2014 Precision Ag Product Review

For the past few years each spring, PrecisionAg Special Reports has invited key precision ag product manufacturers and service providers to share with us information on their latest upgrades and newest items. Here you will find this data, along with select product pictures.

Ag Leader AgFinitiAG LEADER

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Over at Ag Leader, the company is gearing up for 2014 to be an extremely active year for all things wireless. “Wireless technology and interconnectivity on the farm is set to revolutionize precision agriculture in 2014 by placing valuable data at the growers’ fingertips to assist with making profit-driven management decisions,” says Jenna Royer, marketing communications manager. “Precision ag data will become a ‘report card’ for evaluating performance to discover efficiencies and yield trends that will assist with decision making.”

According to Royer, Ag Leader plans to take advantage of this industry trend with its latest product offering — AgFiniti. “As information becomes more critical to decision-making and profitability, AgFiniti, Ag Leader’s new cloud-based platform, will become the hub of the growers’ operation,” says Royer. “Data from the field becomes information that can be accessed instantly from anywhere using a computer, smartphone, tablet or any Ag Leader display. Guidance lines, prescriptions, as-applied maps and other data files can be sent and received wirelessly. Files can be accessed from any device’s supported Web browser or by using SMS Software and shared with trusted advisors such as crop consultants or farm managers. Field activities can be managed and monitored from a user’s home office and field displays accessed remotely connecting all of your technologies, trusted advisors and operations.”

With AgFiniti, adds Royer, the grower has the freedom to choose the wireless data plan and hotspot device that works best in their area, making it a cost-effective and reliable solution. “Additionally, AgFiniti puts the grower in control of their data and who has access to it,” she says. “Growers have the ability to easily share their data with trusted advisors such as crop consultants, farm managers or their dealer and can grant access to view displays in the field from another location. Growers can also upload data layers from SMS (yield data, soil survey maps, field boundaries, etc.) for viewing on any device with a supported Web browser.”

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AgJunction Outback STX Guidance SystemAGJUNCTION

According to Landon Morris, director of marketing, 2014 will be a special year for the company. “Until now, the wordssatellite-assisted guidance’ and ‘affordably priced’ have seldom been used in the same sentence,” says Morris. “However, Outback is quickly putting the ‘affordable’ into guidance systems.”

This includes the company’s latest product offerings, he adds. “With the recent introduction of its new Outback STX Guidance System, AgJunction has put satellite-assisted steering within reach of an even broader range of North American farmers and producers,” Morris explains. “Designed as a value-based RTK precision farming solution, the Outback STX incorporates some of the industry’s best innovations in a system priced below competitive terminals in this segment of the market.”

Morris notes that the Outback STX not only combines full RTK capability in an autosteer-ready, value-based terminal, but the system is compatible with the full line of field-proven Outback Autosteer Systems. This includes the eDriveX, with the eTurns automated turn solution; the eDriveTC, which is Outback’s decimeter system, and even the Outback eDrive VSi electric steering interface.

The STX unit also works with any of the Outback base station units, providing RTK capability when used in conjunction with a MAX Rover and Outback RTK base station unit.

“In effect, the STX allows producers to attain autosteering capabilities at almost any level that fits their budget,” Morris continues. “This means producers have the option of using an OmniSTAR HP/XP subscription, or reducing their cost even further by using the free WAAS system. So, if the cost of an RTK capable system has been a hurdle for some producers in the past, the Outback STX is the newest solution.”

AgJunction didn’t stop there, however, he says. The company also added more value to the Outback eDriveX, the industry’s best-selling aftermarket hydraulic autosteer system. This includes compatibility with John Deere R-Series tractors, automated eTurn recognition of field boundaries and headlands, advanced autosteer engagement options and the ability to generate A-B contour guidance lines.

“With its capability of making automatic turns at the end of each row and centimeter-level control, eDriveX provides users with a number of benefits, including a high level of accuracy and reduced driver fatigue across multiple field applications,” Morris relates.

