More in Wireless farming

Nov. 12, 2012

Article

Corn and soybean prices following short-crop pattern

The USDA's November forecasts of the size of the 2012 U.S. corn and soybean crops were larger than expected, particularly for soybeans. As a result, the general downtrend in soybean prices since mid-September has accelerated, with January futures now at the lowest level since June 29. Corn prices have moved into the lower half of the trading range that has been in place since mid-September and December futures are at the lowest level since September 28....More
Nov. 12, 2012

Article

Digi-Star acquires RDS Technology

Digi‐Star LLC has acquired the U.K. based company RDS Technology. RDS Technology designs and manufactures a range of instrumentation for the agriculture and mobile machinery industry. Grant Ihrke, Digi‐Star's President said, "RDS and Digi‐Star have numerous synergies with electronics and sensors for the agricultural and industrial markets that will complement each other's customers. Both companies will benefit from the expanded product lines and total integrated solutions for their international customers with scales and controls needs."...More
Nov. 8, 2012

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Veterans Day 2012: Remembering those who served

Veterans Day honors those fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have given their lives for the freedom we enjoy today. Photojournalist Harlen Persinger, who served in South Vietnam, pays a special red, white and blue tribute to those Americans, including his great grandfather and uncle that were in the Civil War along with his father, who made it home safely from the WWII D-Day invasion.
Nov. 6, 2012

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Top 50 innovations in agricultural engineering

This month Resource magazine, the official publication of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), published its list of the top 50 innovations in agricultural engineering for 2013. This annual awards contest, called AE50, recognizes “products and technologies deemed to bring clear advancements to the marketplace, such as improved efficiency and user safety, and reduced labor and costs.” Entries are judged by an international panel of agricultural engineers....More
Oct. 29, 2012

Article

Palm-sized receiver adds GPS/GLONASS to smartphones, tablets

The SXBlue III-L GNSS palm-sized receiver from Geneq Inc. turns any Bluetooth-compliant smartphone, handheld, tablet, laptop or notebook computer into a fully capable GPS/GLONASS device. Out of the box, it can attain 10cm accuracy using OmniSTAR’s G2 or HP service or 1cm accuracy when connected via cellular or UHF radio to an RTK network....More
Oct. 29, 2012

Article

Redtail Cartography harnesses Google Earth to pinpoint RTK coverage

Redtail Cartography’s new RTK signal mapping service offers precision ag providers and their customers a graphic depiction of coverage from radio-based RTK systems. It uses Google Earth to show high- and low-accuracy coverage areas, as well as coverage gaps resulting from hills and other topographic impediments. The service is designed to help precision ag providers communicate, improve and expand coverage of RTK base stations, and to assist farmers and other mobile RTK users in quantifying coverage from semi-permanent or mobile base stations....More
Oct. 23, 2012

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Video surveillance advances bring high-end security to the farm 1

As the value of grain, livestock and machinery continues to climb, driving down the farmstead driveway and noticing that something is amiss is getting scarier than ever....More
Oct. 23, 2012

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Getting in the Halloween spirit: A tour of the Sturtevant Haunted Farm in Illinois 3

Photojournalist Harlen Persinger discovered that the Sturtevant Haunted Farm near Walnut, Illinois, offered plenty of nightmares for lots of leery visitors this Halloween. Lisa and Skip Sturtevant have been inviting guests to view the Halloween displays on their farm for free for 15 years, and the displays have become more complex, wacky and scarier each year.
Oct. 22, 2012

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Slow corn harvest and best-ever soybean yields

We have had plenty of rain in this part of NW Ohio since mid-August. It has made crops mature later and slowed down the harvest. Commercial tomato growers mudded out their crops. The soybean harvest around here is about 60% done and corn harvest is about 40% done. Wheat planting has not been completed. This year is shaping up a lot like last year when only about 50% of the wheat was planted and combines made ruts everywhere. The difference is this year it rains, and about a day later it is dry enough to work in the fields because of the extreme drought earlier in the summer....More
Oct. 18, 2012

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To everything, there is a season…

Lingering along back roads provides a kaleidoscope of autumn images and rural reflections for photojournalist Harlen Persinger.
Oct. 12, 2012

Article

Three technologies Deere says could revolutionize farming

The greatest revolution in agricultural equipment is the new technology that producers will be able to use on their machinery to improve efficiency and productivity in the field. That’s according to Barry Nelson, media relations manager for John Deere, when asked to share his outlook for farm machinery in 2013 and beyond. “There are three areas that every customer should ask their dealer about to make farm operations more efficient,” Nelson says. Here’s what they are:...More
Oct. 11, 2012

