Ag Leader Technology Blog

With colder temperatures here and the crops out of the field, fall application will soon be in full swing.  Last week, we provided some safety tips for fall application. When transitioning from harvest to fall application, there are also a few things to remember to keep your data in order and prevent downtime in the [...]

Now that most of the grain is safely out of the field and in storage bins and the combine is ready to be put away, it’s time to go back to the field and start with fall tillage and application.  More late nights, but at least there are less moving parts and you can let [...]

I’m excited to announce the release of SMS Basic/Advanced Version 11.5 and SMS Mobile Version 5.5 Software today. The software updates include many enhancements and new features to ensure that it works with the market’s latest display firmware, make the software more user-friendly, and the ability to add new layers of information to your data collection.

For several years now, Ag Leader has been selling precision farming products into China. Over the years the interest in precision farming has increased as China modernizes their farming practices and imports more western made farm equipment. China has been forced to rapidly update their farming practices and equipment for two reasons: 1) the growing demand for food from a rising population (and a population with more disposable income) and 2) a labor shortage.

As we progress through the Harvest season, you may find an opportunity to call and speak with one of our Customer Support Representatives. Putting a face with a name is one way Ag Leader strives to make our Customer Support as personalized as possible, and we place high importance in our staffing quality. I would [...]

Ag Leader recently added two full-time support staff members to the Machine Guidance Support team.  Both are in the Technical Support Representative role, so you may have had the opportunity to talk with one of these fine young men this fall.
Brett Buehler
Brett joined the Ag Leader team this August as a Technical Support Representative.  He [...]

Ag Leader Technology has been recruiting interns for the Technical Support department since 1998. This internship program was started in an effort to provide continuing education in the field of precision agriculture through work experience. Today, our internship program is an intense, seven-month program designed to expose students to the capabilities and benefits of precision [...]

The corn planter is one of the most expensive implements a farmer can own.  Although the planter can only perform one function, it is a extremely important one, and during the winter months you may want to inspect and service the planter.  Harvest is a great time to take a minute and look at the [...]

Earlier this year, we introduced you to several members of the Ag Leader Software Support team (see Part 1 and Part 2 of this series). Today, meet two more members of our team that you may be speaking with when calling Ag Leader.
Adam Walters
Adam started with Ag Leader in May of 2011 as a full-time [...]

All of us have heard the stories from neighbors, friends, and family about someone that has been involved in some type of farm accident. Whether it be grain entrapment, wild livestock, or machinery roll-overs, the inherent risks of agriculture are around us everyday. With some simple precautions and good awareness and state-of-mind, many of these [...]

With fall upon us, another management decision that may be on your list is whether you are going to soil sample your fields. Soil sampling your fields can help you do several things. The first item that comes to people’s mind is the ability to create variable rate prescriptions based off of the lab results you receive after sampling. Another benefit to soil sampling that may not be quite as obvious is that this provides an extra layer of data for analysis. For example, you can overlay a grain harvest map with a soil sampling map and then compare the soil test value for high and low yielding areas. How much yield difference do you notice between areas that have different soil test results?

As harvest season kicks off, Ag Leader’s customer support team is getting several calls about yield monitoring.  Before calling into the tech support call center, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help us more effectively help you. The more information you have ready ahead of time, the faster the call [...]

For many years, agronomists from universities and consulting agencies have been pushing for more conservation tillage, such as strip-till.  The concept of fewer passes through the field in a crop season has some farmers seeing the benefit of lower labor and fuel cost.  Another advantage to strip-till is that it allows the farmer to manage [...]

This summer, the Marketing department at Ag Leader was lucky enough to have Kelsey Staten be a part of our team as an intern. We asked Kelsey to share some thoughts about her experience; below is what she had to say.

In past blog posts, we have talked about universities putting an emphasis on precision ag education. The Alabama Precision Ag Extension team is another example of an educational institution working with precision ag. This summer, they held a Management Zones/AgGIS Workshop with the goal of educating Alabama farmers on the basics of generating and properly [...]

Earlier this year, I introduced you to several members of Ag Leader’s Customer Support team (you can find those introductions in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3). Today, meet two more employees who play important roles in the Technical Support department.
Kelly Kopsa
Kelly Kopsa started with Ag Leader in 1998 as a Technical Support Representative.  In [...]

For the latest and greatest in agriculture, it’s hard to beat the Farm Progress Show. And the 2011 event was no exception. Held in Decatur IL August 30 – September 1, thousands of enthusiastic farmers, students, industry professionals and international visitors came from all over the globe to participate in the industry’s foremost agricultural experience. [...]

Now that the training season has come to an end, it’s time to start thinking about crawling back into the driver’s seat of your combine.  As you are preparing for your journey to the field, I thought it might be good to share some common questions from customer training and the pre-harvest checklist to ensure [...]

Yesterday, I went through the important steps in checking the physical components of your yield monitor. Today, we will go through the pre-harvest calibrations that you should run. Even if you don’t think you need to recalibrate everything on the combine, it is a good idea to check to make sure everything is functioning properly.
The [...]

Well, it is that time of year again – growers are beginning to pull combines out of the shed and begin preparing for harvest.  Last week, Precision Point included blog posts about preparing your GPS equipment and your SMS Software. Making sure your yield monitor is ready should be a step in this important process [...]