Last but not least, he adds, Outback Guidance MAX customers will reap more from their investment in 2014. For one thing, the latest MAX software improves machine-to-Cloud connectivity by synchronizing client, farm, field, boundaries, field markers, guidance lines and product data directly between the terminal and AgJunction Cloud Services. In addition to wireless connectivity, in-cab data management and an easy-to-navigate control interface, this year’s Outback MAX integrated display terminal also adds ISOBUS virtual terminal capability and advanced task controller functionality, enabling a broader range of implement communication and control.

“We continue to see growing interest among producers and ag-service providers for compatibility with different brands of implements,” adds Morris “Providing ISO virtual terminal capability with Outback MAX is important for enabling compatibility.”

Also new to the 2014 Outback MAX terminal is an enhanced variable-rate control feature for dry fertilizer applications. Coupled with the Outback AC110 controller, users can benefit from the advanced mapping engine in the MAX terminal to stack imagery and data layers to visually confirm and log field work.

Raven Software SmartYield ProRAVEN INDUSTRIES

According to Ryan Molitor, marketing supervisor, Applied Technology Division, data management continues to be more of a driving force towards precision ag adoption.  “A lot of our customers are trying to find ways to better manage and make sense of all the data, because that opens the door for things like variable-rate applications in both seeding and fertilizing,” says Molitor. “There have been a lot of studies done on the benefits and return on investment of variable-rate application (VRA) and data is at the core of that.”

To this end, Raven Industries is promoting several new products for the precision ag marketplace in 2014. “One new product for us in this area is SmartYield Pro,” says Molitor. “Yield monitors might not be a brand new technology, but in conversations and research we’ve done growers don’t trust the data. SmartYield Pro is simple to install, calibrate and most important, very accurate. This allows them to use their yield data to make input decisions for next year, including variable-rate planting and fertilizing.”

In addition, he adds, the company has recently released OmniRow Multi-Hybrid control. “This takes VRA planting to a new level by allowing you to switch between hybrids on the fly,” says Molitor.

And then, there’s the company’s newest innovation — Viper 4. “For our new Viper 4 field computer, we’re putting data management at the front by putting the agX database in the field computer,” says Molitor. “For ag retailers and custom applicators, this puts a standard database in their application equipment, helping streamline and clean up the way they manage data from the field. Of course with Slingshot, they transmit to and from the field with a robust wireless connection.”

SST Software Sirrus agXSST SOFTWARE

According to Adam Lundblade, product manager for SST Software, 2014 could be an interesting year for precision agriculture’s fortunes because of some key changes in the overall ag marketplace.

“With the current outlook of commodity prices being lower in 2014, we see producers continuing to adopt precision ag practices that have a proven and immediate return on investment,” says Lundblade. “The four trends we see dominating 2014 are variable-rate planting, multispectral imagery, data collection apps and data standardization.”

In particular, he singles out variable-rate for some major market potential this spring. Producers have been finding significant returns with variable-rate planting technologies,” he says. “Seed companies and service provides are adding to the benefits that come with a better planting environment by generating prescription maps that correlate seed traits with in-field variability to determine the best site-specific planting recommendations across a farm.”

For the company, this could mean plenty of interest in Variable-Rate Planting (VRP) scripts. “VRP scripts incorporate spatial data such as soil types, fertility levels, past yield performance and pest infestations, to name a few,” says Lundblade. “This requires a GIS system that is capable of collecting and combining various data types to generate the VRP scripts. SST Summit is already being widely used for VRP applications and more VPR features are coming soon. FarmRite users are currently able to combine applied planting data with other layers of data to generate reports such as Yield by Variety by Soil Type by Seeding Rate across a field, farm, or groups of farms.”

Another trend SST Software is watching is the ongoing adoption of tablets into the market. According to Drew McMahon, product manager, Sirrus, this bodes well for the company’s latest app. “

Last fall, we introduced the Sirrus app for iPad,” says McMahon. “The initial release included boundary collection, soil sampling, and weather. The next major upgrade will include crop scouting followed by layers of historical data and multispectral imagery.”

