Precision Agriculture: Planter Technology
Advancing Agricultural Performance® and Environmental Stewardship
February 19, 2015 Ames, Iowa
Precision Agriculture: Planter Technology Nathan Paul Operations Manager – Cropping Systems, Iowa Soybean Association [email protected]
Funded in part by the soybean checkoff
Who am I? • Grew up on a family farm in southwest Iowa • Dad and Uncle farm 2300 acres together • Corn & soybeans, history of hogs and cow/calf • “Multicultural” farm • Attended Northwest Missouri State University • Married in October 2014
Precision Ag Combine
Then and Now and In-between
Adoption of Precision Ag Technology
• 2014 Iowa AgState Digital Agriculture Project • Surveyed over 400 Iowa farmers – 93% utilize some sort of Precision Ag on their farms – Auto-steer or guidance: 74% – Variable Rate Fertilizer: 74% – Variable Rate Planting: 36% – Multi-Hybrid Planting: 8% – Satellite/Aerial Imagery: 50%
Reasons for Using Precision Ag Technology
Focus on Planting Seed Depth
Soil Moisture Planting Date
Emergence Seed Spacing
Planting Decisions
Planter Bar Weight
Planting Speed
Population Sidewall Compaction
Skips
Row Width Center-fill Planter Compaction
Doubles No-Till Trash
The Future…..
“Basic” Upgrade: Guidance and Autosteer Slow Initial Adoption • • •
Too expensive “Fad” No need
Reasons behind adoption: • Input costs – Fuel, Repairs, Labor – Fertilizer, Chemical, Seed
• Increased productivity • Planting efficiency – More Acres daily
• “Not as tired at night” • Less Operator Error?
Accuracy
• Spatial accuracy ranges: – Light bar (12” pass to pass) – WAAS (3-15” pass-to-pass)
www.trimble.com
• Year to year may be off up to 5 ft.
– OmniSTAR (2-5” pass-topass) – RTK (+/- 1” pass-to-pass) Credit: John Deere
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/wq452
System Costs • Light Bar System • Trimble EZ 250 - $1,295 + antenna
• WAAS Systems • Monitor/Antenna + free signal
• OmniSTAR (G2, HP, VBS, XP) • Monitor/Receiver + $400-$1500/year
• RTK Systems • $12,000 - $15,000 system • Privately-owned base station • $750 - $1500/year subscription
• CORS RTK Systems • RTK through cellular connection • Network of base stations • $300/month-$2000/year subscriptions
Ag Leader ParaDyme for CORS RTK
Don’t take it for granted
Row Clutches Section or individual row control Mis-plant or double-plant areas at ends of non-square fields Auburn University: 4.3% savings on corn seed costs (12 row planter) Iowa State University: 3.3% Overlap Error = $7.89/acre economic savings • Cost savings vary pending field size, shape, seed costs, etc. • Cost for technology general starts around $2000, pending existing equipment • • • •
www.alabamaprecisionagonline.com
Row Clutches Suitability for section or row control?
Square 40
Terraced 120
Singulation and Plant Spacing Debate • Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin Extension corn agronomist: – A few states have shown a yield advantage for reducing spacing variability – Studies in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota have found no yield gains from precise plant spacing at today's corn plant populations • DuPont Pioneer: – Within-row plant spacing uniformity does impact grain yield; however, whole-field impacts on grain yield are usually relatively small, averaging about 1% to 2% – By far, a skip is the planting outcome that contributes the most to yield loss, whereas occasional doubles have no negative impact
Avoiding skips and doubles
“Plant at 10 mph!”
