Building Rx while in the Field

I'm pretty pumped that planting is underway in Indiana.  Since I can't resist sharing ideas on this blog, I thought I'd throw one out there for you all to chew on.  Share it!  (links are embedded so you could make it work while you are planting if so inclined!)

I just used my iPhone to create a VR Seed map in Optmzr, download, extract and post to Dropbox!  What does this mean?

If a farmer has an iPad connected to a 20/20 they can create and get fresh Rx while in the field. (not quite yet... see below for UPDATE.)   Here is how:

1.        Log into Optmzr.  Run solver.  Download Shapefile (create account if you haven't yet)

2.       Select “Open With…”

a.       Select iZip app (install iZip app first if you haven’t yet.)

3.       Extract contents into a new folder using iZip app.

4.       With iZip still open, navigate to files you want to send to Dropbox, ignoring Nitrogen files, or vice versa with seed depending on what you are doing. (Optmzr downloads all VR applications to that field every time since they can change with the weather.)

a.       Highlight appropriate files (need .shp, .dbf and .shx)

b.      Select “Send” from iZip app and chose Dropbox as the destination (install Dropbox app on iPad if haven’t already.)

c.       Select desired folder to place files in.

5.       Files appear in DropBox.

With this complete you may “Share” the folder to customer (or use your own FieldView if you’re a farmer)  and download files to your iPad and port rates files into your 20/20 per FieldView steps.

All of this can be done with the iPad while in the field if you have an internet connection.  And, the shapefiles are small so they move easy.

I’m going to field now to test it on a 20/20.

(UPDATE:  Well, the farmer was kind enough to spend three minutes and go through steps with me... the trouble is the FieldView app does not allow you to pick from the DropBox folder.  I grabbed my Chromebook, connected to my iPhone hotspot and downloaded zip files.  The grower then logged into his FieldView app and we uploaded the zip folder without extracting... then, synced his iPad and "bam" he had it on his 20/20.  Very slick... but not yet totally doable via iPad only.  Please comment if we missed something!)

Why My Business Does Not Give Away Hats

If you've been a farmer for more than 3 months you have probably received a free hat from a seed company or the like.  Instead of hats we give away text messages.  Why?  Because everyone cares about yield!

Below is the form we use on www.Optmzr.co/free.php
Try it out here, it's live!

FREE Yield Alerts

Powered by Optmzr.co




Would you like to give away text messages from your web site?  Drop me an email and I'll help you out. It's about as simple as copy/paste this blog post.  Daryl@AdvancedAgSolutions.com

Four Monitors and a Vision

Yesterday I had the good fortune to receive a warm welcome by Kerry and Angela Knuth onto their Mead, Nebraska farm office which is a few miles from their home.  In the barn lot, their 48 row corn planter was detached from the massive green tractor while others in the neighborhood planted.  Angela informed me that Kerry had to run up to the John Deere dealership and would return momentarily (it turns out the several hundred thousand dollar tractor rear end had failed and was going to be replaced within the week.) 

I stepped into their farm shop and through the interior door leading to the community style office work space not unlike many professional farmers.  What then happened was fascinating... Angela invited me to take a seat at her work station and man the controls to her four monitor computer (yes, four... as in twice as many as two.)  She inquired of our software Optmzr.co and wanted a refresher on an earlier webinar.  This was fine but slightly awkward for me.  I was much more interested in knowing about their farm as I had driven from Indiana to "ride in a corn planter in Nebraska" just to find they had decided not to plant given the snow in the forecast for the next day.  (stay tuned for more on that later in this post.) 

As we got the conversation revved up I was asked to turn and meet her nephew who oversees their web site and is encouraging her to post on their newly created blog (visit it here.).  He has experience (and talent) in cinematography and production.  Although his Mac Pro only had one monitor his enthusiasm for his work resonated with me as did Angela's encouragement for him to share his business card.

Shortly thereafter, Kerry arrived, back from the dealership and was rather curious as to what we were messing around with (I'm sure April 30th farm visits are not generally a welcome thing... particularly when very little planting progress has been made.)

Nonetheless, he warmed up quickly and we wound up standing in the barn yard reviewing statistics, business strategy and weather forecasting as it relates to production systems management on the farm.  Bubba (given name of Terral), the main sprayer operator, joined us in the barn lot and shared a quip about telemetry systems allowing Angela to read the tractor monitor while he is in the field so "I can get an ass chewing today instead of tomorrow" afforded us some comic relief.  (Angela quipped back, "you haven't had a chewing in a while!")

As if from an AB Production, the scene was back dropped by an elderly man on an open cab tractor discing up a patch of the front yard which I hoped was going to be a garden.  They all laughed and said, "We'll save you from an introduction to him.  He wouldn't like you anyways." 

I'm a long way from home but farms across our fine nation have a lot in common... and a few of them have just enough contrast in them to create massive separation.  It was my pleasure to visit and spar on tech ideas for the next few years with this farm family.  May they and the rest of you have a safe and productive planting season.

Oh, and Angela, may you plant on the day with the Mayflower tree is in full bloom! (do you even have Mayflower trees in Nebraska?!  ha!)