Precision Ag Future Farming

Future Farming

Next-level AI technologies drive better decision-making for improved profitability and sustainability on the farm

By Natalie Noble

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have swept across Prairie fields as sophisticated programs do the heavy lifting on farmers’ behalf. Cutting-edge cloud-based applications for data storage, real-time analysis and communication, as well as remote and smart sensing tools provide decision-making abilities for better yields, economic and environmental sustainability on the farm.

For the tech savvy who love keeping one foot helping farmers in the field, the agtech world is a fascinating place. Andria Karstens, business operations manager at the Climate Corporation, with Wilkie, Sask. farm roots, helps today’s farmers maximize the benefits of the Climate FieldView app. “I truly believe there are ways farmers can be sustainable and profitable,” says Karstens. “I do think technology is going to lead the way for us to continue to do this. We’re starting to do it now, and we’ll continue to improve upon it in the future.”

On the smart sensing side of the fence, Jesper Voois, product manager of weed detection systems with Croplands Equipment, feels a similar pride. “It’s really exciting to build up the exposure of these technologies in Canada,” he says. “Working with farmers in practical farming conditions using the combination of technology and working with food production is really exciting, especially with such high-end innovative technology.” “I truly believe there are ways farmers can be sustainable and profitable. I do think technology is going to lead the way for us to continue to do this. We’re starting to do it now, and we’ll continue to improve upon it in the future.” - Andria Karstens

On-the-go analysis, all in one place

It’s often said a picture is worth a thousand words. With the Climate FieldView app, the sentiment could not be truer. Farmers using the app maximize the return across all their farm acres. At the click or tap of a button on a mobile device their data is collected, stored, measured, monitored and analyzed to assist in agronomic decisions throughout the year.

The biggest advantage is FieldView’s collection and storage of the massive amount of farm-produced data conveniently stored in the cloud, accessible to the entire farm team.

Climate Corp’s Andria Karstens believes new technologies like FieldView are the way of the future for farmers to be increasingly profitable and sustainable. “Making sure the farmer knows what is actually making them money on the farm and being able to understand this when they have that yield data captured and accessible in FieldView, they know what each and every product has produced in yields for their

farm,” she says. Courtesy of Climate Corp “With different kinds of equipment, systems and ways of storing information, it can be hard to get a holistic understanding and comparison when things are all sitting in different spots,” says Karstens. “For example, maybe the seeding notes are kept in a notebook while harvest results and yield data are stored on a USB stick.” With everything accessible through the app, farmers easily make direct comparisons around how any seed or product performed throughout the year.

Farmers simply plug FieldView Cab’s physical drive into their equipment and download the app on their devices to access endless types of field data stored using Bluetooth. “Everyone involved in the operation can have various apps,” says Karstens. “As information is recorded in the field, it shows up on the other apps when they’re connected to the internet.”

There’s something for every farmer in the app and use depends on their unique operation. Many minimize time-consuming scouting practices with quality satellite imagery, vegetation maps and colour mapping. “Say the agronomist goes out to the field and sees an issue. They can simply make a note and geo-tag the place in the field where they see it occurring. On the iPad, the farmer can see this, as well,” says Karstens. “Vice-versa, when the farmer sees an issue in the field, they can capture it as well and the agronomist can see it, go right back and check it out.”

This communication piece is paramount for operations using external support. “When the agronomist comes out to scout the fields, they already have access to all of these records,” says Karstens. “They know what’s planted, where it’s planted, what’s been sprayed and if there are any issues.”

Farmers performing on-farm trials use the equipment drive to map out different products they’re applying for simpler, more accurate, trialing. “Farmers can compare two different seed hybrids, two different fertilizer rates, two different fungicides [or] test a newly launched product,” says Karstens, who adds that all data appears in the same place, making side-by-side comparisons and understanding a product’s relative value very simple.

BEFORE IT HAPPENS. KNOW ABOUT YOUR NEXT BEST SEASON With Climate FieldView™ you get the information you need to make better decisions for your farm. From live tracking crop data to real time weather updates, everything you need to maximize your yield is in your hands. And with each passing year, you learn even more about how to make your next season your best one yet.

