GeoPard has released two modules — Rates Calculator and Batch Equations — designed to put farmers first by cutting planning time, reducing input costs and boosting profitability.

The Hutchisons' use of variable-rate nitrogen applications onto crops are split up through the growing season to boost yields while reducing the potential for runoff. To further protect water quality, they practice mulch and strip-till practices, have installed grassed waterways and buffers, and have completed wetland restoration projects and forest management.

Dysart, Iowa, strip-tiller Pete Youngblut cut his teeth in the precision ag industry as a software support specialist for Ag Leader. Now, as president and owner of independent dealer Youngblut Ag in central Iowa, he helps other strip-tillers solve challenges with precision technology.

A recent on-farm study conducted in the Central Sands region of Minnesota shows that variable rate irrigation technology could help save farmers water and reduce irrigation-induced nutrient loss to the environment without impacting farm profitability.