Use of Technology with Agronomy at CropPro Cory Willness
History Raised on mixed farm northern SK, got BSA 1996 retail agronomy fee for service scouting 2003 started independent consulting 25,000 ac
Why VR?
2008 Started VR Business 1 st Veris in SK All this tech is gone
Current Mapping Units 6 MAPS trucks, 2 rangers RTK, autosteer, em38 Patented SWAT MAPS
Current Sampling Units 6 sampling trucks Hydraulic + wintex (2 pumps) Battery powered
Current Area Agronomy mainly NE SK but growing Head office Naicam SK VR services all over Canola Wheat, barley, oats» Seed alfalfa, peas, lentils, canary, flax, durum mustard, soybeans, fababeans All tillage regimes: zero to worked 3 times
Current Staff SK agronomy: 12 full-time, 3 part-time BC software: 3 full-time
Staff Expertise 5 Ag Degree 3 Ag Diploma 3 Computer Science Degree 2 Engineer Diploma All staff required to have 50 hrs/year PD Assortment of PAg, PEng, CCA, CAC, CAFA members
Our Services MAPS (75%) VR fertilizer / seed Zone scouting Zone sampling Fertility plans and prescriptions Drainage files Custom mapping CROPS (25%) Complete farm agronomy all year
CROPS Agronomy Services Crop Planning Weed, Disease and Insect Scouting (excl cutworms, midge) Pesticide Recommendations Logistics of Spray Operations (key feature) Farm Records and App All-Season Advice Fertility separate 99% VR $4.75/ac
Staff and Farmer Connectivity Paperless Almost everything done via apps: scouting, pictures, zone maps, soil and tissue data Email pdf s of crop and fertility plans Connected As farm clients complete jobs (seeding, spraying) they hit done All CropPro staff and farm staff synched with files/data
GPS and Computer Overkill Power GIS Desktops Laptops for remote work Tablets touch screen all trucks Ruggedized tablets for soil test trucks and field checks Smartphones GPS/software on it all All dies in 3 years
Ground Truthing
Navigation To & Within Fields Road files, field border and field # Efficient travel for scouters, samplers Zone maps for tissue tests, plant stands, protein samples, disease
Frames and Hoops not the best for plant stand counts
In-crop Sensors Not used much currently Drones only used for specific things
Skills and Training Very steep learning curve at CropPro Boots on the ground agronomy skills and experience best training there is ICAN (Independent Consulting Agronomist Network) Bring in chem, seed, fert reps Govt, Univ, Research Sites. MAC webcast!
Scouting Technique
Common Sense Scout Technique No pattern - Check these:» Borders - neighbors volunteers, bugs, drift» Approaches where new weeds are brought in» Depressions hemp nettle, smartweed» Hills millet, cutworms...» Saline areas kochia, foxtail
Time Per Field AB Project How long does it take to properly scout a field for weeds on a quad? I enthusiastically responded 15 minutes Speaker replied their research shows that it takes 45 minutes to do a proper job.. followed by a few chuckles
Scouting Efficiency is Real Has the speaker scouted the field constantly for the past 15 years Does the speaker have a database with every weed, stage, population, severity Guess what a copy as new button does? Mostly volunteers and fall weeds that change Quit telling us how many acres we should be doing
Technique: Bertha is Where?
Thresholds: Bertha is What? Current Govt. / CCC Thresholds.06 bu/ac per larva/m2 (linear) 10 larva =.6 bu/ac 20 larva = 1.2 bu/ac 30 larva = 1.8 bu/ac 40 larva = 2.4 bu/ac So for 2007 the magic number was $8 canola, $12 treatment = about 25 larva/m2
Neighbors - Sprayed too late 10 to 15 bu/ac loss 30 per m2 Loss 1.8 to 2.4 bu/ac?
Plane Miss 10 to 20 bu/ac loss 30 per m2 1.8 bu/ac loss?
Thresholds Accurate and use Wheat midge Diamondback Aphids Other bugs Maybe wild oats Inaccurate or don t use Cutworms Bertha (made our own) Weeds (does anyone?) VN-VL-L-M-S ratings, stage, and where
Wish List for New Technology Wheat Midge Monitor Place sensors in field, monitor pests and identify which are midge, counts them NO scouting! Soil Nutrient Sensors Place sensors in field, transmits nutrient concentration NO soil testing!
The 95% Standard
Is 95% Correct Good Enough? A Less Than Perfect Standard Agronomy is subjective and the right advice depends on correct weather predictions, insect cycles, frost dates, weed emergence, etc. Its judgement calls No agronomist of farmer does everything 100% agronomically sound there are always compromises We don t get everything our way agronomically. Marketing drives what happens today not agronomy We don t want the glory or the blame it is your farm and we are a very small part of the big picture. We just work with what we get!
Summary Fee for service agronomy is tough hard work, integrity, responsibility, weather, expectations are high I m the manager now; not our best techie geek and not our best agronomist We need to make a profit! need efficiency, establish client relationships, train, supervise But it s still our passion and we love it!
THANK YOU