Contents

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Contents

• Basis for Precision Farming
• What key decisions can we make?
• Why Precision Farming?
• Why Harvest Max?
• Membership Responsibilities
• Membership Investment

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A. Basis for Precision Farming

• Mechanized agriculture has allowed the farmer to
  focus on field-sized plots (whole fields) and
  become more efficient balancing labor and input
  costs with the amount of workable land they could
  farm.
• Focus Operational efficiencies to increase ROI.

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Where we areWhy Precision Farming?

• Todays technology enables us to capitalize on
  those operational efficiencies and increase our
  focus on identifying, quantifying and managing
  the crop yield variables in smaller plots (fields
  within fields).
• Focus Achieving a balance between operational
  and agronomic efficiencies for maximum ROI.

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The Building Blocks of Precision Farming
Precision Data Management Software
Direct Remote Sensing
Variable Rate Technology
Yield Monitors
Precision Navigation
Global Positioning Systems
Geographic Information Systems
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What is GIS and why is it important?

• GIS is a management tool that allows users to
  create queries, analyze the spatial information,
  edit data, create maps, and present the results
  of all these operations.
• These layers of data include
• Planting dates, populations, speed, variety or
  hybrid
• Soil Maps
• Soil Type, Texture, Class, CEC
• Fertility (N, P, K, .), pH, Organic Matter
• Yield Maps
• Aerial Photos
• Remote Sensing Data
• As-Applied Maps
• Weather
• Etc.

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Our GIS Data Management Solution

• Premier Crop Systems
• premiercrop.comTM is an online database structure
  that allows you to see the relationship between
  all the layers of data that you can collect
  including previously hidden relationships.
• Provides analysis at the field and grower level
  and across thousands of confidentially pooled
  acres.
• It helps us turn reams of field data into
  data-backed management decisions to find the most
  efficient balance between the highest possible
  yield and the lowest possible cost.

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Analysis/Reports Available

• Field Level
• Field Maps, Variety by Soil Type, Field History,
  Field Top Ten, Multi-year Field History, Top
  Performers
• Grower Level
• Grower Top Ten, Farm History, Average and
  Variance Reports
• Variety Profile runs on any level
• Search Engine unlimited queries/data mining on
  any level or combination

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An Example of a Field Top Ten Results Report
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B. What Key Decisions Can We Make?

• Better P and K management
• Refining planting rates including variable rate
  within fields
• Hybrid and variety selection matching genetics
  to each fields unique agronomic environment.

• Better agronomic recordkeeping cost per bushel
  analysis.
• Better Nitrogen management including variable
  rate within fields.

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1. Better P and K management

• University recommendations are the cornerstone of
  P and K management BUT isnt it possible to do
  better?
• If we have the tools, doesnt it make sense that
  there isnt one perfect PPM number that fits
  every acre, every producers management ability
  or risk tolerance?
• Data from thousands of acres and more than six
  crop years is proving that we can do better than
  a one-size-fits-all approach to P and K
  fertility management. Fertility and yield data
  are cornerstones to producing higher yields.

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Two ways to view the same data

• What is the average fertility level in my low
  yield or high yield areas?
• Answered in Field and Grower Top Ten Reports.
• What is the average yield in my low fertility or
  high fertility areas?
• Answered in Field and Farm History Reports.

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From Grower Top Ten Report
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2. Refining planting rates

• The economics of variable planting rates
• Triple stacked corn for gt200/bag 2.5 per 1000
  seeds, therefore 5000 seeds 12.50/acre.
• Many fields have areas that produce at 36,000
  other areas that 29,000 is the correct rate.
• More variability more opportunity.
• premiercrop.comTM Search Engine allows us to
  determine optimum planting rates on different
  soil types, agronomic practices and genetics.

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Example of Report Showing Results
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3. Hybrid and variety selection matching
genetics to each field.

• Ever faced the situation where a particular
  hybrid or variety is your best and also your
  worst?
• Even in the same field?

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Multiple Variety Placement
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The Variety Profile tool

• Allows us to see how a hybrid or variety
  performed across different variables.
• Variety Profile Report
• Top Performers Report
• The Search Engine

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Hybrid and variety selection

• Group data can be powerful also can be limited if
  the growing environment is not adequately
  quantified.
• Easy to provide apples to oranges comparisons
• Yield by hybrid by soil type is a good start

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Hybrid and Variety selection

• Yield by Hybrid a starting place
• Yield by Hybrid by Soil Type better
• Yield by Hybrid by Soil Type by pH, P, K better
  still
• Yield by Hybrid by Soils by Soil Test Values by
  RM by Traits by Population by Rainfall by Applied
  N by Plant date by previous crop by row width
  closer to an apples to apples comparison

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Soil Taxonomy

• All soils are placed in one of eleven orders
  depending on the horizons (basically a
  combination of OM, pH, clay or sand) present in
  the profile. The goal is to group soils so that
  all soils in the same group share similar
  properties, modes of development and management
  potentials and limitations.

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Soils Family Tree

• Soil Type
• Great Group (parents)
• Sub Order (grand parents)
• Order (great grand parents)

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Variety by Soil Type Report
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18 bu/ac avg. difference top 50 vs. bottom 50
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210.54
198.63
190.18
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4. Recordkeeping Cost/bushel Analysis

• Premier Crop tools Field History Report and
  Search Engine
• New Multi-year Grower Reports

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5. Refining Nitrogen Rates

• How do we convert data into a future VR nitrogen
  decisions?
• 200 bushel yield goal x 1.2 240 of N less 45
  N for legumes 195 N
• Starting place for 1st year corn 1 of N/bushel
  produced.
• How can we do better?

