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Computers allow farmers to plant precisely

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

The GPS/computer screen in the cab of Chuck Pope's tractor can have almost complete control of the process. The blue squares are areas of the field that pope has planted and the computer will "paint" the field as planting progresses.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Chuck Pope uses a 36 row planter to get a corn crop into the ground of a field along Hwy 89 south of Whitewater on 05-19-09. Electronic additions to the planter maximize the efficiency that Pope can obtain by using large equipment.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Computers and digital readouts are making increasing headway into the cabs of the tractors of area farmers. Chuck Pope who farms south of Whitewater and can plant up to 36 rows of corn at a time, finds the technology indispensable.

WHITEWATER TOWNSHIP — If only Whitewater Lake weren’t in the way.

And Lake Michigan.

And the Appalachian Mountains.

And about a million other places where corn won’t grow.

But if he could get away with it, Chuck Pope said he would plant corn all the way to New York, 36 perfectly straight rows at a time.

Pope uses global positioning software in the cab of his tractor as a guide as he plants thousands of acres of corn in Walworth, Rock and Jefferson counties.

The equipment isn’t new, but it’s becoming more common as farmers look for ways to cut costs.

Look, Ma! No hands

As Pope rounds the corner in a field, a little image of a tractor lines up with a pre-programmed line on a computer monitor in the cab of his John Deere.

Pope hits a switch and lowers the 90-foot-wide planter. He flips a switch on the back of the steering column, and the tractor takes over, steering itself and following the GPS line up the field.

The steering wheel twists gently. Pope turns from side to side in his chair, keeping his eyes on the planter.

His hands aren’t on the wheel.

On the monitor, the image of the little tractor and planter look like they’re painting the screen. The color change shows where Pope has planted. Equipment beeps and flashes as Pope steers around an island where trees grow in the middle of a cornfield.

The little image of the tractor paints a dark spot on the field where Pope has crossed twice.

No worries.

Another monitor indicates the planter shut off a few rows to prevent double planting in the overlap.

Pope can flip switches to shut off rows when he wants, like when he crosses his fingers and drives over muddy spots in the field with the heavy equipment.

The future

It’s not a brand new concept to use data tracking software and Global Positioning Systems to maximize crop yields.

Pope’s been doing it for 10 years.

Not far away, Darien Township grower Wes Hopkins is just getting started collecting field data this spring. As he does spring fieldwork, Hopkins is inputting field names, seed hybrids and nutrient management practices.

“All this can be layered in there,” Hopkins said. “You map it, taking in and out whatever you like. Eventually you map in fertilizer needs.”

When you take into account the high cost of inputs—the things that go into growing a crop—investing in technology makes more and more sense, Hopkins said.

“A lot of this technology has been available,” Hopkins said. “But when corn was $2, and inputs cost half of what they are, it didn’t cost out.”

Seed costs about $80 per acre, and that’s “being kind,” Hopkins said.

Precision planting shaves 2 to 3 percent off Pope’s seed costs, he said. That adds up to savings of $8,000 to $15,000 per year, he said.

It’s not like things are going to get cheaper, Hopkins said.

“We realize, here, as an ag community, that things aren’t going to go backwards,” Hopkins said. “Any way we can save money is a benefit. This is another tool.”

It’s a tool that’s changing fast.

Pope remembers having to make his own straight lines with his 12-row planter.

“I thought I was good,” he said.

At the time, Pope marked rows with markers that fold out like long robot arms from the end of the planter.

The 36-row planter he’s used for the last five seasons has 45-foot markers that fold out from each end. But computerized planting means Pope doesn’t need the markers; he’s used them four or five times in five years, he said.

Not many farmers in Rock or Walworth counties have a 36-row planter, but a 48-row planter already is on the market, Pope said. It doesn’t even have fold-down row markers, Pope said. Designers just assumed farmers would have GPS equipment in the cabs.

A two-wheel-drive tractor model is available that turns the tractor around at the end of the field and raises and lowers the planter, Pope said.

“That’s scary,” he said.

Still, he chuckles as he points out the perfectly straight cornrows slicing across the field.

“Isn’t that cool?” Pope says, grinning like a kid with a new video game. “I could keep going, 36 rows at a time, all the way to New York.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

When you put food on your kids’ plates, you try to make sure you give them enough to grow but not so much that food ends up all over the floor.

Farmers have to make a similar decision when they “feed” a field, Walworth County conservationist Brian Smetana said.

“You want to make sure you’re not over-applying while making sure you have enough nutrients to get a decent crop,” Smetana said. “In essence, every farmer does a nutrient management plan. It’s just part of farming.”

A nutrient management plan helps crop producers manage the amount, source, placement, form and timing of the nutrients they put into the soil.

Some farmers want a structured plan. Others are required to have a plan in place to qualify for grant money or to participate in some programs, Smetana said.

When they turn to the local conservation office or their fertilizer salesman for help, what they get is documentation, he said.

“Let’s make sure that when we’re putting nutrients out there, it is being done properly,” Smetana said.

Farmers—Especially those who raise animals and need to dispose of manure—commonly use three tools for accurate fertilizing, Smetana said.

Soil testing—A lab at UW-Madison test soils for a variety of micronutrients and sends back recommendations for nutrient application on a field-by-field basis.

Farmers might also use yield data during the harvest season to manage springtime fertilizer application.

Maps—What fields are too hilly for winter application? Where’s a good field to spread manure in the winter? Where are the wells and streams?

“A plan would take a map of his farm, identify where not to spread in winter or what fields need incorporating (tilling fertilizer into the soil),” Smetana said. “Or, if you’re going to spread, here’s how much will work.”

Snap-Plus software—The UW Extension, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Office host a Web site where producers can learn about and download nutrient management software.