Precision Planting SpeedTube • Replaces traditional seed tube • Feeder wheels drop seed into belt • Belt matches speed of planter, no more seed “drop” • Delivers seed to trench, no bounce or roll • Designed to have consistent spacing
“Plant at 10 mph!” John Deere ExactEmerge • New planters only, entire row unit • Entire row unit (Meter, disc, etc) • Brush belt with seed sensor (monitoring) replaces seed tube • 2 electric motors turn meter/belt • Can singulate soybeans too
Costs – Two different Approaches John Deere ExactEmerge • Exclusive to John Deere planters • Quote: – 2015, 12-row 1775NT Planter, 30 inch rows
• Base planter - $95,348 • ExactEmerge Package – +$42,449 (Deere Configurator)
Precision Planting • SpeedTube – (w/vSet & vDrive required and included in cost) $1220.42 per row
• Built on existing planter • Requires “new wiring” – DeltaForce – SpeedTube – vSet Select
• Installation
Return (assume +5 bu/acre, $3.50 corn) • ExactEmerge – 750 acres of corn • (750 X 5) X $3.50 = $13,125
– Considerations: • New Planter • No labor costs • Full row unit – Active pneumatic downforce – New bowl-shaped seed disc – Brush belt
= 3.2 years
Return (assume +5 bu/acre, $3.50 corn) • Precision Planting SpeedTube – 750 acres of corn • (750 X 5) X $3.50 = $13,125
= 1.1 years
– Considerations: • • • •
Existing Planter Industry compatible Labor Costs Prerequisites: – 20/20 Monitor ($1500-$5000)
What would change at 10 mph instead of 5 mph? • Going from 5 mph to 10 mph requires approximately 80% more horsepower (John Deere) • Planting Speed (30 ft planter, 100% efficiency): – 4.5 mph = 16 acres/hour – 10 mph = 40 acres/hour
• Electric motors – fewer moving parts, fewer breakdowns • Shrink planting time, fit in optimum planting windows • Note: “Farmers need to consider ground conditions, depth control, downforce control, residue management, row cleaners, closing system configuration and even horsepower required” – Precision Planting
Which of these planters can plant 15” rows?
On-Farm Network Dataset Details • The On-Farm Network conducted 7 replicated strip trials comparing 15 inch rows vs. 30 inch rows in 2014 – Six trials were successful
Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4
30" Row Spacing 15" Row Spacing 30" Row Spacing 15" Row Spacing 30" Row Spacing 15" Row Spacing 30" Row Spacing 15" Row Spacing
2014 On-Farm Network Trial Results Soybean Row Width (6 trials)
Soybean Row Width 60.0
10.0 9.3
59.0
8.0
58.0 57.0
4.8
4.0
2.0 1.6 0.0 -1.1
-1.0
1.9
Yield (bu/A)
Yield (bu/A)
6.0
56.4
56.0 55.0 53.8
54.0 53.0 52.0 51.0 50.0
-2.0
15" Rows
30" Rows
Iowa State University - Row Spacing in Soybean • On average in Iowa a 4.5 bu./acre yield increase can be expected using 15-inch row spacing, compared to 30-inch row spacing (2004-2007 study)
Source: http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soybean/documents/RowSpacing.pdf
Pros and Cons Pros: • Multiple University studies: – 3 to 4 bu/acre advantage to 15 inch rows vs 30 inch rows
• Early canopy closure • Weed suppression • Harvest efficiency – Less machine wear – Reduced losses (plant height)
Cons: • Equipment costs – Upgrade or multiple
• Disease potential – Cool canopy and moisture may lead to white mold
• Wheel track damage – Larger boom decreases potential yield loss
• Time if double planting
Obstacles To Adoption • Simplicity: Many farmers prefer one planter on 30 inch row spacing for both corn and soybeans. • Cost: Upgrading or adding a narrow row planter to the farming operation is a large investment • Yield benefits: Small-plot research data is available, but what happens in the real world across a wider range of growing conditions?
