dec 13: The long term trend is down and the short term trend is up.
Soybeans: Nov 14: The long and the short term trends are down.
Canadian $: Feb 14: The long term trend is down and the short term trend is up.
USD: Feb 14: The long term trend is down and the short term trend is up.