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Nitrogen management

• N management complexities can be broadly
  separated into two primary issues
• Accurately estimating how much nitrogen from all
  sources is available
• Identifying and managing factors that influence N
  plant uptake largely ignored by most.

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The Nitrogen Cycle
Component
Input to soil
Loss from soil
78 of the air we breathe and the source of N for
fertilizers
Atmospheric nitrogen
Industrial fixation (commercial fertilizers)
Atmospheric fixation and deposition
Crop harvest
Animal manures and biosolids
Volatilization
Plant residues
Runoff and erosion
OM 5 N an acre foot of 2 OM 4000N. 4
OM 8000N
Biological fixation by legume plants
Plant uptake
Denitrification
Organic nitrogen
Nitrate (NO3)
1 - 3 organic N is converted to plant usable N
80 - 240
Ammonium (NH4)
-
Immobilization

Leaching
Mineralization
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What might Soil N contributions be
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Nitrogen management

• OM can be a logical next step in VR N formulas.
  Within a field, wont the 4 OM mineralize more N
  than the 2 OM every year?
• Past problem is lack of spatial measurement
  dramatic improvement with grid sampling. OM is
  the unused portion of the grid sample.

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Yield by Total N Rate by OM00-05 min. 80 bu/ac
230,992 acres
18,613 ac
59,390 ac
91,545 ac
31,171 ac
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if ( ( OM lt 2.5 ) and ( K lt 200 ) and ( pH gt 5.7
) ) then apply ( 28 ) elseif ( ( OM lt 2.5 ) and (
K gt 200 ) and ( pH gt 5.7 ) ) then apply ( 25.5 )
elseif ( ( OM lt 2.5 ) and ( K gt 200 ) and ( pH lt
5.7 ) ) then apply ( 28 ) elseif ( ( OM lt 2.5 )
and ( K lt 200 ) and ( pH lt 5.7 ) ) then apply (
31 ) elseif ( ( OM gt 2.5 ) and ( OM lt 4 ) and ( K
lt 200 ) and ( pH gt 5.7 ) ) then apply ( 25.5 )
elseif ( ( OM gt 2.5 ) and ( OM lt 4 ) and ( K lt
200 ) and ( pH lt 5.7 ) ) then apply ( 28 ) elseif
( ( OM gt 2.5 ) and ( OM lt 4 ) and ( K gt 200 ) and
( pH gt 5.7 ) ) then apply ( 23 ) elseif ( ( OM gt
2.5 ) and ( OM lt 4 ) and ( K gt 200 ) and ( pH lt
5.7 ) ) then apply ( 25.5 ) elseif ( ( OM gt 4 )
and ( K lt 200 ) and ( pH gt 5.7 ) ) then apply (
23 ) elseif ( ( OM gt 4 ) and ( K gt 200 ) and ( pH
gt 5.7 ) ) then apply ( 20 ) elseif ( ( OM gt 4 )
and ( K gt 200 ) and ( pH lt 5.7 ) ) then apply (
23 ) elseif ( ( OM gt 4 ) and ( K lt 200 ) and ( pH
lt 5.7 ) ) then apply ( 25.5 ) else apply ( 25.5 )
endif
VR formulas will be more complex
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Future N Matrix
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C. Why Precision Farming?

• Weather and soil are critical but management is
  still the key.
• Profits are still heavily tied to production.
• Correlating information from fields within your
  fields can increase your profits.
• You cant save yourself into prosperity.
• You can spend yourself poor, but you cant save
  yourself rich.

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D. Why Harvest Max?

• Harvest Land identified a need for their growers
  to have a partner throughout the entire cycle.
• Information
• Experiences
• Options
• a team approachits helpfulso there are two
  minds working on this, confident that theyre
  doing it rightchart a game plan and have an
  optimistic attitude, thats the way to go.
• Gyles Randall, University of Minnesota Extension
  soil scientist.

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Your Partner in Precision Agriculture
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E. Member Responsibilities

• Commit to Precision Farming management practices
• Yield mapping or monitor w/ GPS.
• Ability to export yield files as a shapefile.
• Ag Leader, Voyager, GreenStar, GreenStar 2.
• Check with us to verify others.
• Geospatial soil test (Current grid sample data).
• Keep accurate planting and harvesting data.
• Provide management information.
• Invest in the process and the outcome.

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Whats the Data Collection Flow?

• Grower, Farm, Field hierarchy
• Geo-referenced Field boundaries
• Soil Sample data files
• Soils data
• Specific Planter data Planting points and
  information
• VR Fertilizer data
• Specific Field information planning, costs,
  etc.
• Weather data external source
• Yield Maps
• Analysis Reports

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F. Member Investment

• Bronze Package
• 10 acre zone sampling every 4 years
• Data Management
• 4.75/acre/year
• Gold Package
• 4.4 acre grid sampling every 4 years
• Data Management
• Ground Truthing
• Newsletter updates
• Year-end annual conference
• 5.00/acre/year

• Platinum Package
• 2.5 acre grid sampling every 4 years
• Data Management
• Ground Truthing
• Newsletter updates
• Year-end annual conference
• 5.50/acre/year

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Accurate Information, Compelling Insights

• The real breakthroughs that help our members come
  from looking beyond the numbers. Accurate
  information is just the beginning. Through our
  work across thousands of acres and our
  partnership with the most progressive and
  business-minded producers in the area we are able
  to assist our growers not only in the better
  collection of sub-field data but also in the
  awareness of the implications of that data and in
  the development of the insight needed to make the
  business decisions that allow them to maximize
  their precision farming production and capture
  lost potential income.