Buzzword: Downforce
In 2009, Beck’s concluded that not having proper downforce on planter units, whether you do it by checking and changing pressure manually, or by having an automatic system, can cost you $32 to $52 per acre in lost yield Bechman, Farm Progress
Improper Downforce • Too much or too little downforce can lead to: – – – – –
Bouncing row unit Sidewall compaction/cave in Shallow/Deep seed trench Slower plant emergence Plant struggles/stress
– “Every two kernel rows missing around the cob amounts to a yield loss of 20 bushels per acre.” (34 long, 16-18 round) - Lemkuhl
• Center-fill planter weight vs wings: – Must manage planter bar weight – “Three-year study has found that there was a 22 bushel/acre yield difference between the two areas” – Bill Lemkuhl
Air Bag Systems • Precision Planting launched “AirForce” system in 2008 • Air compressor adjusts down and/or uplift bags from sensor pin • Adjusts about every 70-100 ft. – Not instantly
• Requires SeedSense 20/20 monitor w/o autosteer • Cost: – $317.50/Row + labor add-on to existing planter
• Claim +8.2 bu/acre advantage citing Beck’s PFR Research 5 year study
Air Bag Systems • John Deere countered with Pneumatic and Active Pneumatic Downforce • Factory installed – John Deere exclusive
• Hydraulically driven compressor • Deere: “Can sense need to adjust 4 times faster than 20/20 AirForce” • Takes multiple sensors values, averages to adjust entire bar • Runs through existing GreenStar™ monitor
Air compressor on 1770NT
Pneumatic downforce assembly
Hydraulic Downforce Systems • Top downforce products on market: – Dawn Equipment – Precision Planting
• Ag Leader and John Deere both partnered with Dawn Equipment in Illinois to deliver hydraulic downforce • John Deere partnership allows users to equip John Deere planters using Dawn parts at factor • Precision Planting (Climate Corp) and Case IH: – Non-exclusive agreement for DF and other planter equipment
• Kinze – no agreement, but compatible with both systems
Hydraulic Downforce Dawn’s Hydraulic Downforce
• Hydraulic actuator with nitrogen • accumulator • • Allows for movement and absorbs • pressure across field, no damage to unit • 3 channel add on ranges $10,000-$13,000 (12 row planter)
• Up to 8 section control
Precision Planting’s DeltaForce
Hydraulic Cylindar $1465.50/row Both systems cite Beck’s study and promote +11/bu acre with hydraulic DF versus standard practice
Downforce Studies • ISU Extension studied down pressure effects on corn plant germination and early growth •
Tested 3 levels of down force (40 to 100 lbs, 110 to 200 lbs, Over 200 lbs) in dry, wet and moist, no-till soils
• Observations: – Corn emerged faster with less pressure in wet soils and more pressure in dry soils. – Control showed slower emergence than optimal. – Significant differences in seed depth – 1 inch difference
• Monsanto study in 2009: “Corn planted at 1 inch resulted in a final plant population reduction of 51% when compared to plots planted at 2 or 3 inches.”
Downforce Studies Continued • 2014 Beck’s study in Illinois compared manual settings of 0 lbs, 125 lbs, 250 lbs and 375 lbs of down force • Manual T-Spring settings incurred yield losses of -5.8 bu/ac average compared to AirForce system • Note: 2013 – 125 lb manual out yielded AirForce
On-Farm Network Trial Results (2014) HYDRAULIC DOWNFORCE TRIAL RESULTS 23 REPLICATED STRIP TRIALS 8
6 5.5
Bushel Response
4
4.1
2 0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.4
1
1
-1.8 -2
-4
-2.7
-2.4
-5
-6
Trial ID Number
1.5
1.5
1.6
1.6
2
2.3
2.4
2.8
Variable Rate Seeding and Population
Multi-Hybrid Planting • Kinze 4900 Multi-Hybrid Planter • 2015 market, 16 row, 30” only • Two electric meters control 2 hybrids • Whole planter, not individual row (yet) • Raven Envizio Pro monitor – exclusive controller
• Precision Planting vSet Select 2015 • Two electric meters control 2 hybrids • Can control row by row hybrid & population • No compatibility w/SpeedTube yet • $2026.25/unit + labor
So many considerations, so little time • • • • • • • • •
Row cleaners Closing wheels Coulters Seed firmers Seed tubes Hitch height Meters Drive kit Seed Disks
Row cleaner failure (Pioneer)
What is the future?
Summary • There is no “Holy Grail”, but a lot of helpful alternatives – Management decisions are important, experimentation is key and gauging ROI – Technology can and will increase the odds…..for a price. – Upgrades will likely save you money, but make sure
• There is something for everyone, regardless of size. – For a 100 acre to a 100,00 acre farmer, there is always something that can help improve your farm and your bottom line.