According to Tim Riley, director of business development, there are three product areas that could witness much activity in 2014. The first is imagery products. Agronomists and farm managers will find big advantages when implementing multispectral imagery to aid in scouting efforts and diagnosing crop progress,” says Riley. “By detecting areas of crop stress sooner, yield loss can be minimized.

“SST has been enthusiastic about the use of multispectral imagery for many years,” he continues. “This season, we are launching SST Imagery Services. In conjunction with industry partners such as GeoVantage, SST Summit customers will be able to order imagery on-demand. The ordering, processing, and timely delivery of 50 centimeter imagery products, including RGB, Color Infrared, and NDVI, will be a seamless process within SST Summit.”

The second is data collection apps. Manufacturers and third parties will continue to offer apps that assist in data collection,” says Riley.

And the third is data standardization. “2013 saw a lot of API and telemetry integration partnerships,” says Riley. “This has pushed the industry toward the realization that data standardization must be put in place in order for precision ag practices to advance.”

Last year, he adds, brought a lot of API integrations with various companies — and a lot more are slated for 2014. “However, the exchange of data via APIs is only a start,” says Riley. “The industry needs standardization, structure and security in place for spatial data. SST has been architecting its system with such protocols for years, and we are successfully managing standardized spatial data across 85 million acres spanning 23 countries. We have now begun to open up our foundational platform, called agX, to the industry. The agX Platform will give companies a jump start on their development, saving years of coding and tens of millions of dollars. Qualified third party developers will be able to build functionality that integrates with SST’s current product line or with other products that are agX compliant. This will allow organizations with core competencies to contribute beneficial products to the industry that immediately integrate with other systems.”

Topcon X14 Display

Topcon X14 Display

TOPCON PRECISION AGRICULTURE

According to Michael Gomes, director of marketing & business development. Topcon is seeing a definite trend towards both simple and easy-to-use systems,  as well as the ability for the products to work with others. In other words, interconnectivity or interoperability. “We recognize trends toward precision ag are becoming mainstream and customers are looking to get reliable products that are simple, easy-to-use and can work with the vehicles and implements of their farming operation, to accomplish their profitability goals for the year,” says Gomes. “With both software and hardware, it has to fit both their operation, and what they want to do. It’s more about how useful the technology is becoming and what it can do for you on your farm or operation.”

Joe Robertson, product marketing manager, agriculture, agrees with this assessment. “You can also expect to see the trend to simplification of precision ag data for more effective use in making farm management decisions,” says Robertson. “The trend is the simplification of the user experience with technology suppliers making their solutions as feature-rich as possible without over complicating them. Also expect to see continued evolution of interconnectivity among precision components, particularly with data management as well as further adoption of ISO for interconnectivity, even among differing suppliers. While autosteering is becoming universally adopted, connectivity via ISO 11783 for ECU’s and control components will grow allowing customers to mix and match functionality to meet their specific needs.”

To take advantage of this market movement, Topcon has prepared several new products for launch in 2014. “At Topcon, we believe in a modular product architecture that allows users to upgrade or add-on functional capabilities at their own pace,” says Gomes. “With respect to new products, you can see many of these same trends. In our new X14 display, we have incorporated aspects of that same easy-to-use Topcon look and feel into a 4.3-inch color touchscreen display, so users can adopt guidance with our SGR-1 receiver or autosteering with our AGI-4 receiver/steering controller.”

With respect to interconnectivity, Topcon is introducing its new Mobile Ag Network, or MAGNET, for use in agriculture. “This technology has migrated from our construction and survey product lines, to bring many of those same benefits of Web-based connectivity and logistics feedback to our agricultural users,” says Robertson. “New feature upgrades to our X30 console announced in December include Topcon Teamviewer interlink to the in-cab console, support for up to four video monitor cameras, support for Topcon’s CropSpec crop canopy sensor system, support for KUHN spreaders, a new cellular strength indicator and more than 30 new software features designed to maintain the X30’s industry-leading performance in regard to data management and operator ease-of-use.”

