Why the Term "Prescriptions" is Dead

I started writing prescriptions when I was a teenager... and I'm no Doogie Howser.

Honestly though, why did precision ag start using the phraseology "Rx" and "Prescriptions" and "Scripts?"  My theory is that the original power users of precision ag software either had a PhD or felt like they deserved a PhD for figuring out how to use the stuff.

In the coming years Variable Rate file generation will not require a PhD.

And why should they?  I have farmer customers that build and download their files from their smartphones... fast and easy.  I know of no other business manager that asks a "doctor" what they should do next.  Rather than getting a prescription for some ill condition, most savvy business managers look to adjust plans to preempt painful conditions.  As such, they are comfortable with limited knowledge and willing to accept some risk.   This is quite unlike a doctor who tests, diagnoses and prescribes treatment AFTER symptoms have revealed themselves.

Certainly there is good reason to use sound statistics and mine spatial data for insights regarding trend forecasts.  Every good manager needs insights and forecasts based on their actual data.  There is certainly a role for consultants and suppliers to play a relationship role in helping shape parameters for the controller files, but the setup and delivery needs to be fluid and adaptable if for no other reason than the weather changed the circumstances!

So what should we call it?  Let's just call it "Download file"  or "Crop Plan" or "VR File"  or something less suggestive and more accurate.  The emphasis shouldn't be on making us some software/research demi-god but rather on the agreeable logic applied to match up with the farmer's own strategic vision for his farm.

Instead of building software that is suitable for a demi-god only, let's write software that normal humans can run.  No certification required.  Let's make it fast, easy and fun... and profitable for the farmer and the salesman.

Weld Smartphone to VR Controller

"I've been building variable rate files since before smartphones." - Old timer Precision Agronomists

Mark my words, this will be something the old timers will brag about.  This week, a customer of ours downloaded variable rate shapefiles from his smartphone and transferred them to his Ag Leader monitor... through a USB cord he had laying around.  Yep.  It is real.

No offense to Nathan, but he doesn't have a computer science degree or anything crazy.  He is like a lot of other farmers... he has determination and ingenuity.  This week, he and "his precision ag guy" Travis from Case dealer, Jacobi Equipment in Columbus, IN simply got inspired to try and make this simple idea work... much like my dad or others would weld together some objects to make life easier on the farm.  And after downloading an app to unzip his prescription download, he was able read the files straight from his phone into his monitor.  Done.  No USB thumbdrive needed.  

"No more USB drives for me," said the dealer.  Now he can download and install updates to customer's monitors at will.  Besides that convenience, he could also simply email the customer and allow them to download their own firmware updates and install from their own phones while in the field.  

When I heard what Nathan did, I started jumping around our office, doing a little dance and yelling.  Sarah and Lauren think I'm crazy anyways so no big deal.  I was excited because not only did I not even ask this customer to try this but I knew that he saw what www.Optmzr.co could provide him and how immediate recommendations that are updated by the weather could have an impact on what he wanted to do in the field in real time.  He saw it and simply couldn't wait for us to build an app.  He didn't check with his corporate attorney or ask permission from his boss.  Instead, he tried it on his own and made it work.  I love farmers!

The result is that while planting he can download a new rate file at his whim.

Nathan shot video of process above.

What does that mean exactly?  It means that after building his best laid cropping plan (variety by field), he has a solid plan B in his shirt pocket if the weather dictates something different... What if the next field east is ready to plant but he has a planter full of wrong variety?  Seem complicated?  I mean, how does he retrieve Plan B when it isn't even built yet?  Well, Nathan will simply pull out his smartphone while finishing planting one field, tweak variety intentions for the next field, download his files and begin planting his new prescription in the next field... using all the available weather, soil and seed and timing data at his fingertips...  all done without calling, texting or paying for additional data plans or equipment!

That is farmer ingenuity at its best.  Want to download the exact How-To that Nathan gave us?  Make a comment and we'll trade emails!  "Weld your Smartphone to Your Monitor with a USB cord."

Use Soil Tests for VR-N

What is the most important soil property for managing variable rate nitrogen?  Soil organic matter (aka OM).  

For dozens if not thousands of years farmers have inherently known "good soil" from "poor soil."  The first and most obvious is the color and smell.  Both of these sensory elements relate to the break down of organic matter... decomposing carbon material... dead plant and animal life and manure.  This natural compost is biologically active even after losing the original plant shape.  Microbial life is busy eating and converting material into energy and releasing nutrients that help new plant life flourish.

There is a lot of work in modern agriculture to refine variable rate nitrogen.  Improving the rate and timing of nitrogen is important for improving water quality as it is managing costs and yield on the farm.  As one of the single most expensive inputs on the farm, nitrogen is also high on the list for farmers to manage well.  However, it is very complex given the mobility and variability within the field.

Rather than explain the entire N cycle, I would like to share and propose the use of soil test OM values to improve nitrogen rate decisions on your farm.  At a minimum this approach can provide you some base guidelines for how "good" exactly is your soil.  In some more complex treatments, you might also model the nitrogen mineralization from the OM based on soil moisture and temperature properties.  This can empower you to tweak timing and understand plant stress at various growth stages.

We work with a farmer that has taken soil samples on 1 acre grids and uses OM to drive his VR seed and VR nitrogen rates.  Still others we work with deploy ISNT or other measures.  Every farm and farmer is unique so approach this with your own smallest management unit... for one, subdividing a soil type will be enough, while another will want a tighter grid or even some higher resolution soil color sensor.

A simple suggestion to step up from just the basic SSURGO soil type maps would be to subdivide your SSURGO zones for a modified grid soil test.  In so doing, you take your soil test in smaller zones which better describe patterns within the field (agree or not?!)  Then you would use the OM value from your soil test and assign an anticipated nitrate release through the growing season.  When you build out your nitrogen budget you can then deduct this soil contribution!

Piece of cake, right?!  Well, not quite... since any field with large variability in soil OM probably should also have variability in yield goals within the field.  If that is the case (which is normally so), then you'll want to adjust your gross N needs before deducting soil contributions.  In some cases this might even things out, but in many areas, your yield goals might be nitrogen limited because of historical compromises you've made elsewhere.  What do I mean by that?  Perhaps you've been shorting nitrogen rates in that "medium" textured soil because you didn't want to over do it on the poor soil?  You've had enough seed and water, but ran out of N.  Not good!  So, is the answer applying a higher straight rate across whole field?  Not if you want economics or environment to pan out well for your future!

In this way, we believe it is critical to compile ALL aspects of the soil that can effect yield and nitrogen movement.  You can make significant strides in cost savings and efficiency by doing a good job creating zone specific yield goals and working backwards from that.  However, the true yield gain values are wrought after understanding what of your soil can be managed to optimize performance.  That is, what is most limiting?  Fix it, then ask what is now most limiting.  Fix it, then so and and so forth.  (ever heard of Game Theory?!)  When this is applied to nitrogen as it is relative to other aspects of crop growth you stand better odds of increasing yields along with improved N efficiency.

If you'd like to know how we use software to do this in our business, please visit http://www.optmzr.co/software.php#soil-test-upload