2014 Awards Of Excellence Winners: Champions Of Precision Ag

The 2014 Class of PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence recipients have spent their careers working to improve precision practices, increase adoption and put best practices in place on the ground. Here’s an up close look at this year’s five winners.

Matthew Darr, Iowa State University

Matthew Darr, Iowa State University

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EDUCATOR/RESEARCHER AWARD

Dr. Matthew Darr | Iowa State University

Dr. Matthew Darr, associate professor within the Ag­ricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at Iowa State University, is considered a “young star” in the precision ag arena. Darr pioneered advanced equipment systems now being used across the world, and he is bringing precision ag to all levels of users in the industry.

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In his writing and presentations to growers, integrators and industry, Darr has a knack for drilling down to what the value proposition is for the practitioner.

With equipment, Darr is helping to develop the next generation of yield monitoring technology to improve yield estimates that accommodate increasingly large field equipment. Darr’s research focuses on developing systems that gather improved and more consistent yield data over the course of the entire season. His work also covers merging existing yield data with high resolution imagery and topographic data to achieve a spatially more precise yield map.

Teaching Multiple Generations, Players

Darr’s influence in precision ag education over the past six years has been immense, on a number of levels. His precision ag course draws up to 150 students a year. He has developed innovative lessons and laboratory exercises to help student understand the variety of precision ag topics, and his classes have received substantial industry support from leading equipment and precision technology manufacturers.

“Many of these students are being employed by precision ag companies, service providers and dealers, and machinery manufacturers,” Fulton says. “Matt’s impact on students and, ultimately, their role within companies, has been remarkable. He is a true teacher and mentor.”

Data’s Time Has Arrived

Darr’s educational efforts reach further beyond the classroom. He is helping a few of the larger U.S. ag companies and their employees understand the value of precision ag technologies, data and services. He also speaks to farmer groups at field days and workshops, especially helping them figure out the data space and privacy issues.

In fact, Darr says his team at Iowa State has continually transitioned course content to focus more on data management, data quality and data decisions. “By training the next generation of leaders we can shape their philosophy on data usage and help stimulate adoption and long-term solutions around data services,” Darr says.

He adds that it is extremely rewarding to work with these young people who have a thirst for precision ag and a belief in its future. “Today is very different than even five years ago,” Darr says. “Today’s student grew up in the smart phone era. They are naturally cloud connected at all times and have a much greater sense of data through social media sharing and other platforms. They more clearly see the real potential with these systems and can more easily see how the IT infrastructure ties into future ag plans.”

Darr sees the future of precision ag hinging on data. “Data analytics is the future of precision ag,” he says. “We’ve tried for 20 years to get here and are now in a position where IT infrastructure, machine intelligence and market demands are all converging to make this the right time for this to be a reality. Ten years from now we’ll wonder how we ever farmed without nitrogen fuel gauges, on farm weather stations, high resolution yield data and real-time soil sensors.”

But Darr also says data standards, data mobility and access to high quality data are the biggest challenges facing the field today. “It is going to be a bumpy three years in terms of navigating data licensing and data analytics maturity. And the drive towards data analytics will continue to press the issue around quality data to make good informed decisions. As analytic tools grow, so should the quality of data.”

Chris Fennig, MyFarms.com

Chris Fennig, MyFarms.com

CROP ADVISER/ENTREPRENEUR AWARD

Chris Fennig | MyFarms.com

Helping growers manage data “on the ground” was the driving force behind Chris Fennig’s work creating MyFarms, LLC.

Growing up on a fourth generation corn and soybean farm in Indiana, Fennig, managing director of MyFarms, LLC has seen first-hand the challenges involved with maintaining a profitable growing operation. In the late ’90s, he decided to leave home to earn degrees in physics, engineering and physics entrepreneurship, then in 2003 launched a radio frequency identification (RFID) business consultancy. For more than six years as a technology adviser with ODIN Technologies, a global leader in RFID software, service and solutions, he studied and improved the way global supply chains share data.

In 2010 Fennig and his team of programmers — in part as a result of conversations with his farming father — brought their talents to agriculture. They started MyFarms LLC, “an electronic bridge between farmers with questions and suppliers with answers.”

