An agricultural technology company has found a way for growers to add profit to their farming operation without having to cut expenses.
Precision Planting introduces Smart Firmer ahead of the 2018 growing season. Jason Webster serves as commercial agronomist for Precision Planting. Webster explains SmartFirmer is similar to the Keeton Seed Firmer. However, this technology has the ability to sense.
Webster adds SmartFirmer allows growers to better understand soils and know what planting conditions are like in real time.
?We have the ability to measure and sense while we?re planting,? Webster said. ?We can measure organic matter of our soils, moisture in the seed trench, residue in the seed trench and temperature. Those are four major components we?ve never been able to measure on the planter before and now (can) on real time, while we?re planting the seed.?
Webster says the SmartFirmer technology will send data directly to the tractor cab, and display it on the Precision Planting SeedSense Monitor. He adds having this real time information allows farmers to make proper adjustments.
?We can use SmartFirmer to capture spatial data while farmers are planting,? Webster said. ?We can start looking at things (like) adjusting seed rates. If we know an acre is going to be high risk for drought potential, maybe we drop seeding rates or maybe we put a more defensive hybrid in those areas. We can make changes on the fly with this information. It?s changing the game.?
Webster says this ?smart? technology allows farmers to improve yields in many ways.
?Knowing how good your soils are, that can be tremendous,? Webster said. ?Looking at fertility all the way to our soil testing. Where do we pull samples in the field? We get rid of the grid technology we?ve done in the past and now put samples in the right soil type or right management zones and start addressing the fertility in that zone. We look at our buildup fertilizer, our maintenance fertilizer program. I think there?s going to be saving in those areas.?
For more information about SmartFirmer technology, click here.