Advancing Agricultural Performance® and Environmental Stewardship
Questions? Disclaimer: I am not an equipment specialist Nathan Paul – Operations Manager Cropping Systems [email protected]
Funded in part by the soybean checkoff
February 19, 2015 Ames, Iowa
Precision Agriculture: Planter Technology Nathan Paul Operations Manager – Cropping Systems, Iowa Soybean Association [email protected]
Funded in part by the soybean checkoff
Who am I? • Grew up on a family farm in southwest Iowa • Dad and Uncle farm 2300 acres together • Corn & soybeans, history of hogs and cow/calf • “Multicultural” farm • Attended Northwest Missouri State University • Married in October 2014
Precision Ag Combine
Then and Now and In-between
Adoption of Precision Ag Technology
• 2014 Iowa AgState Digital Agriculture Project • Surveyed over 400 Iowa farmers – 93% utilize some sort of Precision Ag on their farms – Auto-steer or guidance: 74% – Variable Rate Fertilizer: 74% – Variable Rate Planting: 36% – Multi-Hybrid Planting: 8% – Satellite/Aerial Imagery: 50%
Reasons for Using Precision Ag Technology
Focus on Planting Seed Depth
Soil Moisture Planting Date
Emergence Seed Spacing
Planting Decisions
Planter Bar Weight
Planting Speed
Population Sidewall Compaction
Skips
Row Width Center-fill Planter Compaction
Doubles No-Till Trash
The Future…..
“Basic” Upgrade: Guidance and Autosteer Slow Initial Adoption • • •
Too expensive “Fad” No need
Reasons behind adoption: • Input costs – Fuel, Repairs, Labor – Fertilizer, Chemical, Seed
• Increased productivity • Planting efficiency – More Acres daily
• “Not as tired at night” • Less Operator Error?
Accuracy
• Spatial accuracy ranges: – Light bar (12” pass to pass) – WAAS (3-15” pass-to-pass)
www.trimble.com
• Year to year may be off up to 5 ft.
– OmniSTAR (2-5” pass-topass) – RTK (+/- 1” pass-to-pass) Credit: John Deere
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/wq452
System Costs • Light Bar System • Trimble EZ 250 - $1,295 + antenna
• WAAS Systems • Monitor/Antenna + free signal
• OmniSTAR (G2, HP, VBS, XP) • Monitor/Receiver + $400-$1500/year
• RTK Systems • $12,000 - $15,000 system • Privately-owned base station • $750 - $1500/year subscription
• CORS RTK Systems • RTK through cellular connection • Network of base stations • $300/month-$2000/year subscriptions
Ag Leader ParaDyme for CORS RTK
Don’t take it for granted
Row Clutches Section or individual row control Mis-plant or double-plant areas at ends of non-square fields Auburn University: 4.3% savings on corn seed costs (12 row planter) Iowa State University: 3.3% Overlap Error = $7.89/acre economic savings • Cost savings vary pending field size, shape, seed costs, etc. • Cost for technology general starts around $2000, pending existing equipment • • • •
www.alabamaprecisionagonline.com
Row Clutches Suitability for section or row control?
Square 40
Terraced 120
Singulation and Plant Spacing Debate • Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin Extension corn agronomist: – A few states have shown a yield advantage for reducing spacing variability – Studies in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota have found no yield gains from precise plant spacing at today's corn plant populations • DuPont Pioneer: – Within-row plant spacing uniformity does impact grain yield; however, whole-field impacts on grain yield are usually relatively small, averaging about 1% to 2% – By far, a skip is the planting outcome that contributes the most to yield loss, whereas occasional doubles have no negative impact
Avoiding skips and doubles
“Plant at 10 mph!”
