See how technology and precision farming techniques enable U.S. soy farmers achieve greater efficiency.
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- August 8, 2017 – Last week, I hosted a trade mission on my farm for 30 people from seven Southeast Asian countries involved with the soybean industry in one way or another, all the way from importers to feed analysts to animal nutritionists and farmers. I enjoyed visiting with new and old friends alike and was able to show them some of the smart ways American farmers are meeting global demand.
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- August 8, 2017 – Irrigation is ongoing now in Nebraska. Our soybeans are using approximately 0.30 to 0.35 inches of water daily. Our farm is 100% irrigated. Two-thirds of it is pivot irrigated, and the other one-third is gravity irrigated.
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- August 8, 2017 – This irrigation well is 150-feet deep and can pump 950 gallons per minute. It takes three days to make one revolution, which applies approximately 0.75 inches of water.
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- August 8, 2017 – Recently, we hired a helicopter to apply fungicide to our crops. The pilot landed at our shop to refill and do maintenance. We are also busy getting harvest equipment ready to go. We did a lot of work to all of our equipment in the wintertime, so we’re making last-minute finishing touches to equipment now. Like all farmers, we rely on a variety of equipment, and every year, our equipment gets smarter and more capable. My sons and I are constantly working to maintain and improve our equipment to make each year’s harvest better and ensure we can meet global demand for U.S. soy.
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- August 1, 2017 – Right now, our soybeans are about 18 inches tall. Every year, we rely on technology to help us get the biggest harvest we can while using our resources efficiently, and this year is no different.
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- August 1, 2017 – We use a program to track rainfall and how much irrigated water we’ve applied to make sure our soybeans are getting the ideal amount of water. Since we know how many days it takes to get through a field, we can water to the crop right when it needs it.
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- August 1, 2017 – Center pivots have drastically increased the efficiency of our water. Since we can monitor our center-pivot irrigation equipment remotely, we make sure our soybeans are getting the perfect amount of water for optimal growth.
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- August 1, 2017 – Our farm is completely irrigated. You can see the difference between irrigated soybeans and non-irrigated ones. My sons and I are working hard this year, and we’re using a variety of technologies to help us maximize our harvest while minimizing inputs.
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- July 27, 2017 – On our farm in Chapman, Nebraska, my sons and I rely on technology to make us more efficient. Ranging from GPS to autosteer, we use technology every day.
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- July 27, 2017 – We have a shop on the farm where we do all of our mechanical and preventive maintenance work. My boys built this machine about five years ago to put on dry fertilizer, and it works in conjunction with precision farming, which puts the fertilizer in the exact spot to utilize it better.
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- July 27, 2017 – For precision farming, autosteer will keep our equipment in the exact spot, perfectly centered over the top of our fertilizer applications. We also use a computer program that relies on guidance technology to automatically turn spray nozzles on and off as we drive our sprayer through a field.
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- July 27, 2017 – We can monitor our center-pivot irrigation equipment remotely through a hand-held computer tablet. We use the center pivots to add more water to the ground to aid in seed germination if the ground is dry, and also if the ground is hard, it will soften the dirt so the plants can emerge easily. Being economically sustainable is the most important thing for any farm, and technology helps us be just that. From the first day of planting to the last day of harvest, we depend on a variety of tools to make sure we’re using our resources efficiently and to help us get the best harvest we can.
