Farming Smarter

How Precision Ag Technology Helps Iowa Thrive

By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby | Photos by Joseph L. Murphy

Farmers only get one chance each year to plant their crop correctly and get the young seedlings get off to a good start. Thanks to modern technology, powerful data at farmers’ fingertips helps maximize their crops’ potential, from start to finish.

Harnessing the power of this data is giving farmers a new way to meet many of the age-old challenges that make agriculture endlessly complicated.

“Farming is simple, but not easy,” says Chad Hafkey, a corn and soybean grower who has farmed in the Grinnell area full time since 1996. “It’s simple, meaning we’re trying to grow the best crops possible, but it’s complicated because of unpredictable weather, volatile markets and other challenges.”

Fortunately, the state’s farmers have some key advantages since

Iowa is in the epicenter of ag innovation. Tools ranging from global positioning systems (GPS) in outer space to sophisticated monitoring systems on today’s farm equipment are helping farmers meet the challenge of raising more crops on a fixed amount of land, including areas where urban communities are expanding into precious farmland.

“Good farm managers want to be good stewards of the land,” says Hafkey, a fifth-generation farmer. “Precision ag technology makes this more effective.”

UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF THE SOIL

Precision farming solutions connect each phase of crop production – sometimes down to the square inch – to increase efficiency, maximize yield potential and enhance conservation. Much of this starts with sampling the soil to understand what nutrients are present.

Grid soil sampling measures key soil nutrients, including potassium and phosphorus. These are vital to plant growth and health, just like vitamins and nutrients are essential in keeping people healthy.

With grid sampling, soil samples are typically collected from incremental 2.5-acre grids across the field. After the samples have been collected and analyzed by a soil-testing lab, a map is created to show areas of high fertility, adequate fertility and low fertility. It helps farmers to know how nutrient needs differ across the field. This allows farmers to fine-tune their fertilizer applications, adding nutrients where they are needed to grow a healthy crop and cutting back where nutrients are not needed.

Chad Hafkey uses grid sampling to measure nutrients in his soil.

WHAT IS GRID SAMPLING?

The Hafkey family relies on grid soil sampling, one of the first precision ag technologies to gain widespread use in the 1990s. "My dad started using grid soil sampling back when I was in high school," Hafkey says.

Before grid soil sampling technology was developed, farmers used composite soil samples. In this system, a variety of soil samples were collected across the field, mixed together and sent to a soil-testing lab as one sample. this provided a general overview of nutrient levels in a field, but it provided no information about the variability of soil nutrient levels within the field.

TAKING MORE OF THE GUESSWORK OUT OF FARMING

Grid sampling unleashed a new era of precision agriculture that continues to revolutionize farming today, making it more efficient and sustainable from planting to harvest. It’s similar to the way technology has transformed vehicles in the past 25 years.

“Think about the computers thatmonitor tire pressure and fuel mileagereal-time in your car,” says CoryDeJong, a Key Cooperative agronomicdata manager who works with Hafkey.“The more information you have, themore informed decisions you can maketo prevent potential problems andenjoy a better ride.”

Farmers use data from grid sampling, GPS systems and their equipment to be as efficient as possible.

The same is true for a new generation of tech-savvy farmers like Hafkey and precision-ag specialists like DeJong who support them. These precision ag technicians rely on problem-solving skills – math, science, mechanical aptitude, computer knowledge – and communication skills to work directly with farmers to improve the efficiency of their businesses like never before.

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” says Nick Lacaeyse, a precision ag specialist with Key Cooperative in central Iowa. “It’s exciting to have new tools to help farmers analyze the data they’re collecting to fine-tune what works best on their acres.”

Thanks to apps on farmers’ smartphones and tablet computers, growers can access real-time data about what’s happening in their fields at any moment.

Theses apps can notify farmers about how much precipitation accumulated in the past 24 hours on specific fields. This “digital rain gauge” helps them decide whether the ground will be too wet or dry enough to work. Having all this information at their fingertips saves farmers time, since they don’t have to travel from field to field to check actual rain gauges.

Chad Hafkey partners with precision-ag specialists at Key Cooperative to make smarter management decisions.

Other precision ag tools incorporate aerial images of fields taken by drones and satellites. These images generate color-coded maps that reveal how the crops are growing. This is especially useful as corn grows tall, making it harder to assess fields from the ground. It also helps farmers identify which fields might be facing crophealth issues like plant diseases.

All the data points collected through grid sampling, aerial images and specialty apps can be uploaded to the cloud in secure systems accessible only by the farmer and anyone he or she allows to see the data. Hafkey and his agronomic advisors at Key Cooperative use this information as they plan next year’s crop.

Some precision ag tools incorporate aerial images taken by drones.

Since no two fields are alike, and soil types are often different within the same field, Hafkey and his team create management zones to account for higher-yielding and lower yielding areas. Key Cooperative agronomists use the data Hafkey collects throughout the year to write prescriptions for variable-rate planting (where different seed genetics are planted in areas of the field where they have the best chance to thrive), variable-rate fertilizer applications and more.

“As I look at my data, I’m always asking ‘what if’ questions to understand what’s affecting my crop and how I can do a better job,” Hafkey says.

REINVENTING IOWA AGRICULTURE

Hafkey has long enjoyed adopting precision ag technology, which creates economic and environmental opportunities. He started in the late 1990s with a yield monitor in his combine to track yields in real-time when harvesting corn and soybeans. Next came auto-steer technology around 2005-2006.

Auto-steer relies on GPS signals from satellites, just like the GPS navigation system in your vehicle uses these signals to guide you to a specific destination. Auto-steer is useful in farming, because it can guide the machinery precisely and prevent overlap when farmers are planting seeds or applying crop protection products or fertilizer. This improves efficiency, ensuring seeds, fertilizer or crop protection products are applied across a field only as necessary.

“This level of precision lets you place inputs like fertilizer where they’ll do the most good,” Lacaeyse says. “It also saves the farmer money and helps protect the environment.”

TECHNOLOGY BOOSTS AG PRODUCTIVITY, SUSTAINABILITY

As precision ag technology continues to evolve, it’s creating new options for farmers like Hafkey.

“Collecting data from my farm and analyzing the numbers helps us establish benchmarks so we can keep improving,” says Hafkey, who conducts on-farm research trials each year with Key Cooperative. “Then we can make smarter management decisions.”

It’s exciting to help provide these solutions to farmers, DeJong adds. “Technology adds a layer of clarity that helps farmers produce higher yields while using resources more efficiently.”

This is important to Hafkey, who works hard to create a culture of sustainability that will benefit generations to come. “If you’re not trying to get better, you’re falling behind,” he says.

To view the full spread, view this magazine in your internet browser on your phone, tablet or desktop.