Best Non-Ag Apps for Ag

Did you get a new smartphone or tablet for Christmas?  Or, just searching for some new apps to freshen up your device?  Well, here is my short list on my iPhone and iPad. Hope it helps you organize and enjoy your smartphone or tablet all the more!  (I believe most, if not all of these are available for Android or Windows devices, too.)

1. Evernote - Although not ag specific, this handy app allows me to jot down ideas and copy/paste links and articles from a variety of sources while on the go.  I can access it from my phone, tablet, laptop or desktop and it's always in sync.  I've even heard of some savvy farmers using it for field record keeping.  It's searchable and really flexible in how you organize it.  Be creative and don't forget a thing!
2. Pandora - I'm always on the move but one thing is always with me... my smartphone.  I have a decent iTunes library of songs and a few audio books (read more later), but I really like Pandora because it suggests songs I might like based on other tunes.  This is fun when I'm in the middle of no-where and needing some inspiration.  Play me something like the Black Keys.
3. Box - (or DropBox).  We use www.Box.com to share soil sampling and crop scouting files with our customers.  This little app allows me to find them when someone calls with a question.  It's also super handy as a farmer to access files we've shared.  Or, if you're feeling ambitious simply upload your own files to your own account and then get them when you are out and about!
4. GoToMeeting - It's better on the iPad than iPhone, but still, having the ability to join a webinar meeting virtually while you are out in the field is pretty amazing stuff.  At a minimum, I encourage you to call in and join these so you can network with colleagues around the country.  With the app, you can share web camera and see their computer screen as they operate it.  Cool stuff.
5. Google Latitude - My wife texts and calls me to ask where I'm at almost every day.  Now, with Google Latitude, she can simply look me up from her phone or computer... see where I'm at and estimate when I'll be home for dinner... if my appointment doesn't run late!  It's accurate enough to track me walking back through some strange field.  Some people think this is a little weird but you can control who you share your location with and that means it is really up to you how you use it.  Besides, big brother is tracking you already, anyways, ehh?
6. LinkedIn - This app is actually my favorite source for news and "social" connectivity.  I get my business news and heartbeat of industry happenings here.  It's also a good place to get feedback on particular questions via the Group areas.  Download app and connect with me:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/darylstarr
7. WeatherUnderground - I've tried so many weather apps but this is the one I keep coming back to.  Besides a really simple GPS based "find me" solution the radar is good and can be easily set in motion.  Additionally, we use it for part of our weather in www.Optmzr.co so that just makes sense.
8. FeeddlerRSS - Organizing RSS feeds in one place is a pretty big deal.  If you are not an RSS user you should Google it and start thinking about it.  It can really streamline the overwhelming amount of information by setting up some auto-sort and filter parameters.  Additionally, I use Google Alerts for particular key words and send them to Feeddler so I can be alerted about things I'm actually interested in digesting and sharing.  If you know yourself, this will help you listen better.

I hope you enjoyed this short list.  If you can't tell by now, you can guess that I didn't want to post a bunch of the same ol, same ol in the app for ag domain, but instead wanted to provide you with some enriching ideas that I have used to help my mobile productivity.  Enjoy and please share your favorites with me in the comments section below!

High Yield Soybean Management After a Drought Stricken Corn Crop

I've talked a lot about impact of drought and carry over effect. Tonight it struck me that soybeans deserve some attention related specifically to left over nitrogen after drought stricken corn crop.

In my studies, I believe nitrogen has two main effects on the soybean plant. First, it increases internode length during vegetative stages. Second, it helps maximize conversion of dry matter during grain fill.

Commonly known but not widely published is the fact that soybeans require 5# of N per bushel. The plant can fix about 70% of its needs from the atmosphere and rhizo bacteria. The balance must be met from soil mineralization or supplemental fertilizer. For extremely high yield soybeans (70bpa+) they can run out of N in average soils.

Not surprisingly, high yield soybeans tend to follow high soil N mineralization springs and summers. With ample rain, additional N late can capitalize on available potential.

