“I didn't learn anything like this at school.”
The ever-evolving framework of agricultural technology offers nearly limitless resources to farmers who want to improve efficiency and productivity to a finite level – if they can figure out how to do it. And even for students in countries whose education goes beyond the rigors of their fathers and fathers, the pool of resources is only so deep and dark that they sink in rather than swim in it.
Self-described “tech geek” and Louisiana farmer Mead Hardwick of Hardwick Planting Co. has integrated an array of up-and-coming technologies onto his farm over the years, starting with his family foundation.
“In fact, our father really started using this technology in the '90s, and that's when things really started to take off in terms of yield monitoring and providing more precise control.” Hardwick said. “We're just trying to be more efficient and save money. That's kind of the basis of why we try to use certain technologies today.”
Mr Hardwick said the farm initially began using precision spraying and planting equipment to maximize production and aim for the most efficient use of inputs. Today, families' use of precision tools has expanded with more sophisticated technology, but not without a lot of trial and error along the way.
“We didn't decide we had to get into precision agriculture; the foundation to explore opportunities and technology was already there,” Hardwick said. “We didn't really invent it, but now we've taken it to the next level and made it what it is today.”
how do they do it
The way producers use precision agriculture tools is as unique as the challenges each operation faces. For the Hardwick family, the foundation for precision agriculture applications starts with the technology already built into the equipment, in this case his John Deere operations center.
“All of our equipment is wireless, and everything flows into our operations center,” Hardwick said. “From basic yield analysis to strip testing to examining machine performance. There are lots of great metrics to analyze machine usage.”
The John Deere Operations Center allows Hardwick to analyze accurate data obtained from other sources for detailed information on machine drive performance, yield data, and time records. Additionally, you can deliver prescriptions to employees in more remote locations on the farm or provide technical support while on the go.
Two other applications, MapShots and T3RRA, make up the rest of the farm's precision technology usage layer.
“We purchased the T3RRA software system because we wanted precision drainage and the ability to repave a site that had been repaved many years ago and may have had some settlement.” says Wick. “Being able to bring in Deere elevation layers directly from the operations center is very convenient.”
One of the big changes that T3RRA software has made for Hardwick Planting Co. is eliminating its dependence on outside contractors for land clearing operations. You can DIY your garden on your own schedule without paying any extra fees, saving you money and headaches in the long run.
MapShots, the company the Hardwicks used for NDVI imagery of their farms, was recently acquired by FieldAlytics. Hardwick Planting Co. typically subscribes to field views for the season and receives images of field progress every few days.
When it comes time to top dress the field, Hardwicks uses the most recent images to format a prescription for high-precision applications and create variable rate passes based on the most recent images.
“Certainly, we didn't get something usable every three days. Louisiana has a lot of clouds, so one day you might get half a field and the next day you might get half a field. “No, but usually about every seven to 10 days to ensure you get an absolutely usable image,” Hardwick said. “If you want to create a variable rate application in the next two weeks, you probably wanted to look hard for good images.
Same technology, different application
Hardwick Planting Co grows a variety of seasonal cash crops. How families and farm employees use available technology must be as diverse as the crops themselves.
“Corn, for example, currently represents the biggest opportunity for variable rate seating on our farms,” Hardwick said. “When demarcating zones, we measure field average zones and derive high-yielding zones from that.”
Hardwick said while corn is well suited to benefit from variable rate seeding strategies, the same is not necessarily true for cotton or soybeans. However, the same technology that enables precision seeding of corn may have other uses in a variety of cropping scenarios. “With soybeans, we're trying to create a map to variable rates as we dry the soybeans,” Hardwick says. “I thought of using his NDVI image of the same type and using the application's variable rate to filter out some of the fields.” It's drying just fine naturally. ”
create confidence
Beyond efficiency and testing new techniques, the Hardwick family's hope in precision farming efforts was originally to understand the details of how to better farm the land in the soil.
“We wanted to have the knowledge to make sure we were doing the right thing, so we now feel confident about outsourcing.”Hardwick says Mr. “Our produce retailer employs someone to run FieldAlytics for us, but we also have access to it so we can come into the field with the software and knowledge of how agronomy works. You can go in and make sure you agree to all the terms and conditions.''Prescription. ”
Top 4 technical points
start small
“The latest equipment we have has a lot of features that many of us don't really use, so one step is to make the most of it.”
Hardwick recommended the Climate FieldView platform as a good place to start for producers looking to further analyze their farm data. Climate FieldView works with multiple equipment manufacturers and is more hardware-based, so it can be used with a variety of equipment makes and models.
2.Technology takes time
Precision agriculture technology is intended to increase efficiency and save money for producers in the long term, but diving into the top technologies inherently requires a time commitment, Hardwick said.
“It's been quite challenging. We've been producing more and more pieces,” Hardwick said. “If you don't care about this technology at all, there's nothing to worry about, but you might be missing out on some opportunities.”
3. Personalize the process
Maintaining a personal interest in the application and the results tracked on the farm is critical to using technology effectively.
“We just took the time to do it in the early stages,” Hardwick said. “I was spending hours at night learning the software after all my regular work was done. But I was wondering how it all worked and especially how it could be used on our farm. I was interested in.”
4. Connectivity is key
Even in incredibly rural areas, a high-quality internet connection is key to taking advantage of all kinds of modern farming technology.
“Without the Internet, we couldn't farm like we do. At night, after I put the kids to bed, I sat down and wrote a prescription, and that night I sent it to the machine. Then the operator When I arrived to plant at 7 a.m., the files were already in the tractor. I didn't. I couldn't do that if I had to put them on a USB drive and drive 80 miles.”