KNOW MORE. GROW MORE.

Services and products offered by The Climate Corporation are subject to the customer agreeing to our Terms of Service. Our services provide estimates or recommendations based on models. These do not guarantee results. Consult with your agronomist, commodity broker, or other industry professional before making financial, farming, or risk management decisions. More information at https://climatefieldview.ca/legal/disclaimer. FieldView™ is a trademark of The Climate Corporation, Bayer CropScience Inc. licensee. ©2021 Bayer Group. All rights reserved.

“Now, they can actually go into the field and solely target the necessary weeds when they’re still small. Farmers can really control their weeds in the most effective way with a strong return on their investment.” - Jesper Voois

FieldView also lets farmers create prescriptions for VR seed and application placements. “If only a part of the field requires a fungicide, let’s create that prescription to ensure we’re only spraying the parts of the field that actually need protection,” says Karstens. “There’s just no sense, when farmers are dealing with a bad spot of really sandy land in the field, in putting fertilizer there.

Farmers can reflect upon all this data at any time, especially when planning for the upcoming year. “A lot of times farmers are so busy during the growing season. They might spend some time mapping things out, but when it comes to reviewing the app and using it to make next year’s decisions, it’s incredibly valuable,” says Karstens. Accurate weed detection and elimination

The days of broadacre spraying across Prairie fields are soon to be a distant memory. With the rise of spot spraying, farmers will have increasingly greater access to fast, accurate and easy weed detection and elimination. One such product, WEED-IT has smart technology capable of being built onto virtually any sprayer and covers a working width up to 134 feet. Detection sensors mounted to the spray boom create an independent operating system.

“Each detection sensor covers 40 inches and puts out a blue light sensor towards the ground, broken into four channels of 10 inches,” describes Voois. “If a small weed is detected, a nozzle opens up and if it’s a bigger weed sparking multiple detection channels, those particular solenoids will open.”

Because the nozzles are only actuated through WEED-IT’s Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) control, farmers set the desired flow rate on the console. The system uses solenoids programmed according to a PWM table for consistent spray flow rate regardless of speed fluctuations or turns. “Our solenoids open and close 50 times per second, so we can adjust very carefully how much liquid is applied per driving speed,” says Voois. “When a weed is present, there are significant savings in chemical applied without compromising efficacy on weed management.”

Seeing the system in action is impressive as its blue light source sensors scan the topsoil for chlorophyll approximately 7,000 times per second over a specific wavelength reflecting

from the topsoil. “WEED-IT scans every millimetre while crossing the field at 25 kilometres per hour,” says Voois.

Such accuracy lends incredible cost and labour savings. When farmers have a weed occupation of only five per cent per field, the cost savings in chemical products can be as high as 80 per cent with this technology. “It also means farmers can use more high-end and higher doses of these chemicals because they know they’re putting that chemical exactly where it needs to go,” says Voois.

The technology offers farmers an option for virtually any scenario. It can be set for spot spraying in three modes including covering farmers’ burn-off operation, picking out tall weeds in a young crop, and targeting weeds in a ripened field at desiccation. There’s also an in-crop PWM functionality built in for full-coverage applications. Also advantageous are savings in water, labour and time with reduced refills on the sprayer, as well less chemical residue left in the soil, potentially improving crop health. WEED-IT is also beneficial when it comes to maximum residue limits and glyphosate discussions. “As the use of chemicals, especially glyphosate, becomes an increasingly important topic in the media regarding food safety, using a spot-spraying system can be good for the reputation and image of a farming operation,” says Voois, adding that farmers using Roundup applications must typically let weeds go longer until larger sections of the field are weed-covered to justify a spray round. “Now, they can actually go into the field and solely target the necessary weeds when they’re still small. Farmers can really control their weeds in the most effective way with a strong return on their investment.”

GROW MORE CROPS & PROTECT MORE WATER

Learn about 4R Nutrient Stewardship at fertilizercanada.ca