Will Moreland sees the value in data and what it can do to help improve efficiency and productivity in a farm operation. Moreland Farms, headquartered in South Haven, Kansas is a family-owned multi-generational operation, with about 17,000 acres of corn, wheat, cotton and soybeans. They currently run two AFS Connect 340 Magnums on two 2150 planters for the corn, soybeans and cotton. They also have an AFS Connect 580 Quadtrac that is used with a 60-ft. precision disk air seeder for wheat. The three 8250 combines are equipped with Harvest Command. They also operate a small feedlot and run about 400 cows.
Moreland is impressed with the overall useability of AFS Connect. “It’s helpful to see where the equipment is and make sure everything is running smoothly,” he says. Being able to see what their equipment is doing at any given time without having to call the machine operator helps them utilize their resources more efficiently.
“It saves a lot of phone calls,” he adds. “We can see on the app that the combine is running and we can even see the yield on the combine. It lets the employees focus on what they’re doing.”
It’s also easy for Moreland to draw boundaries on new farms with AFS Connect, he says, noting, “We use that for billing landlords for the custom work we do.”
Fuel monitoring is another time-saver, he points out. “It’s inconvenient if you don’t know the fuel levels and you end up short on fuel at 6:00 at night. We can check fuel levels on the app in the morning and know what machines need fuel so we can keep running.”
Most importantly, AFS Connect helps Moreland Farms look at the “big picture.” The data gives them a better handle on overall management of the enterprise.
Large and small alike
Operations of all sizes can use AFS Connect, says Kendal Quandahl, who manages the Case IH Precision Field Team.
“Previously, some data management tools like AFS Connect were thought of as something only large producers would utilize,” she says. “While the product does significantly help them in their operation, we’re also seeing smaller producers find ways to incorporate AFS Connect to improve their operations. It’s gratifying for me to see the product grow to support producers over the last three years.”
In an owner-operator situation, AFS Connect gives farmers a way to review their operation with more detail than what they’ve had in the past, explains Quandahl.
“Whether they are using connected equipment or uploading their data manually, they can go back and evaluate machine performance metrics and make changes on how they themselves are operating the equipment by seeing their fuel usage and how much time they are spending in an idle state, for example. That’s something producers think about a lot and have a hard time quantifying without additional tools,” she says.
Quandahl grew up on a farm, which gives her first-hand experience. “My dad probably doesn’t think about idle time until you point it out from a machine depreciation perspective and in terms of time and labor,” she says.
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Farm evaluation
Quandahl explains that a farmer may not be as used to evaluating their product’s performance — rather, they may rely on a crop consultant or agronomy team.
“Having a product like AFS Connect lets them look at their data in a lot of different ways from a report perspective,” she says. “The reports are easy to run, easy to access and give them a good baseline. Then, farmers can use that information in coordination with their agronomy team so they can really start to balance what they know about their ground and expand on what their agronomy team knows about the products they’re purchasing and use it as a combined force.”
Quandahl and her Case IH precision management team have seen an increase in fleet management. “More producers are transitioning into managing their fleet and how they can get things done the most effective way possible. Efficiency is even more important than it was five years ago, based on labor and time constraints.
“We can understand what a piece of equipment is doing at any given time as it moves across the field,” she adds. “That’s an important piece of the puzzle when you look back to see how the crop performed, how the equipment performed and determine what products to use in the future.”
The information gleaned from AFS Connect in terms of machine data, both live data coming directly into the portal or machine data that is reviewed after the fact, helps the owner-operator understand how the machine performed over the entire season.
Expanded use
“When we launched a new version of AFS Connect in 2020 we revamped everything in terms of equipment’s ability to be connected,” says Quandahl. “The increase in utilization has grown exponentially. More customer-driven features are available, and more connected equipment is available direct from the factory.
“Both dealers and producers have learned more about what benefits AFS Connect provides and they recognize the product is very useful for them. Producers are also more cognizant of being efficient.”
Leverage time, information
Generally speaking, farmers have less time to get more done, so having commercial machines where data comes into the equipment and is accessible anywhere, by web or phone, is critical in managing a very time-sensitive operation. In addition, producers are becoming more comfortable with the technology, especially as they see the management and financial benefits.
“Also, people are seeking more information,” says Quandahl. “We used to have to print out our yield maps and keep them in a binder — we maybe looked at them when we were buying seed for the next season. Farmers aren’t thinking that way anymore. They want to learn more about their operation and about how the technology of AFS Connect can help them manage their operation more effectively. They’re data-hungry.