One interesting consideration for soybeans after drought stressed corn is the potential for residual Nitrogen. If it makes it to grainfill that could mean bushels. However, the more likely situation (not likely, but MORE likely) is that spring available N is higher than normal. (most of Indiana soils are still not saturated as I write on this 18th day of December.) Since soybean internode length is increased by N in early vegetative stages this may simply translate into taller beans and more shaded growing points, fewer nodes and flowers... and reduced yield potential. What should you do?

Plant early and reduce populations to compensate for higher N load. You're likely to get as much or more nodes and similar canopy dates. Ultimately this can translate into higher yield potential, along with reducing costs and lodging risk. The worst practice is probably abnormally high pops drilled in narrow rows on high OM soils following a drought and dry winter. You'll have tall, lodged soybeans that might yield in the 40's (but they'd be nice baling!)

Hopefully this provides you some food for thought. Happy planning!

(I drew this picture, mapping nodes, pods and distribution. Did you know 80% of yield is normally in bottom seven nodes?)

GIS Software for Farming

I was once told I was an "anomaly." I've been called worse but this one might have been the most accurate. The statement was specifically referencing my knowledge of GIS software while I was farming full time. It struck me as both insulting and inspiring. Now that I've been running a precision agronomy consulting business for more than 6 years I understand just how true the statement was... of me and the industry norm.

Perhaps 30,000 farmers own Farmworks worldwide, but I would estimate that only a small percentage actually use it near 25% of it's capacity. (I pulled this stat from an article at the time they sold to Trimble.) Anyways, I'm certain there are other software products on the market... we own several, including fine tools from Mapshots, SST and many others birthed from the late 1990's. The trouble with all of these is two fold... first and foremost, they were birthed by people with a record keeping mindset. They make importing, storing and viewing data from variety of monitors possible. There are also software tools from hardware manufacturers that do some of this as well... Apex, SMS, etc. But, they lack some of the best features of the first set... including strong, open ended analytics and cross platform prescription generation. I'm not saying they don't do it, but sheer power is not among their strong points although ease of use might sneak up a small bit for those thoroughbred hardware farms.

All this said, none, and I repeat, NONE of these data engines have the ease of use that farmers want or need. I liken it to how intuitive my iPad is, and how even my 3 year old can operate it. Maybe GIS software will never get there (nor should it ever?), but do farmers really desire true GIS software?

Field record keeping is akin to checking air pressure... you should do it more often and yet you can still get a flat tire even if you do it constantly. What I believe farmers need is a dashboard with some levers and knobs. Give them something to react to... something to throttle up or down, shift and turn. They'll tweak and dial until it sings. Of all people, grain farmers are among the most responsive business managers in the world. And yet, they have a timeless respect for the unchanging, unpredictableness that statistics has a hard time quantifying.

My recommendations are simple. Buy a cheap mapping tool and a powerful, separate accounting tool. Get experts to help on both, interfacing agronomy with financial planning, reconciling where it makes sense. This isn't a job effectively done on your own. Then, shop for a true agronomic dashboard experience that gives you live insights into your production system.

Basing fertilizer recommendations on things other than soil tests?

Yesterday (Friday, Dec 7th), I attempted to host a webinar to discuss options and ideas about what to base fertilizer recommendations on other than soil tests. I had a terrible experience with GoToMeeting which I think is actually to blame on a stupid McAfee pre-install that I had not yet removed. Anyways, by the time I got it figured out I only a had four attendees sticking around. Thanks so much for your patience!

There are a number of things more influential on yield than soil tests (based on my research.) In the webinar I showed an excel graph of some data that we had gathered from a subset of the 350,000 acres we work with. Here is what we did... a yield query around ever sample site. Then, we plotted each soil test value and yield in a scatter graph and looked for regression lines. It looked pretty dismal. (insert actual image here!)

What this tells me is that although GPS soil testing is one of the most popular precision ag practices it is a far cry from making a significant impact on yield. For that reason I often advise taking some other things into consideration. Here are just a few:
1. What is your fertilizer budget?
2. What are your site specific yield goals?
3. What do you believe critical levels will be in the future?

With some dialogue a good advisor should be able to educate you about normal parameters and ideas that help you achieve your goals. Once that is in place your variable rate recommendations might have a greater influence derived from yields than actual tests. Or, perhaps your budget trumps your soil test?

