Ag Leader Technology Blog

Product Manager Aaron Frieldein discusses the new releases of SMS Desktop Software version 11.5 and SMS Mobile Software version 5.5.

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.

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 many of us prepare for harvest, the list of tasks seem to increase, ranging from lining up workers, vehicle maintenance, grain handling system maintenance, and… oh yeah, setting up your precision ag equipment! Your precision ag desktop software can be used to export things like Field and Product Names, Boundaries, Guidance Lines, Prescriptions, Crop [...]

We are always looking for ways to offer more SMS trainings in different locations, during varying seasons and even in different training environments. In addition to the classroom and online trainings we’ve been offering for several years, in July we started offering a free Introduction to SMS Webinar. We’ve had great turnouts for these sessions and are proud to announce that starting in September we will begin offering Introduction to SMS Advanced and SMS Mobile Webinars.

It’s that time of year again when we start to discuss the new features coming out with the next release of SMS software from Ag Leader.  We have been working all summer on updates to SMS and SMS Mobile to add new tools and improve existing functions to maximize your time.  We hope you’ll take [...]

On August 9th and 10th, we hosted our first SMS Certified II Training Session at Ag Leader Academy.  We’ve been offering the SMS Certified I class for several years, but with the constant advances in the precision ag industry we recognize the need to provide ongoing education.
The SMS Certified II course focused on the tools [...]

We are excited to announce the second annual Educators’ Training at Ag Leader Academy to be held August 3-4. This training is especially geared for colleges who are equipping students to work in precision agriculture. We have been partnering with educational institutions for many years, assisting with curriculum, software and hardware needs, and training for [...]

In one of Aaron’s more recent posts, he talked about the value of crop scouting. Scouting your crop will help you identity problem spots in your fields and help you decide if any action should or can be taken to address those areas.  Documenting information collected during scouting will help you after harvest to evaluate why [...]

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 [...]

This video outlines the new features and enhancements available in Version 11.0 for SMS Basic and Advanced and Version 5.0 for SMS Mobile.

We are excited to announce the release of SMS Basic/Advanced Version 11.0 and SMS Mobile Version 5.0 Software today. The software updates include many enhancements and new features to ensure that it works with the latest display firmware for several companies, make the software more user-friendly and improve the overall operation. To learn more about these enhancements, please watch the video below.

This video tutorial demonstrates how to define a field level boundary and data set boundary, ways to collect a boundary, tools available while logging a boundary and other tools to fine-tune the boundary on SMS Mobile.

This video tutorial demonstrates how to add layers, order the layers, make appearance changes and use labels and tool tips on the maps in SMS Mobile.

This video tutorial demonstrates how to define soil sampling points, grids or regions in SMS Mobile, and how to adjust the grid size and alignment. In addition, it shows how to use Navigation tools to drive to a sample site.

This video tutorial demonstrates how to define soil sampling points, grids or regions in SMS Mobile, and how to adjust the grid size and alignment. In addition, it shows how to use Navigation tools to drive to a sample site.

This video tutorial helps users become familiar with the layout of the SMS Mobile software at startup and see how multiple layers can be set up as references in the field, as well as how to use the tools in the software.

This video tutorial helps users become familiar with the layout of the SMS Mobile software at startup and see how multiple layers can be set up as references in the field, as well as how to use the tools in the software.

Now that the crops are out of the field and fall field work is beginning, it is time for those fortunate enough to have a problem with excess moisture to get in the field and start repairing and laying new tile.  For those of you who have tiled fields in the past, you can likely [...]

As harvest wraps up and you start to read in your yield data, you might also take some time to record some of the other things that you saw while you were out in the field.  This year I’ve seen several soybean fields with SDS (Sudden Death Syndrome), corn fields that lacked nitrogen, fields that had been flooded, and even a few that had some lodging due to winds that we had last week.  Whatever the case may be for your particular farm, you have the ability to add additional documentation in SMS about these areas for future reference.