So, what exactly IS precision agriculture?

This article originally appeared in the January 23, 2012 edition of the High Plains Journal. Find the full article here.

All of us in food production often throw out the term “precision agriculture,” yet I am not sure we know exactly what we speak of. Yes, of course it does include the eye in the sky steering our equipment but it is much bigger and deeper than that. My first trip of 2012 was to a Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed dairy meeting in the Wisconsin Dells, and one presentation hit me like a ton of bricks.

The presenter stated that the time of day you feed your cows could influence milk production by 20 percent. Yes, one particular dairy herd had a reduction in daily milk production by 20 percent on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. Why? Simply because the weekend feeder was feeding the cows two hours earlier than the guy who fed during the week. Who would ever guess that a cow could be that regimented that messing with her precision would affect her production so much? Furthermore, who would ever guess that we could identify the problem and pin-point that simple solution? That is just the tip of iceberg when it comes to today’s “precision agriculture.”

Come to think of it, I believe this is a story that we need to share far and wide and use it to “brand” farmers today. It speaks to the overall efficiency that has been achieved in today’s conversion of natural resources into human consumable products.

Take the time to read the full article for some great information.

Awards and recognition

At the NAICC annual meeting at Reno, Nev., last week some Servi-Tech individuals played some key roles in the meeting.

• Dave Green was awarded one of three crop consultants of the year, sponsored by BASF.
• Bryan Boroughs moderated a corn discussion group and served on a water management panel discussion.
• Andrew Vrbka moderated a soybean and a wheat discussion group.
• Clark Poppert presented a portrait of a consultant and moderated a weed resistant management discussion group.
• Fred Vocasek represented the American Society of Agronomy and the Certified Crop Advisor program at the Ag Pro Expo.
• Orvin Bontrager fulfilled his final duties as past president of the executive board.

A record attendance of 635 independent crop consultants and researchers were at the meeting.

Congrats to Dave Green, right, who was awarded one of three crop consultants of the year, sponsored by BASF.

Water Security for Agriculture

Senior Lab Agronomist Fred Vocasek recently traveled to Baltimore last week and chaired a meeting of the ASA ‘Water Security for Agriculture’ Task Force.

From Fred:

“The Task Force heard presentations from officials of the NRCS, USDA-Economic Research Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and the US-EPA.

“These officials discussed various policy issues regarding water quality, water use, and how they are impacted by production agriculture. On Tuesday, the Task Force began formulating actions to develop policy positions about water shortage, water excess, water quality, and the respective roles of agronomy and the agronomist. Water Security will be an ongoing effort by the Agronomy Society.”

Task Force members: Jim Gaffney (Biotech Affairs and Regulatory. Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl.), Bob Beck (Regional Agronomist, Winfield Solutions), Bill Heer (Agronomist, Kansas State University), Gary Peterson (Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University), and Karl Anderson (ASA Science Policy Office, Washington DC).

John Sadler (USDA-ARS Research Leader, Cropping Systems & Water Quality, University of Missouri), Bruce Knight (Strategic Conservation Solutions, Washington DC) and Neil Hansen (Professor of Agronomy, Colorado State University). Knight was Chief of the NRCS during the Bush administration.

Understanding SOPA/PIPA

Good morning!

You may notice this morning that some sites are either partially or completely blacked out today (including Google and Wikipedia). This is in protest of the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) legislation that are currently working through Congress.

Both pieces of legislation could have far-reaching implications for companies and individuals who use social media to connect with clients, friends, and family.

We feel it’s important that those in agriculture understand what effects the bill could have on worldwide internet usage, the arguments on both sides, and its current status. Concerns are being raised by a number of companies and individuals who feel that the bill is worded so vaguely that the government’s reach could extend beyond the bill’s intents and purposes.

Companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and Wikipedia have all come out against the bills, calling them overly broad. Major media companies such as Time Warner (CNN) and News Corp (Fox News) come out in support of the two pieces of legislation, saying they protect the creative works of individuals and companies.

Here are some handy links to help you understand the controversy.

The Bill: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c112:./temp/~c112yiVGbD

The Breakdown: http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/17/technology/sopa_explained/index.htm

The News Story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16590585

An Opinion: http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/sopa-dangerous-opinion/

I do encourage you to take the time to read not only these articles, but the bill itself.  You will find vehement support on both sides of the issue (as you would with any controversial piece of legislation).  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll do my best to answer any questions or concerns you may have!  Thank you, as always, for working with Servi-Tech to make the planet more productive. Cheers!