Precision Planting SpeedTube • Replaces traditional seed tube • Feeder wheels drop seed into belt • Belt matches speed of planter, no more seed “drop” • Delivers seed to trench, no bounce or roll • Designed to have consistent spacing
“Plant at 10 mph!” John Deere ExactEmerge • New planters only, entire row unit • Entire row unit (Meter, disc, etc) • Brush belt with seed sensor (monitoring) replaces seed tube • 2 electric motors turn meter/belt • Can singulate soybeans too
Costs – Two different Approaches John Deere ExactEmerge • Exclusive to John Deere planters • Quote: – 2015, 12-row 1775NT Planter, 30 inch rows
• Base planter - $95,348 • ExactEmerge Package – +$42,449 (Deere Configurator)
Precision Planting • SpeedTube – (w/vSet & vDrive required and included in cost) $1220.42 per row
• Built on existing planter • Requires “new wiring” – DeltaForce – SpeedTube – vSet Select
• Installation
Return (assume +5 bu/acre, $3.50 corn) • ExactEmerge – 750 acres of corn • (750 X 5) X $3.50 = $13,125
– Considerations: • New Planter • No labor costs • Full row unit – Active pneumatic downforce – New bowl-shaped seed disc – Brush belt
= 3.2 years
Return (assume +5 bu/acre, $3.50 corn) • Precision Planting SpeedTube – 750 acres of corn • (750 X 5) X $3.50 = $13,125
= 1.1 years
– Considerations: • • • •
Existing Planter Industry compatible Labor Costs Prerequisites: – 20/20 Monitor ($1500-$5000)
What would change at 10 mph instead of 5 mph? • Going from 5 mph to 10 mph requires approximately 80% more horsepower (John Deere) • Planting Speed (30 ft planter, 100% efficiency): – 4.5 mph = 16 acres/hour – 10 mph = 40 acres/hour
• Electric motors – fewer moving parts, fewer breakdowns • Shrink planting time, fit in optimum planting windows • Note: “Farmers need to consider ground conditions, depth control, downforce control, residue management, row cleaners, closing system configuration and even horsepower required” – Precision Planting
Which of these planters can plant 15” rows?
On-Farm Network Dataset Details • The On-Farm Network conducted 7 replicated strip trials comparing 15 inch rows vs. 30 inch rows in 2014 – Six trials were successful
Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4
30" Row Spacing 15" Row Spacing 30" Row Spacing 15" Row Spacing 30" Row Spacing 15" Row Spacing 30" Row Spacing 15" Row Spacing
2014 On-Farm Network Trial Results Soybean Row Width (6 trials)
Soybean Row Width 60.0
10.0 9.3
59.0
8.0
58.0 57.0
4.8
4.0
2.0 1.6 0.0 -1.1
-1.0
1.9
Yield (bu/A)
Yield (bu/A)
6.0
56.4
56.0 55.0 53.8
54.0 53.0 52.0 51.0 50.0
-2.0
15" Rows
30" Rows
Iowa State University - Row Spacing in Soybean • On average in Iowa a 4.5 bu./acre yield increase can be expected using 15-inch row spacing, compared to 30-inch row spacing (2004-2007 study)
Source: http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soybean/documents/RowSpacing.pdf
Pros and Cons Pros: • Multiple University studies: – 3 to 4 bu/acre advantage to 15 inch rows vs 30 inch rows
• Early canopy closure • Weed suppression • Harvest efficiency – Less machine wear – Reduced losses (plant height)
Cons: • Equipment costs – Upgrade or multiple
• Disease potential – Cool canopy and moisture may lead to white mold
• Wheel track damage – Larger boom decreases potential yield loss
• Time if double planting
Obstacles To Adoption • Simplicity: Many farmers prefer one planter on 30 inch row spacing for both corn and soybeans. • Cost: Upgrading or adding a narrow row planter to the farming operation is a large investment • Yield benefits: Small-plot research data is available, but what happens in the real world across a wider range of growing conditions?
