Precision Ag

[Saucymynx]

I farm on a very small scale - 10 acres of hay to feed a flock of 20 sheep, plus a little custom no-tilling for friends but still have some of the same needs of larger farmers. These include efficiency and cost effectiveness. I upped my game last year with the purchase of a Great Plains NT drill (i live in the MI UP - no rentals/loans to be had). With the drill and my lime/fertilizer spreading needs, i need greater accuracy in my operatiions, so i ventured into the world of precision agriculture. After a lot of research and conversation with a dealer in central Wisconsin, I purchased a Trimble. Nav 500 and GFX 750 display. All I can say is, “wow“! Installation and set up was very straightforward and the user interface is awesome. I limed and fertilized my 10 acres this past weekend and I have never had such a sense of confidence that I got full coverage with minimum overlap and minimum gaps. By contrast, last year, When things greened up, I had a really beautiful striped field where I had areas of heavy overlap and areas of no coverage. I am sold! The total system cost was 2500 bucks, which is a lot, but I will use it for fertilizing a couple times a year, liming annually as well as seeding. it will take many years to return the investment on reduced input costs. However, it should also reflect in better yields and field management. Besides, it’s a lot of fun to use . As an aside, the other big upgrade I made was moving from a simple conical Tractor supply spreader to a Herd 2440. It literally holds a ton and a quarter of fertilizer, minimizing the refills. It also has a hydraulic gate opener, which is super convenient. Best of all, I picked it up for 500 bucks in great shape. All I had to do was replace the decals. They are over $5000. I am getting dangerously close to a positive cash flow on my farm(thanks to a good accountant). My machine shed is full, so I guess I am done with equipment purchases! Just thought I would share in case anyone is looking into precision ag

 

[LHF2019]

One of the best purchases I made years ago

 

[Saucymynx]

Raven was another brand I looked at. Honestly, didn’t really know where to go. Happy with the Trimble so far.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I bought the Raven GPS system last year and it's a game changer on fertilizing, spraying pesticides, herbicides and even putting out granular fertilize, no more walking fields off and marking with ribbons or flags or foam marker systems, best thing is it puts you within inches of your last pass, sometimes technology can be a good thing.

 

[jonsstihl]

Pics or it didn't happen. I would love to get into the small hobby farming but I have 8 acres of woods and no real chance at getting more the way land prices are around here. no one seems to care about what we are going to eat in 20 years.

 

[Saucymynx]

Update on the precision ag system: I have done two applications of fertilizer and No till drilled a 40 acre field. All I can say is wow! Before the system, my fertilized fields would be striped where I overlapped too much in some areas and missed in others. Perfect application this year. And no tilling With the precision guidance system allowed me to get great coverage. I absolutely love the system.