By Matthew D. Ernst

Missouri Correspondent

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The annual InfoAg trade show in late July, in St. Louis, featured agriculture technology providers rolling out new software, sensors and equipment designed to manage the growing data stream generated by commodity crop farming using precision technologies.

Here is a look at some of the products finding their way onto farms and agribusinesses this year, beginning with new software and sensors from ag-tech companies, both startups and longtime providers.

Topcon Agriculture in the past year introduced its Topcon Agriculture Platform (TAP), which uses cloud computing to monitor data in real-time for fast decision-making. “It’s integrating all of what you do (with farm data collection),” said Robin Starkenburg, Topcon marketing manager for North America.

Collecting field data – and managing that data – remain a challenge in precision agriculture. Announcements at InfoAg included news of continued consolidation of software platforms and companies, one indicator that farms may need to be patient in determining the best tools that fit for managing field data.

Field sensors continue at the center of many precision management programs. Teralytic, a soil analytics firm, this year released a pilot version of the first soil probe with a sensor that measures soil nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous levels. This NPK sensor is one of 26 sensors in Teralytic’s wireless soil probe, in which sensors also measure climatic conditions – like temperature, humidity and light – and soil moisture, salinity, temperature and pH.

Gas sensors measure aeration and respiration. Data are collected every 15 minutes. "The collection of data in real-time allows growers to make more informed decisions regarding fertilization and irrigation," said Meagan Hynes, Teralytic vice president of Soil Science. "I'm also excited about the potential to use fertility and respiration data to evaluate soil health."

Teralytic this year is offering a pre-order of 10 sensors for $5,000, including access to the company’s proprietary analytics software. The new sensors are expected to be introduced commercially in spring 2019.

Another young agriculture technology company, Arable, also featured sensor updates at InfoAg. The Arable Mark sensor combines weather and plant health data, including a daily chlorophyll index monitor.

Arable’s Mark sensor is being used in a pilot project that began this year to improve irrigation efficiency in Nebraska row crops, a project that combines efforts from Cargill, Nestle Purina and The Nature Conservancy. A presentation at InfoAg indicated the sensor retailing at $700-$800, with an annual fee for software access.

Aerial alternative

Collecting crop data with drones is still in the pilot testing phase for many agricultural applications. But IntelinAir, founded in 2015 at Champaign, Ill., is offering aerial crop scouting using airplanes instead of drones.

The service, which provides 13 flights at 10-centimeter resolution, costs $5 per acre, said Alex Dozier, IntelinAir senior agronomist. “When you start to look at the return on investment, you’re getting that money back” in most cases, he said. IntelinAir has made software upgrades for this season. “We’ve added a ton of data layers.”

Don’t write off drones in the future of crop scouting – and precision input application – though. DJI Global, an international leader in drone manufacturing, has introduced the AGRAS MG-1S, the company’s first agricultural applicator. The drone contains a spray tank big enough for precise applications up to 10 acres.

Although that may not seem like a large acreage in Midwest farming, FAA regulations have clarified for agricultural drone operators. That may mean drone usage will be more feasible for spot-spraying and precise applications that combat herbicide-resistant weeds in commodity crops.

Advanced technologies, including drones, may often be first used in higher-value crops – think produce, tree fruit and nuts and grapes. Those crops may be able to justify the costs of new technology. Geonics, a Canadian company exhibiting at InfoAg, has long served specialty crop growers. “Our company has had electromagnetic conductivity meters on the market since the 1980s,” said Mike Catalano, Geonics senior technical sales associate.

He added the highly portable meters can be used to evaluate soil salinity in vineyards, as well as irrigated row and specialty crops globally.

Nutrient management

New nutrient management equipment gets a hard look from farmers and custom applicators, even during recent grain market downturns, said Phil Loduha, product management specialist for Kuhn North America based in Wisconsin. It was Kuhn’s first appearance on the InfoAg trade show floor.

“Split nutrient application is definitely something that’s growing,” Loduha said, adding that tools allowing later application have taken off with farmers in areas such as northern Ohio, where new nutrient management tools like high-clearance spreaders are proving popular with producers in the Lake Erie watershed.

“They’re always looking for more clearance, up above the canopy,” he explained. “We’ve seen success with our Axis fertilizer spreaders near the Lake Erie watershed.” Kuhn has upgraded rate control software since the spreader line was first introduced to North America.

Trucks, apps, computers

Trucking firms, including agriculture service providers, are using tracking and fleet management software to help manage labor and fuel costs. A representative at InfoAg from Razor Tracking, which provides fleet management software, said the company’s software is used by agribusinesses like CHS that have seen returns on investment from fuel savings.

Patrick Olmstead, sales manager for Soilmap in Fort Dodge, Iowa, said the company’s truck dispatch software results in time savings and fuel economies during hectic spray seasons. “It helps get rigs to the fields where they’re needed, in a more efficient way,” he said.

Agriculture companies continue rolling out software upgrades and applications that are making it easier than ever to access field data at one’s fingertips. Watertown, S.D.-based FieldReveal is celebrating its 20th year providing producers with yield mapping.

“The software is updated, and our users are used to what we’ve provided as we celebrate 20 years,” said Nathan Odegard, FieldReveal mapping center specialist.

Soil testing labs and companies are also offering expanded options. Waypoint Analytical, which maintains testing locations in Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee and five other states, has a new app for producers to access test results.

Labs continue expanding the range of tests offered. Herbicide residuals and GMO testing have seen recent demand, as have soil enzyme tests. “We’re offering several new tests this year to our clients, including soil enzymes,” said Hannah Gaebel, support agronomist at Ward Laboratories, in Nebraska.

As farmers use more technology in the sprayer, tractor and combine, they are looking more closely than ever at how computers perform in the cab. A company from Sweden, JLT Mobile Computers, displayed at InfoAg its rugged computers used by Swedish loggers and farmers. JLT Mobile is also a provider of computers used in DeLaval dairy equipment.

The newest unit from JLT Mobile, the JLT6012, offers touch-screen technology designed for use in fields and forests. The unit uses the JLT PowerTouch display technology to “provide a familiar, user-friendly touch-screen experience, both with a gloved or ungloved hand, while being virtually unbreakable,” according to company literature.

More information about the companies and products displayed at this year’s InfoAg conference may be found on the event website, www.infoag.org