Fennig says the firm provides web-based software where farmers can create or upload personalized information that reflects everything they know about their fields. “We then work with each of their suppliers to custom build solutions that reflect their unique product knowledge, the local environment and sales footprint,” he explains. “Finally, we bring it all together so the supplier can make more scientific recommendations and the farmer can still make the final decision.”

Simply put, the MyFarms objective is to help fellow producers organize, manage and share field and crop data with trusted advisors to receive site-specific input management recommendations in return.

Todd Burrus, co-owner of Burrus Hybrids, nominated Fennig for this year’s Entrepreneur Award. He has seen My­Farms in action and can summarize the “nuts and bolts.” First, the scientific research collected by the supplier is brought into the MyFarms database. Then farmers create or upload personalized information that reflects what they know about each field. The system also automatically retrieves NRCS soil type data and hourly weather data. Third, through a series of questions, the growers indicate their agronomic practices. The supplier then runs a unique algorithm built to their specifications by MyFarms to combine field knowledge with their research data. Finally, the grower and supplier discuss the options to find the best one for each field – and they can override the computer, if necessary. Favoring this flexible approach ensures the computer works for the people, not the other way around.

“Inputs such as fertilizer and labor are maximized; insect control, refuge management and herbicide application are properly employed,” Burrus says. “The care of the land and the bottom line of growers are what precision agriculture is all about.”

He points out that the software utilized in the MyFarms system is accurate, efficient and user-friendly. Not surprising, then, that independent seed suppliers including Burrus, Hoegemeyer, Steyer and Latham have rapidly adopted MyFarms as a technological service for their customers. “The innovation brought to the market by MyFarms allows regional seed companies to compete favorably with multi-national seed suppliers,” Burrus says.

Not only did Fennig innovate by producing the software, he also developed a successful marketing plan, Burrus says. “Starting with a handshake and a business card, Chris approached regional seed companies to introduce the My­Farms concept,” he describes. “His communication skills and common sense were a winning combination.”

Fennig’s subsequent appearances at trade shows have clearly demonstrated the advantages of MyFarms, Burrus adds. Plus, his customers have found that he is an excellent trainer for their entire sales organizations, able to aptly demonstrate and communicate the MyFarms process.

Data Expertise Crossover

Fennig drew from his experience in supply chain optimization and information technology — as well as production agriculture — when he created MyFarms. (His previous RFID work spanned four continents and the retail, aerospace, pharmaceutical, defense and financial industries.)

“Each industry employs infrastructure that streamlines the way customers and suppliers share data, to make better business decisions,” Fennig says. “The important thing is to create appropriate boundaries around the data to make sure each partner is kept safe.”

All grower data are stored at www.myfarms.com, which resolves the intrinsic conflict of interest that can arise when the same company that may store yield data, “which is the topline revenue for a piece of land,” then turns around to price strategic inputs for the same field next year, Fennig says. He believes today’s data-sharing environment will only improve and envisions a world where farmers and suppliers work together through safe, independent platforms.

Tony Alameda, Top Flavor Farms

Tony Alameda, Top Flavor Farms

FARMER AWARD

Tony Alameda | San Luis Obispo, CA

When someone says a grower runs “one of the most dynamic and diverse vegetable farming operations in the United States,” it’s worth looking into. In fact, that’s what Joel Wiley, agronomist and manager at Wilbur-Ellis, said about Tony Alameda, co-owner of Top Flavor Farms — and now the first industry member from the West to win a PrecisionAg Institute Award of Excellence.

Based on California’s central coast, Top Flavor is a family-run firm. Tony’s brother Craig oversees the business side of all operations; his brother Steve runs the farming in the Yuma, AZ, region; and Tony and his father look after the northern Monterey and San Benito districts. The third generation family is beginning to wade deeper into daily farming operations.

Top Flavor Farms started in 1992 as a traditional vegetable farming operation in Salinas, CA, and Yuma, AZ, supplying crops that included lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and celery year-round. Over the last 12 years, Alameda says Top Flavor has morphed into a specialty producer of crops such as cilantro, parsley, leek, radish, kale, beet, turnip and an array of full-size and baby lettuce and spinach items. All specialty crops are produced year-round and distributed through the family’s specialty harvest entity, Sabor Farms.

Enter Precision

 Alameda notes that as the farm further diversified commodities, its leadership team had to become extra aware of the needs of each crop. For instance, all ranch lots are sampled and analyzed annually to make sure a favorable balance of soil nutrients is maintained. On-the-go NitrateQuik Tests (NQT) are being utilized to quickly assess nitrogen presence to avoid over fertilizing.