In the past month, Topcon has introduced its new entry level console, the X14. “This new 4.3-inch full color touchscreen display offers moving map visual guidance or autosteering to expand the line up or family of Topcon’s easy-to-use touchscreen consoles,” says Robertson. “The X14 console offers coverage mapping and a full range of guidance patterns including boundary and U-turn recognition. Its bright, sunlight readable display offers easy set-up on market leading vehicle platforms including tractors, sprayers, spreaders and harvesters.”

In addition, Topcon announced a new receiver/steering controller this past year which was the industry’s first completely integrated steering solution, the AGI-4. “The AGI-4 receiver/steering controller can simply and easily interface with existing manufacturer’s ‘virtual terminals’ via  ISO 11783,” says Robertson. “In our latest software update, we have added the capability to interface with John Deere R Series tractors. This means that you can now can add an AGI-4 to a John Deere R series, and utilize the display in the existing command arm or in cab display. The AGI-4’s ISO compatibility can provide Topcon’s industry-leading autosteering performance to virtually any steer-ready vehicle via a single component installation. Being compatible with the displays of many other manufacturers lets the AGI-4 provide true drop-in & drive convenience.”

Trimble Connected Farm Dashboard

Trimble Connected Farm Dashboard

TRIMBLE

According to Joe Denniston, vice president of the company’s Agriculture Division, the key trend for precision ag in 2014 boils down to a single word — data. “Data has been a hot topic for a while in agriculture,” says Denniston. “In 2014 we expect to see a continued emphasis on providing data a farmer can use to make better farm management decisions. To help address this need, Trimble recently introduced the Connected Farm dashboard. The dashboard provides one central location for farmers to view key information impacting their operations such as rainfall totals, the status of irrigation systems, farm operations data, weather forecast, fleet details and more. With this information, farmers will be able to make better daily decisions for their farm. For example, wind speed information on the dashboard can enable a farmer to plan when to spray a given field, while rainfall totals may help determine whether to irrigate or not, or if the day’s farming operation should be delayed due to wet field conditions.”

Aiding agriculture in better natural resource practices is also a key trend. “The world’s growing population is placing increasing pressure on farmers to produce more while also meeting increasing regulations around water use, environment protection and sustainability,” says Denniston. “As a result, we expect to see a growing trend in agriculture for products that promote sustainability and help conserve natural resources. Understanding this trend, Trimble now offers two new products that enable water conservation. The RainWave precipitation monitoring service enables farmers to set up virtual rain gauges by entering GPS coordinates for identified locations. The Irrigate-IQ precision irrigation solution provides farmers with a precise hardware and software solution (including individual nozzle control) for controlling linear and pivot irrigation systems, and enables farmers to apply the right amount of water in the right place based on crop requirements. With RainWave and Irrigate-IQ, a farmer can reprogram his irrigation system based on the latest rainfall information, optimizing the use of water.”

With these trends in mind, however, Denniston adds that growers still want some measure of simplicity in their products. “We continue to hear from farmers about the importance of providing products that are not only cutting edge, but also user-friendly,” he says. “Farmers want products that ultimately make life simpler, not more complex. As a result, Trimble introduced a new display, the TMX-2050 display, which is built on the popular Android operating system. It includes many touch commands that are similar to modern tablets and smartphones with which many farmers are already familiar. Its intuitive interface allows farmers to easily implement precision agriculture solutions as their business grows, and since its operating system is suited for connectivity, the TMX-2050 display provides optimal performance with the Connected Farm solution, which facilitates information exchange across the entire farm.”

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[…] exists now is a data business, farming is just on the cusp of that.” UPDATE Jan 28:  See 2014 Precision Ag Product Review for a review of the latest precision ag developments and “Connected […]

PortItt says:

[…] 2014 Precision Ag Product Review For the past few years each spring, PrecisionAg Special Reports has invited key precision ag product manufacturers and service providers to share with us information on their latest upgrades and newest items. Here you will find this data, along with … Read more on PrecisionAg […]