Strip-Till Farmer’s series “Technology Tips with Dr. Ray” is brought to you by Topcon Agriculture. Agronomy matters and Topcon Agriculture application solutions make it work. From planning to precision machine control, Norac’s boom height control, monitoring and mapping, to data management, you have the total set of solutions to maximize your agronomic plan. Find out how to make the most of your 4R Nutrient Stewardship with precision technology that is unmatched in ease of use. Visit them at TopconPositioning.com/GrowingSolutions. https://www.striptillfarmer.com/rss en-us Farmers are increasingly interested in remote sensing, based on the promise that it’s going to help them make better management decisions. Today, the data is more easily interpretable. And with the connectivity piece improving, getting your data, to and from the cab is becoming easier. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3486 Tue, 17 Mar 2020 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3486-simplifying-sensing-technology-to-be-a-valuable-data-source What I really started to notice in the latter half of 2019 is that various larger farms, with a very progressive agronomy program and also independent agronomic consultants or regional size agronomy firms taking technology matters into their own hands. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3448 Fri, 14 Feb 2020 14:07:00 -0500 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3448-a-diy-to-tech-adoption-in-2019 Looking at soil sampling, what’s out there today? Well, soil sampling is getting much more prevalent and it’s getting cheaper, although soil analysis is still expensive. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3421 Wed, 15 Jan 2020 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3421-get-your-boots-dirty-and-put-a-probe-in-the-ground Out of all these optical sensor technologies — satellites, drones, active optical sensors — where should a person start? Well, that depends on your environment. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3412 Wed, 18 Dec 2019 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3412-selecting-a-starting-point-with-satellite-imagery Farmers produce a lot of data and companies want their information. What are they going to do with it? Should farmers be getting something out of it, monetarily-wise, for that information? http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3369 Tue, 12 Nov 2019 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3369-putting-a-value-on-a-precision-data-cooperative How many people today have a PC with Windows on it? I guarantee you when Microsoft sees the farm and all these different sensors today, they see a connected farm. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3333 Tue, 15 Oct 2019 16:31:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3333-microsoft-opening-their-window-into-ag-tech I have so many farmers that have variable-rate technology on their seeder and on their sprayer and have never used it. I think you pay enough money already as it is, that technology should just work. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3309 Fri, 13 Sep 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3309-avoid-tech-silos-to-maximize-equipment-roi What these cloud platforms aim to do is what we’re trying to call a virtual farm, where they’re really trying to recreate and do simulations of what could happen based on the data that you’ve got feeding in. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3240 Thu, 15 Aug 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3240-dont-cloud-your-judgment-of-data-connectivity It's hard to get ROI when you can only use the sensor technology for one thing. But things have changed thanks to the internet of things and connectivity being more accessible. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3188 Tue, 16 Jul 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3188-sensing-technology-early-shortcomings-recent-roi We're never going to get to the point, or we just aren't yet to the point where sensor technology is to where you don't have to soil sample. It's still a highly recommended practice that can really improve the quality of your nutrient management program. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3130 Mon, 03 Jun 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3130-climbing-the-nutrient-management-ladder One area where Dr. Ray Asebedo sees potential is with crop protection. In one study, the end result revealed as much as a 40 bushel difference in corn yields — 220 to 260 bushels per acre — based on where fungicide was and wasn’t applied. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3108 Tue, 14 May 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3108-adding-bushels-by-using-sensing-as-a-crop-protection-tool Dr. Ray Asebedo explains how agronomists working with no-tillers and strip-tillers can leverage collected sensor data to refine fertilizer prescriptions through what he calls the “agronomist nitrogen recommendation algorithm.” http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3077 Mon, 15 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3077-applying-agronomist-logic-to-variable-rate-recommendations While the benefits of sensing technology are emerging, Dr. Ray Asebedo notes there are obstacles to more widespread use. In-the-field computing power and connectivity have been a limited factor. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3032 Tue, 12 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3032-assessing-obstacles-to-optical-sensing-adoption For an agronomist like Ray Asebedo, the science behind optical sensor technology starts with the premise that plants are visual communicators that “speak” in wavelengths of light. Lush greens are usually indicators of good health, a sign of enough N in the soil system. Yellowing can signal stress. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3004 Mon, 18 Feb 2019 15:34:00 -0500 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/3004-the-science-behind-optical-sensing Dr. Ray Asebedo discusses the need for assessing phosphorus and potassium levels through proper sampling techniques. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/2960 Fri, 18 Jan 2019 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/2960-getting-a-sample-size-look-at-soil-health Dr. Ray Asebedo, former assistant professor of precision agriculture at Kansas State University and consultant for Topcon Agriculture, discusses the motivation behind the momentum for optical sensing technology in strip-till. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/2950 Fri, 21 Dec 2018 14:44:00 -0500 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/2950-the-modular-side-of-optical-sensing Dr. Ray Asebedo is a former assistant professor of precision agriculture at Kansas State University and consultant for Topcon Agriculture. He focuses on the development of agronomic algorithms and IoT to enable farmers to utilize optical sensor technologies for nutrient management in corn, soybeans and wheat. http://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/2934 Thu, 29 Nov 2018 17:34:00 -0500 https://www.striptillfarmer.com/articles/2934-what-is-the-agronomist-nitrogen-recommendation-algorithm