When I think about the future, I get excited pondering software that makes all metrics of crop growth relative to each other. Lieberg Law of the minimum should trump any one particular attribute's relation to a perceived "standard" or "safe" range.

I'm also excited about ability to take a whole farm budget and distribute input products around like making a peanut butter sandwich... you spread in the divots first and then put a layer down across the whole piece.

We have gobs of data, now we just need software to automate the operating decisions that align with our goals. Happy farming!

How to Build VR Seed Maps

Have you ever wished you could build a variable rate seed map for your farm but not known what to base it on? Well, you've come to the right place! I'm going to walk you through a simple (well... kind of simple) How To and then look for feedback from you.

First, purchase and learn a GIS software program that can enable custom equations based on multiple layers of data.

Second, build management zones based on everything you can get your hands on. Soil types are only the beginning. Consider using EC or EM to refine soil texture and water holding capacity maps. Layer up RTK elevation data to get slope and surface water flow. Create a soil OM layer (or soil nitrate or similar) from GPS soil test data. It's easiest if you create all of these in a polygon format and do a polygon site aggregation so that the intersection of the layers create a file that looks nice and has every attribute compiled into a single layer. This will be useful to run your equations on in the next step. Aim to get representation of water holding, texture, OM, Soil type and Elevation data all in one layer. (or keep it at site level with a surface... I recommend no narrower than 90 ft squares as it can lock up your controller in the field if too small, or too many rates.)

Thirdly, create a normalized yield map for goals and economic purposes. Remember, we're trying to balance soil characteristics with probable paybacks here so past yields are as much about risk tolerance as they are future goals. If you don't have yield maps you may opt for aerial imagery or other remote sensing estimation of variability. Farmers Edge has a nice tool to do this, as does Winfield's R7. If working with either of those is out of the question you can ad-hoc your own "zones" by downloading free satellite imagery and outlining color changes manually. (WARNING: only attempt this if you have very highly variable soils and a crop season that shows it off quite well.)

Next, build an equation in Excel to test your hypothesis. Don't hesitate to use lots of buried IF/THEN statements and some assumptions about impact of various metrics on yield. I've seen and done numerous, each with little iterations unique for the client. For example, multiple the OM value by the average OM value of this soil type and then apply that percentage to the seed rate determined prior by the EC value. Adjust all of this by the normalized yield. Some of these can get pretty hairy, but ultimately it is doable with the right combination of people and assumptions. (SIDE NOTE: this is only a little tongue in cheek. I'm actually quite serious. If you really want a prescription that matches up exactly with your goals, you are going to have to invest in understanding this process and working through it with people that can help you.)

Or, you can simply click on a soil type and drop in a seed rate. Precision Planting was first to enable this. This is actually a pretty respectable way to guess and inject your knowledge at the last moment. The trouble here is that not many have rate trials on every soil and variety combinations and many farmers are aware that their soil type zones are not perfect. Maybe a custom zone that you tap would help, but then how do you remember every zone?

One of the biggest issues I hear from clients is that they want rates relative to elevation. When you're planting you simply cannot stand adjusting a rate any direction but up when going into the low ground valley. Keep this in mind when your prescriptions suggest that you should cut back on that wet hole that tends to flood. Your brain will play tricks on you in the field and you need to study these maps ahead and imagine yourself out in the field... and be okay with the logic. If you see areas that don't make sense, simply override them. Play your trump card.

So, I mentioned earlier the lack of seed variety influence. One solution I've used is building 2 or 3 or more optional rates for every field. This way the high-low range matches up with your flex or determinant ear type. Remember, you as the farmer can always bump up rates in the field at a percentage level, too (or at least you can with some effort.) Use the percentage up or down based on exactly how early you are planting and/or your expectation for rain and heat.

Finally, what about nitrogen and weather? These play a huge role in the probable success rate of your variable rate seeding plans and odds for success. You already have different rates of nitrogen if you have variable soils. If your high OM soils are releasing more N, they can feed more plants than your thinner, high ground. If you plan to vary Nitrogen however you need to take your seed rates into account, else you accidentally over compensate and assume flat rate seed inappropriately for your nitrogen and apply too little nitrogen for the increased seed rate. I mention this because it can have an impact on seed rates to a very large degree.