Bontrager Journal — January 15, 1935

A while back, Servi-Tech Director of Education came across some diaries from his mother and father written in the 1930s. We will post them here. 

“‎The girls got a call to come to the Heaney packinghouse if they want a job.

So we took them over and they got a job.

Mart and I scratched celery for Dan Durtz 4 hr. But oh my knees.”

Eli M. Bontrager, Sarasota, FL 1.15.1935 diary.

Employee awards

Good afternoon!

Some Servi-Tech employees received special honors and awards at our Professional Development Conference in Kearney, Neb.

Here is a list of the winners. Congratulations to them!

2011 Rookie of the Year: Luke Whitehill

Luke Whitehill receives the 2011 Rookie of the Year Award from Servi-Tech CEO Mitch Counce.

2011 Leadership Award: Andrew Vrbka

Andrew Vrbka receives the 2011 Leadership Award from Mitch Counce.

2011 Agronomist of the Year: Pat Mai

Pat Mai receives the 2011 Agronomist of the Year Award from Mitch Counce.

400,000 Acre Award: Joey Kuehler and Russ Martin

Joey Kuehler received two awards: the 25 Year Award and the 400,000 Acre Award.

200,000 Acre Award: James Bieker and John Payne

James Bieker accepts an award from Mitch Counce. James and John Payne received the 200,000 Acre Award.

John Payne accepts an award from Mitch Counce and Doug Cossey. John, along with James Bieker, received the 200,000 Acre Award.

The following individuals became senior agronomists: Mike Wetter, Jack Galusha, Ryan Nickerson, Michael Janssen.

Mike Wetter accepts an award as he is named a Senior Agronomist.

Ryan Nickerson accepts an award as he is named a Senior Agronomist.

Jack Galusha accepts an award as he is named a Senior Agronomist.

Jack Galusha waves to the crowd.

Michael Janssen accepts an award as he is named a Senior Agronomist.

Named Technical Support Agronomist: Teresa Wright

Teresa Wright accepts an award as she is named a Technical Support Agronomist.

35 Year Award: Jeff Kugler

Jeff Kugler received the first ever 35 year award.

30 Year Award: Debbie Hertel and Cindy Orebaugh

25 Year Award: Joey Kuehler and Brenda Rowley

 20 Year Award: Kenny Tucker

 15 Year Award: Shane Moore, Travis Kinnison, Pete Kruse, Monte Roetman, Shirley Peters, Daveta Brader, Wilma Collett, Duane Winter, Vryl Lynn

 10 Year Award: Jeremy Evans, Corey Lapka, Meredith Morton, Jill Bogner, Paulette Felkins

Jeremy Evans receives the 10 Year Award from Mitch Counce.

Scenes from PDC

Happy Monday morning!

Servi-Tech employees are back from the Professional Development Conference. Over a span of two days our agronomists attended sessions on new herbicides and fungicides, soybeans diseases and Goss’ Wilt Control, using new computer applications and more.

Here are some photos from the conference.

Mike Wetter leads a session on profitable irrigated wheat production.

Ryan Meister, Senior Agronomist and Precision Ag Specialist, speaks at Servi-Tech's Professional Development Conference.

That's a lot of agriculture experience in one room!

About 100 Servi-Tech employees attended the Professional Development Conference in Kearney, Neb.

What’s ahead

Good afternoon and a belated Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year to you! We hope your holiday was filled with family, laughter, and cheer.

Servi-Tech will start off the new year by meeting in Kearney, Neb., for our annual Professional Development Conference.

The conference will give agronomists a chance to stay on top of the latest trends in hybrids, chemicals, technology and other developments in agriculture.

In the next few days, look for some live blogging from the conference, as well as YouTube videos, photos, and much more.

Cheers!

New Method for Measuring Organic Matter

From Senior Lab Agronomist Fred Vocasek:

“Servi-Tech Laboratories has changed the method they use to measure soil organic matter on routine soil tests. Soil organic matter is composed of about 60 percent carbon. Soil testing for organic matter now involves heating a soil sample to ‘burn off’ the carbon-containing materials and leave behind the mineral components (like clay or sand). The resulting weight loss is attributed to organic matter. The challenge for the laboratories is to streamline the organic matter procedure to be able to test hundreds of samples per day.

