Variable Rate Technology
Variable-rate planting has become easier than ever—here’s what you need to know.
Months of planning precede each planter pass on Joe Zumwalt’s farm. He knows his in-furrow program can set the stage for a healthy and high-yielding crop.
New Leader is designing a custom dry spreader based on their NL5000 G5 for the DOT Power Platform.
By sharing his agronomic practices with fellow farmers, Swartz helps them identify practical, cost-effective ways they can enhance conservation stewardship on their respective operations.
As higher commodity prices could entice more farmers to make technology investments, Ken Ferrie expects the use of variable rate technology to grow over the next five to 10 years.
A promising peel-and-stick crop sensor may provide farmers with actionable information on the real-time drinking habits of their crops. From on-the-go crop management to plant breeding, the innovative technology is layered with agricultural potential.
The latest and greatest technology isn’t always best
Adjusting the rate of seed, fertilizer and pesticide row by row and even foot by foot across a field deserves a brand-new name: variable-input technology.
Precision farming tools, from automation to variable rate technology (VRT) and others, are giving farmers new ways to make and save money.
Adjusting the rate of seed, fertilizer and pesticide row by row and even foot by foot across a field deserves a brand-new name: variable-input technology.
The value of zone management goes beyond cutting input costs; it also allows farmers to effectively focus inputs and attention. If you don’t have background information on a field, then grid-based management does the job, says Brad Beutke, who helps with the Farm Journal Test Plots and farms near Clinton, Ill. “But if you have yield history, calibrated yields maps, soil surveys, elevation maps or aerial imagery, for example, then it’s worth the effort to take advantage of the data.” Instead of trying to randomize out variability with a super-imposed grid, zone management uses historical data and experience to pave a path. Regardless of where you are on the technology adoption curve, zone management is beneficial.
There’s no quick and easy way to move from conventional farming—using the same management and a few hybrids on all acres—to variable-input technology (VIT) management.
Reaping the benefits of new technology demands a systems approach to crop production