WHAT’S THE POINT WITH GREENPOINT AG
Agronomy basics, advanced technology go hand in hand at harvest Agronomy basics and advanced technology go hand in hand as growers continue to work their way through the fall harvest season and begin making plans for next year’s crops. “Agriculture technology and agronomy are designed to work together to enhance decision making and field performances at the highest level currently possible,” said Chapman Bodiford, Ag Technology Specialist with GreenPoint Ag in North Alabama. “Combining the two together is how agriculture will continue to advance,” he said. “The goal of agriculture technology is to utilize agronomic research to provide refined solutions and insight for decision making. We are now able to easily compile point-specific and widespread agronomic data to form conclusions and make decisions at a faster rate.” From a technology standpoint, yield data is the last data set for the 2021 crop flowing into AccuField – a web-based precision-ag platform offered through Alabama Farmers Cooperative that is designed to store, manage and analyze field data. “Accurate and collected data must be put to work to reap the benefits,” Bodiford said. “AccuField has multiple yield analysis tools such as yield by variety, 18
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yield by soil type, yield by soil test, yield by management zones, and many more advanced tools.” These tools, he said, enable growers to compare and contrast performances of different crop varieties and the field conditions they were grown in to help make decisions for 2022’s crop. A unique tool in AccuField is Seed Matrix, which stores years of variety trial data performed in a specific area and across the Southern region. “For instance, when selecting for a cotton variety, the varieties that were tested on soils similar to the field of interest will pop up,” Bodiford said. “The grower can then filter the varieties further by irrigated versus dry land tests, how they ranked in yield performance, and how many tests that particular variety has been through.” The variety or hybrid selected is one of the foundations of next year’s crop, and it is important to utilize the results from research when making such a monumental decision. “While yield tends to be of paramount importance when deciding what to plant next season, other factors also should be considered when selecting a variety or hybrid,” said Taylor Dill, Agronomy Manager with
