Smart Farming Week: March 10 - 16, 2025
Farm Journal’s Smart Farming Week is an annual week-long emphasis on innovation in agriculture. The goal is to encourage you to explore and prioritize the technology, tools and practices that will help you farm smarter.
From drones and data to sensors and science, Smart Farming is a persistent management strategy that empowers farmers to collect, visualize and confidently act upon relevant insights. In turn, farmers can optimize efficiency and resources despite environmental uncertainties and remain resilient in the production of food, feed and fiber.
It might surprise you, but it’s not an “I” state. According to USDA data, the top five states using precision ag technologies account for half of the 2022 cash receipts for corn (52.6%) and soybeans (45.7%).
Farm Journal’s machinery and technology editor was on the ground in Louisville last week. Here’s a handful of the trends we saw down in Bourbon Country.
To date, tens of thousands of acres have been planted with SIMPAS-Applied Solutions (SaS) through the SIMPAS application system.
The company says its year-over-year growth includes more farmers paid (215% increase in new growers), more fields enrolled (333% more new acres and a 297% increase in new fields) and more credits produced each year.
“Our mission is to improve and expand our program to create additional opportunities for even more American farmers,” said Leonardo Bastos, Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Services at Bayer Crop Science.
This is a new seed lubricity agent applied at plant as a talc/graphite replacement which also provides a micronutrient package (5% phosphate, 1% iron, 3% mnagenses, 2.5% molybendum, 10.5% zinc.)
As grain bins grow larger and more farmers store on-farm, one of agriculture’s most useful tech applications is making headwinds.
Compact corn hybrids appear to take winds 50 mph in stride with little greensnap or lodging resulting. However, yield performance hasn’t been as consistent, and technology providers are working to change that.
The company’s BioAgonomics project will focus on the connection between agronomic practices in crop production and the value provided by biologicals.
A new S7 series combine, high-horsepower 9RX tractors, C series air carts and Hagie STS sprayers with factory-installed See & Spray Premium highlight a splashy group of product intros.