“The traditional method (called ‘modified Walkley-Black’) uses concentrated sulfuric acid and a potassium dichromate solution to ‘oxidize’ the organic matter. The sulfuric acid generates the heat required for the chemical reaction to occur. The potassium dichromate solution actually changes color during the reaction with the soil organic matter. Laboratory instruments can measure this color change and relate this back to an organic matter value.

Only one gram of soil sample is used for the soil organic matter test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The modified Walkley-Black process generates two hazardous wastes – sulfuric acid and chromium. These must be stored in approved containers, transported and treated by a federally-licensed firm, then buried about 500 feet below-ground in an federally-licensed disposal facility. Under federal law, Servi-Tech will be responsible for these wastes forever, even though they are in the custody of someone else, and located in another state.

“The ‘new’ method (called ‘loss-on-ignition’ or ‘LOI’) uses a high-temperature forced-air oven to provide the heat and air necessary to ‘burn off’ the organic materials. The sample is weighed before and after this ‘ignition’ or ‘ashing’ step and the weight difference is used to estimate the organic matter content.

“The automated weighing instrument is actually a custom-built piece of equipment currently in use all three of the Servi-Tech Laboratories. Its robot-like movements carry little ceramic crucibles (containing the soil) to one of five computer-controlled balances on the instrument. The five balances operate simultaneously. Hence five samples are weighed at once to 0.001 g. By recording a ‘before’ and ‘after’ weight for each sample, we can use this weight loss to estimate soil organic matter.

“The Servi-Tech Laboratories staff has studied the LOI method for several years before making the switch. Dropping the Walkley-Black method frees the company from future environmental liability. Many other soil testing laboratories have been using the LOI method for determining organic matter for several years, so the numbers are common throughout agriculture.

“Our own research and research by many others have found slight differences between the two methods. A difference of 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent OM is not uncommon. There are a few soils showing differences of around 0.5 percent. Temperature control and timing are critical for the LOI method. We know there are certain soils that may be affected differently by these factors and may exhibit a “greater than normal” difference between the two methods, but at this time we cannot predict exactly which ones might be affected. We are continuing to evaluate, refine, and update this method to deliver the most accurate organic matter values we can, while maintaining the turn-around time necessary to help you make sound agronomic decisions.”

Soil Samples in Nebraska Jump

HASTINGS, Neb. — An increase in grid sampling and a post-harvest race against the weather has farmers in Nebraska eagerly awaiting their soil tests and analyzing the results.

Servi-Tech’s Hastings Laboratory is in the midst of soil season and has tested more than 50,000 samples since October.

Boxes of soil samples sit in the Hastings Laboratory, waiting to be tested.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An ideal time for farmers to get their soil tested is right after harvest and before the ground freezes, said Orvin Bontrager, Servi-Tech’s director of education, who works out of Aurora, Neb.

Without testing the soil to see what nutrients are needed, a farmer is less likely to produce a sustainable crop for the next growing season.

Another reason for the increase of samples, Bontrager said, is because after harvest the ground is dry and vehicles can easily be driven across fields to get samples.

Farmers are wanting more of their fields to be grid sampled, a process that produces significantly more samples per field. In precision agriculture, grid sampling is used to look at variability in soil fertility in a given field, so growers can better manage the fertilizers they apply to their fields.

During the busy season of soil sampling, the Hastings lab can test 1,300 to 1,500 samples per day, said Nancy Jenny, lab manager. As many as 6,000 samples are stacked in the hallway waiting to be tested.

“We’re running as hard and fast as we can,” Jenny said.

The soil is tested for nitrogen, phosphorus, organic matter, pH level, zinc, sulfur and other micronutrients.

Farmers should get their soil tested for these nutrients just as a person adding oil to a vehicle should check the dipstick first.

The goal, Bontrager said, is to meet the needs of the crop to give it the most economic yield from the fertilizer that is used.

The Hastings Laboratory has tested more than 50,000 samples since October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“If we don’t test the soil, we’re just guessing what nutrients it needs,” Bontrager said. “And that’s not what we want to do.”

When the lab is not busy, samples can be processed and results can be sent to the customer the next day. During the busy season, Jenny said it can take up to six days to return results to customers.

Servi-Tech was organized in 1975 by three farmer-owned cooperatives to provide technical service for agricultural producers in southwest Kansas. Today, Servi-Tech provides consulting to approximately 2,000 farmers across five states and over 1 million acres.