Years ago, drip irrigation became a great tool for farmers to better control water usage while also reducing fertilizer amounts per acre, says Alameda. “Today, we have begun to combine drip irrigation with real time wireless monitoring systems to further fine tune and control the transfer of water and nutrients to our crops,” he describes. “Tools such as these are important when dealing with unforeseeable environmental factors, such as current water shortages.”

Labor Issues Spur More Changes

In addition to environmental and water pressures, labor issues are having a particularly strong impact in California – and Alameda says the labor-reducing movement within the vegetable industry has been long overdue.

One technology Top Flavor has instituted to combat labor challenges is called Auto Thin. It’s a term these growers have coined for the ability to select, remove and treat targeted lettuce plants. The technology, created by partner Foothill Packing, has actually had a snowball effect, causing Top Flavor to improve its entire cultural process, says Alameda.

Seed placement and uniform germination are the keys. To ensure proper seed spacing and depth, ground preparation deemed suitable just a few years ago would now probably be considered unacceptable. From heavy tillage equipment, to finish reverse tillers, to modified European GPS/hydraulically controlled lettuce vacuum planters — all farming practices have been refined to optimize seed sowing.

“These combined practices have given us the confidence with seed placement to sow premium pelletized seeds 2.5 to 4 inches apart depending on the commodity,” says Alameda. In the past, successful seed spacing usually ranged from 1 to 2 inches apart. However, with Top Flavor Farms’ accurate and wider seed placement, the auto thinners are able to accurately target and remove unwanted plants, and space finished saved products between 8 to 12 inches apart depending on the desired configuration.

The thinning machine will also target the remaining saved plant and treat with a small amount of nutrient, fungicide and insecticide at the same time.

Wiley has seen the planter Alameda developed in action. “Its precision singulation of seed benefits the farm in both uniformity and yields,” he affirms.

Combining innovative practices has allowed Top Flavor to reduce seed costs, hand labor dependency and the amount of chemicals applied.

Wiley says that other growers on the central coast have witnessed the need for precision practices in their operations, though adoption can be slow. One reason is the cost. Automated thinners, for example, can range from $150,000 to $200,000. Smaller farmers cannot foot the bill, but some companies do offer the technology as a service.

On the harvest side, the specialty crop path that Sabor Farms took was initially very hand-labor intense. But adapting to a large percentage of mechanically harvested, high-density specialty crops such as spinach, baby lettuces and arugulas has lent itself well to achieving sufficient yields with minimal hand labor, says Alameda. For leek and radish crops, the farm adapted European harvesters and automated packing lines to minimize the labor for harvesting, washing and packing.

Applied Engineering

For his part, Alameda graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with ag and technical expertise that has manifested itself in the equipment and process innovations he’s brought to the farm. Alameda would say he’s just a farmer trying to figure out “how to put the pieces together.”

Innovation is a necessity, considering the demands of the companies Top Flavor and Sabor Farms sell their produce to. Many of them provide Alameda with a report card that breaks down yields and costs. “He’s getting that on every acre, on every crop, every time — it’s being monitored that closely,” says Wiley. “Our growers’ average cost is staggering. Per seed cost is astronomical. Producing a field of lettuce costs $3,500 to $4,500 per acre, spinach is $4,500 per acre.”

Alameda points out the value of precision ag practices extends all the way down the supply chain: “Without these technological improvements consumers will continue to pay a greater percentage of their dollars on fresh vegetables or watch their local fresh produce come from foreign sources.

Scott Shearer, The Ohio State University

Scott Shearer, The Ohio State University

LEGACY AWARD

Dr. Scott Shearer | The Ohio State University

What does it take to get into the elite think tank of experts who have pioneered precision agriculture for almost 30 years? John Fulton, associate professor and extension specialist at Auburn University, says Dr. Scott Shearer has the resume — and he’s definitely in. Now Professor and Chair of the Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering at The Ohio State University, Shearer and his work have had an impact on not only the technology of equipment companies, but also helped third-party technology companies provide GPS-based solutions and services.

Another vital accomplishment: Shear­er has helped outline the value of variable-rate application of nutrients by reporting value to the farm — one of the cornerstone sciences of precision.