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Land market plateaus

A year ago, land prices were rising to shocking levels. But this year, the stories of high-priced land sales have quieted some. A conversation with Sterling Liddell, vice president with Rabo AgriFinance, explains why. He says the high price increases made farmland buyers cautious because prices went too high, too fast. And now the drought has added to the caution. But in his opinion, farmland should continue to increase in value, just not at last year’s heady pace. “Farmers are starting to reconsider if they will pay that much for land,” he adds....More
Oct. 8, 2012

Article

Crop yield forecasting app can now utilize GPS soil testing data

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Oct. 3, 2012

Article

Trends in cash rent leasing terms

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Oct. 3, 2012

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Secretary Vilsack announces that America's farm co-ops set records in 2011

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Sep. 27, 2012

Article

As farmers get older, MU professor encourages students to ‘return to the farm’ 1

In a recent survey published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), officials reported that more than one-third of U.S. farmers are 65 years old or older, and half of current farmers plan to retire in the next decade. With fewer young people staying home to take over their family farms, the average age of American farmers is increasing rapidly....More
Sep. 24, 2012

Article

Soybean prices tumble, but there are some positive developments

November 2012 soybean futures reached a high of $17.89 on September 4, but have declined sharply since then. The USDA's September 12 Crop Production report containing a smaller yield and production forecast provided some brief support, but that contract has traded under $16 and is currently about $1.90 below the high. Basis levels have also weakened over the past three weeks. The average cash bid in central Illinois, for example, was $0.03 over November futures on September 4 and $0.13 under on September 21....More
Sep. 20, 2012

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Robotic technology makes Kinze’s autonomous system work 2

Rhett Schildroth, product manager for Kinze, explains the equipment that is needed to make the autonomous tractor/grain-cart combo work successfully in the field. When the system comes to the market, he anticipates kits will be available for purchase to retrofit different tractors. View more videos of this revolutionary technology here:...More
Sep. 20, 2012

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Kinze unveils latest autonomous grain cart system 1

Kinze Manufacturing introduced its latest version of its Autonomous Harvest System in an Illinois field this week. With media on hand, Kinze’s product manager Rhett Schildroth explained the system that works without a driver for the tractor/grain-cart system. The high-tech system involves a ruggedized laptop computer that the combine driver monitors. The tractor is outfitted with sensors, radar and other equipment to make it robotic, yet safe....More
Sep. 20, 2012

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Driverless Kinze system reduces labor needs at harvest

Kinze Manufacturing surprised the agricultural equipment industry with its new autonomous technology. Why has Kinze gone after this? Susanne Kinzenbaw Veatch, vice president and chief marketing officer, says robotics help farmers fill a deepening labor need. She adds that her father John Kinzenbaw envisioned many years ago that robotics would someday come to the farm. View more videos of this revolutionary technology here:...More
Sep. 20, 2012

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No driver needed for Kinze’s Autonomous Harvest System

Farmers in the Monmouth, IL, area have spent three weeks harvesting corn with Kinze’s new Autonomous Harvest System. The system requires no operator for the tractor that follows the combine with a grain cart. The video above shows a combine that has just finished unloading and the tractor with cart driving away. The tractor moves to the edge of the field where it “parks” and waits for an operator to drive it to a semi for unloading....More
Sep. 18, 2012

Article

Smartphone application to calculate optimum nitrogen rates

University of Illinois Extension and the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices (CBMP) have developed a new tool to help farmers and crop advisors to determine the optimum nitrogen rate for corn and to plan for split applications of nitrogen, a recommended best management practice. ...More
Sep. 18, 2012

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Early corn harvest and September 1 stocks

A larger percentage of the U.S. corn grain acreage was harvested in August this year than is typically the case. The availability of large new crop corn supplies during the last month of the previous marketing year makes it more difficult to anticipate the magnitude of old crop stocks on September 1....More
Sep. 14, 2012

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Agricultural and biological engineering ranked best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report

The undergraduate program in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been ranked number one in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. “Best Colleges 2013” placed Illinois in a tie with Purdue University for the top spot, followed by Iowa State University....More
Sep. 12, 2012

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Beginning to harvest weak crops

Some of the corn here is ready to harvest. The stalks are extremely weak. Most of the soybeans are going to need two to four weeks before they are ready so people will be changing their headers back and forth from corn to beans. I tried to buy a Drago corn header but they are all sold out. The header excels in saving small ears so lots of people have bought them this year. I am sure there is a lot of demand for draper soybean headers because of all the short soybean plants....More