Ag Leader Technology Blog

Since my last post, Ag Leader Academy has been busy with a wide assortment of events.  These events range from OEM distributer training, a company cookout and even our most recent supplier event.  Between all the activity and the weather conditions this year, it feels like we jumped right from winter into summer, skipping spring [...]

In a past blog post, I recalled a story from my years working at a co-op where I was given directions to a field based on a tree and explained the importance of satellite imagery in SMS.  In version 11.0 of SMS, we have expanded on that even more and now have the capability to display [...]

There is a wealth of knowledge that can be gained from the data you are collecting in the field.   Questions can range from the simple questions of “How many acres did I plant of each hybrid? or “What days was I in the field planting?”, to the more complex ones of “How much of a [...]

Cereals is an annual event that covers more than 64ha (~160ac) and has more than 450 suppliers present covering all aspects of arable production from seeds and fertilisers to recycling and renewable energy resources, and of course precision farming technologies. There are also machinery manufacturers and extensive trial plots of many seed varieties and agrochemicals.

Farmers are beginning to take notice of OptRx crop sensors. I know this because tech support seems to be taking more and more calls from growers who have questions on OptRx, and it seems as if everyone is asking mostly the same questions. What most people don’t realize is how simple the system really is to use.

“Suppliers, no matter what they provide, are key to the success of our business and our customers.” This quote from Purchasing Manager Kevin Salzburg perfectly sums up why Ag Leader hosted a two-day supplier event in Ames, Iowa, Monday, June 7 and Tuesday, June 8, 2011. In previous years, the supplier gathering was held for just one day. To commemorate the 5th anniversary of the get-together, Ag Leader invited the suppliers in for two days to provide them with a richer, more in-depth experience.

Everyone has questions about something and hopefully you have someone to ask or someplace to look to find answers to those questions. We have doctors and nurses for medical questions, agronomists for crop questions, religious leaders for questions on faith, and newspapers and TV for information about current events. What about when it comes to questions about your SMS Software?

Regular readers of this blog may have picked up that some of the authors are farmers themselves. Most of us work our normal hours here, and then take to the fields on the weekend or evenings to take care of the crops. Some are directly involved with their own operation, and some help their family farm in the busy season. So we often know the ups and downs of the lifestyle that our readers make a living from. We are also subject to those production issues that make a person sigh in frustration when something goes wrong. I had one such event this year on our farm.

The crop is about planted here, and I am beginning to plan for side-dressing corn. In our operation we have a target range of total N that we would like to provide the crop. That range is a lbs/ac goal, something like 175-250lbs/ac goal.

Yesterday, I introduced you to Ag Leader’s current customer support interns and talked about what the customer support internship experience. To go along with this, I thought it would be interesting to ask a few of our past customer support interns about their experiences with the internship and how it has helped them get to where they are today. Everyone I spoke with was excited to tell me about how valuable their internship experience was. I had the opportunity to speak with former interns who still work for Ag Leader, as well as a former intern who is now an Ag Leader dealer.

Each year, Ag Leader’s customer support department hires interns with the goal of providing students an opportunity to gain experience in precision agriculture. These interns also provide an important contribution to Ag Leader by helping the support department better serve our customers. The current group of technical support interns started in January of this year.

When I joined Ag Leader, I became two things I’d never been before: involved in the equipment side of agriculture and a commuter. I live in Des Moines and drive to Ames Monday through Friday—a seventy-mile commute round-trip in my Toyota Prius. With gas prices at an all time high, I’m very glad I made the decision to buy a hybrid five years ago. But, the miles are starting to build up. If I trade in my car now before the miles get too high, I should be able to get a decent price on trade-in. Or, I could drive it into the ground and avoid having a car payment. What to do, what to do?