Buzzword: Downforce
In 2009, Beck’s concluded that not having proper downforce on planter units, whether you do it by checking and changing pressure manually, or by having an automatic system, can cost you $32 to $52 per acre in lost yield Bechman, Farm Progress
Improper Downforce • Too much or too little downforce can lead to: – – – – –
Bouncing row unit Sidewall compaction/cave in Shallow/Deep seed trench Slower plant emergence Plant struggles/stress
– “Every two kernel rows missing around the cob amounts to a yield loss of 20 bushels per acre.” (34 long, 16-18 round) - Lemkuhl
• Center-fill planter weight vs wings: – Must manage planter bar weight – “Three-year study has found that there was a 22 bushel/acre yield difference between the two areas” – Bill Lemkuhl
Air Bag Systems • Precision Planting launched “AirForce” system in 2008 • Air compressor adjusts down and/or uplift bags from sensor pin • Adjusts about every 70-100 ft. – Not instantly
• Requires SeedSense 20/20 monitor w/o autosteer • Cost: – $317.50/Row + labor add-on to existing planter
• Claim +8.2 bu/acre advantage citing Beck’s PFR Research 5 year study
Air Bag Systems • John Deere countered with Pneumatic and Active Pneumatic Downforce • Factory installed – John Deere exclusive
• Hydraulically driven compressor • Deere: “Can sense need to adjust 4 times faster than 20/20 AirForce” • Takes multiple sensors values, averages to adjust entire bar • Runs through existing GreenStar™ monitor
Air compressor on 1770NT
Pneumatic downforce assembly
Hydraulic Downforce Systems • Top downforce products on market: – Dawn Equipment – Precision Planting
• Ag Leader and John Deere both partnered with Dawn Equipment in Illinois to deliver hydraulic downforce • John Deere partnership allows users to equip John Deere planters using Dawn parts at factor • Precision Planting (Climate Corp) and Case IH: – Non-exclusive agreement for DF and other planter equipment
• Kinze – no agreement, but compatible with both systems
Hydraulic Downforce Dawn’s Hydraulic Downforce
• Hydraulic actuator with nitrogen • accumulator • • Allows for movement and absorbs • pressure across field, no damage to unit • 3 channel add on ranges $10,000-$13,000 (12 row planter)
• Up to 8 section control
Precision Planting’s DeltaForce
Hydraulic Cylindar $1465.50/row Both systems cite Beck’s study and promote +11/bu acre with hydraulic DF versus standard practice
Downforce Studies • ISU Extension studied down pressure effects on corn plant germination and early growth •
Tested 3 levels of down force (40 to 100 lbs, 110 to 200 lbs, Over 200 lbs) in dry, wet and moist, no-till soils
• Observations: – Corn emerged faster with less pressure in wet soils and more pressure in dry soils. – Control showed slower emergence than optimal. – Significant differences in seed depth – 1 inch difference
• Monsanto study in 2009: “Corn planted at 1 inch resulted in a final plant population reduction of 51% when compared to plots planted at 2 or 3 inches.”
Downforce Studies Continued • 2014 Beck’s study in Illinois compared manual settings of 0 lbs, 125 lbs, 250 lbs and 375 lbs of down force • Manual T-Spring settings incurred yield losses of -5.8 bu/ac average compared to AirForce system • Note: 2013 – 125 lb manual out yielded AirForce
On-Farm Network Trial Results (2014) HYDRAULIC DOWNFORCE TRIAL RESULTS 23 REPLICATED STRIP TRIALS 8
6 5.5
Bushel Response
4
4.1
2 0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.4
1
1
-1.8 -2
-4
-2.7
-2.4
-5
-6
Trial ID Number
1.5
1.5
1.6
1.6
2
2.3
2.4
2.8
Variable Rate Seeding and Population
Multi-Hybrid Planting • Kinze 4900 Multi-Hybrid Planter • 2015 market, 16 row, 30” only • Two electric meters control 2 hybrids • Whole planter, not individual row (yet) • Raven Envizio Pro monitor – exclusive controller
• Precision Planting vSet Select 2015 • Two electric meters control 2 hybrids • Can control row by row hybrid & population • No compatibility w/SpeedTube yet • $2026.25/unit + labor
So many considerations, so little time • • • • • • • • •
Row cleaners Closing wheels Coulters Seed firmers Seed tubes Hitch height Meters Drive kit Seed Disks
Row cleaner failure (Pioneer)
What is the future?
Summary • There is no “Holy Grail”, but a lot of helpful alternatives – Management decisions are important, experimentation is key and gauging ROI – Technology can and will increase the odds…..for a price. – Upgrades will likely save you money, but make sure
• There is something for everyone, regardless of size. – For a 100 acre to a 100,00 acre farmer, there is always something that can help improve your farm and your bottom line.
Advancing Agricultural Performance® and Environmental Stewardship
Questions? Disclaimer: I am not an equipment specialist Nathan Paul – Operations Manager Cropping Systems [email protected]
Funded in part by the soybean checkoff