I've been doing this for years and testing rates and believe we have some great equations. I know our clients that get committed and work with us find a solution that meshes with their goals. However, I also realize this process is not for everyone (nay, majority.)

So, instead of asking everyone to step up their game we set about building software that would do it precisely how we wanted, automating most steps and giving the grower something really tight that they could trump. At the risk of looking salesy, here is a link to read more: www.Optmzr.co

In the end, export your rate files and test them in your monitor early. We've even built test files for the nearby hay field to make sure everything was working smoothly!

I really look forward to hearing how you do things and maybe answer a few questions. It's never too late to discuss!

Why precision ag is going to change the world

Here I am parked on my recliner surfing the web again on my iPad.  I've been bouncing between Evernote, Twitter, LinkedIn and Safari compiling thought after thought to myself.  All this got me thinking... "man, I really should write a blog post."  So, here it is.  (I'll warn you that my company, Advanced Ag Solutions is cooking up some really cool social media stuff right now so this blog is totally not authorized by my team or Director of Marketing, Erika McCloud... nonetheless, I'm compelled to write so I think I will... back to precision ag saving the world.)

Did you know that the world population is expected to grow to 9 billion people by 2050?  Yep, it's true... or at least that's what "they" say.  I'm sure I could look up a really amazingly authoritative web site to prove this is true but it's a mute point.  The real punch line is that since creation there have been an increasing number of people on this planet and this trend does not appear to be slowing.

Everyone eats. Yep, everyone.  (energy inputs are required of our bodies... thanks for that Mr. Obvious.)  This consumption habit we have is not going to decrease... not as an individual, nor as a society.  In fact, it is likely to increase as we regularly try to do more and be more than our predecessors and neighbors... locally and worldwide.

Plants are terrific sources of efficient renewable energy.  Plants harvest the sun and convert water and soil nutrients into useable sugars very efficiently.  This is important because we need maximum efficiency to feed people very cheaply.  Sometimes pests encroach on our crops... weeds, insects and diseases.  Biotech has played a tremendous role in reducing yield robbing pests and adding/preserving efficiency in commodity crops like corn and soybeans.  Biotech in my opinion has also enable huge gains in soil conservation through greater and easier adoption of notill farming practices (but that's another post.)  

However, biotech seed and herbicides are not the end all solution to our looming food shortage.  Remember, the sun is free (for now), water is recycled (we hope), and biotech seed must be developed and sold/purchased.  What is still required?  The soil... also not free.  So, biotech has a role, but so does soil and operational management on the farm.

Farmers have heard for years, "The highest potential is in the bag (before you plant it.)"  Although there is an element of inspiring truth, I'd like to add a follow on statement... "the highest potential is in the bag, but you've got to have my soil before it'll grow anything!"  Please feel free to use this Mr. Farmer.

Given that seed, soil and weather make up primary elements of crop growth for majority of the world's food production I think it's utterly imperative that we consider our soil more quantitatively.  From my point of view (and I help several hundred thousand acres of farmers), the management of soil variability and efficiency is pretty sad.  There is tremendous room for improvement in streamlining the inter-related aspects of seed, soil and weather through data streams previous never known to mankind. (see myself posting blog via Wifi iPad that you are reading.)    Precision ag provides a perfect wave of opportunity for farmers, their suppliers and ultimately the consumers to inject our intelligence, our creativity and our passion into a system to feed the growing world population.  Precision ag can help all of us maximize yield potential and grow closer to the potential in the bag more consistently by automating decision making protocol much like major industries do in streamlining their production systems to meet growing demand... and even more so in a seasonal business!

So, what is precision ag then?  For most crop farmers, it's anything with the letters GPS attached to it.  Perhaps that's true but when I get fired up, I think PRECISE AGRONOMY.  And that requires you-have-to-measure-it-to-manage-it mentality and a fondness for how plants grow (aka agronomy.)

So, although I spend time tracking Google Alerts, creating Google Blogger sites I'm not poised to post to often enough, sketching thoughts in Evernote and checking on my wife's posts on Facebook, I'm really enthralled by the notion that my business and my team are working to feed the world.  And I'm not just saying that, I'm actually passionate about that.  It's crazy to think that no one else seems to care about what we're going to eat.  Oh, that reminds me, I'm hungry.  Lata!