One of his projects that proved VR could go beyond “the bottom line”: Shearer and a team of faculty at the University of Kentucky developed methods in the late ‘90s for taking yield maps, generating profit maps, and then taking non-profit spots within fields and turning these areas into conservation structures (e.g., grassed waterways, buffer strips, etc.).

While at Kentucky, Shearer also developed a valuable yield monitor test facility where at least three companies spend time evaluating and developing their products, he adds.

Inner Workings

Beyond designing precision systems, Shearer has developed solutions to improve their accuracy through technology and hydraulic response. He’s done ground-breaking work on electro-hydraulic controls to implement variable rate. He was also the first to develop/test electronic motors for individual planters.

Shearer’s research and extension efforts in automatic section control (ASC) showed how this technology could not only provide inputs savings but eliminate application within conservation structures. He was able to encourage farmers to adopt ASC so they could clearly reap the benefits.

Shearer has also worked in spray technology for improving the resolution of automatic section control as well as nozzle technology to manage crop protection and nitrogen on a per nozzle resolution.

His current research activities include autonomous multi-vehicle field production systems (robot platforms) and unmanned aerial systems for remote sensing.

Educating A Wide Audience

Shearer started working in the area of precision agriculture almost 28 years ago while a faculty member at the University of Kentucky. While there, he was one of the leaders of the Precision Ag program, teaching a class on the subject. He has prior undergraduate and graduate students working industry-wide, helping companies advance their technology and service offerings.

He has educated farmers and ag professionals across Kentucky on the technology — Kentucky commodity groups frequently work with Shearer and ask him to present and provide leadership over the years. And he has continued working with farmers and commodity groups in Ohio in the same capacity.

Through the years he has made numerous presentations at extension meetings, workshops, farmer forums and outreach events across the country.

Joe Tevis, Topcon Precision Agriculture

Joe Tevis, Topcon Precision Agriculture

LEGACY AWARD

Dr. Joe Tevis | Topcon Precision Agriculture

Colleagues describe Joe Tevis as a man of passion. His passion for agriculture and for precision agriculture in particular helped him win the 2014 Legacy PrecisionAg Award of Excellence.

Tevis started his career much like others do — in a totally different career field. After graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in agricultural engineering, he worked as an engineer for a construction company.

“I took a diversion like many people do, but I never got too far away from agriculture,” he said.

Growing up on a farm in rural western Iowa, Tevis caught the agriculture bug early. He was active in 4-H in Lawton, IA, and enjoyed being on the farm. After a brief hiatus in the construction world, he returned to agriculture. He said that the type of people involved in agriculture drew him to the industry.

His journey back to agriculture began with a Post-Doc­tor­al Research appointment at Texas A&M University, studying the spatial distribution and management of agronomic variables in cotton.

After Texas A&M, Tevis taught farm management classes at Iowa State University. Then in 1995, he truly found his calling — he joined a Minneapolis company called Ag­Chem, owned by Al McQuinn. It was there that he began his corporate career in precision agriculture.

In 2001, AgChem was acquired by AGCO. Tevis went with it.

For the next ten years, he continued in various positions within AGCO including director of the precision farming technology group in AGCO.

In 2011, AGCO sold that part of its business. Tevis went with it.

Now, Tevis is Topcon Precision Agriculture’s director of agronomic products and services. He continues to work with agronomic software like SGIS and represents Topcon in two data standards groups including AgGateway.

During his entire career, Tevis has championed standards to keep the industry going forward. He is part of the industry initiative within AgGateway to identify, develop and implement information standards to improve the interoperability of farm management information systems.

“Most of us who are involved in precision agriculture are passionate about creating usable data standards because we have undergone the agony of not having them,” he said.

Mike Gomes, Topcon director of agriculture business development, nominated Tevis for the award and said that Tevis’s passion for collaboration in the industry is what sets him apart.

“The biggest thing that Joe has done, in my opinion, is that he has reached across industry competitive lines in order to grow a stronger industry,” he said.

Even with many awards and honors under his belt, Tevis, who lives with his wife, Dorothy, in Waconia, MN, gives credit to his own mentors.

“I was fortunate to be a part of AgChem and build on what Al McQuinn had started,” he said. “Technology is one thing, but being able to establish that value proposition and turn it into a business, not just a science experiment, that’s quite another. It’s been fun to be part of it.”

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