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Robotic collection and broader use of soil profile data can help farmers be more economical and accurate with fertilizer purchases and application. Soil sampling isn’t traditionally considered one of the most precise precision ag practices. Variability in depth, timing, and volume of samples taken in a field are pain points that can limit the reliability of results. While lab analysis of soil is highly accurate – less than a 3% margin for error – results are only as reliable

Ep. 54: The Importance of Ag Data with Joshlin Yoder If you had asked Joshlin Yoder earlier this summer how harvest might pan out, he might have had a bleaker answer than the one he has now. But as he sits in the combine harvesting soybeans, he’ll give you a more optimistic and grateful response. “We caught just enough rain at the right times that overall, we’re going to have above-average beans and well above-average corn,” says Joshlin Yoder, a row crop and cattle farmer in

We’ve all felt the direct and indirect impact of widespread labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and inflation. But in the age of doing more with less, should we be more or less flexible with service expectations, especially since we’re probably paying more for it? Perhaps. But when we’re getting less and spending more, it’s harder to justify the saying, ‘You get what you pay for.’ Think about that phrase in the context of your primary precision ag specialist or service

Ep. 53: What is stock cropping? With Zack Smith of Stock Cropper, Inc. “We knew we had to think differently.” That’s what fifth-generation Iowa farmer Zack Smith said when in early 2020, corn and soybean prices were at historical lows. Along with a group of fellow farmers, Zack began to brainstorm solutions that would keep them farming, and that’s where the idea of stock cropping was born. After testing farming concepts like strip inter-cropping with soybeans in between corn,

An analytical approach to crop diversification creates new opportunities for farmers to transition acres out of tradition and into niche markets. Farm half the acres and make twice as much money. The comment has stuck with South Dakota farmer Jeff Lakner for more than 40 years. In 1981, it sounded comically optimistic. Today, it’s practically realistic as advanced ag technology and adopting sustainable farming methods help farmers do more with less. However, Lakner and others