By Tim Alexander

Illinois Correspondent

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Those attending the Illinois Soybean Association’s (ISA) Aug. 8 “Field Talk” at Heartland Community College’s new Ag Complex were treated to an unbiased review of LeafTech Ag’s new on-demand tissue analysis tool, followed by a demonstration of the product by a licensed distributor.

“The one thing that’s going to help us through this time of lower commodity prices,” according to Stephanie Porter, a certified crop adviser and ILSoyAdvisor, “is technology. This (LeafTech) product is one thing that’s caught my eye. And one thing I like about my job is that I get to remain unbiased and tell you what I like and don’t like about new products.”

LeafTech’s product, which is somewhat reminiscent of an advanced ViewMaster photo disc viewer, helps farmers to more precisely target nutrient applications. After scanning an inserted corn leaf, the device provides the operator with precise inputs for optimal yields and crop quality. It can provide up to 13.5 million data points per scan with hundreds of scans per field.

Its scanner can provide 30x more site-specific data points at 3 percent of the cost in three to five minutes, compared with three to five days under current methods, according to LeafTech Ag. As a subscription-based service, the scanners are returned to LeafTech Ag after usage by farmers or cooperatives.

Nutrients measured by the device include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc, copper, iron, boron, manganese, magnesium, calcium, along with leaf water content. LeafTech Ag guarantees up to 97 percent accuracy versus laboratory analysis.

Porter reported that she and a relative had tried out the product on their southern Illinois farm and found that it performed well with her i-Phone and personal computer. At another relative’s farm in western Illinois, a weak cell phone signal interfered with the scanner’s analysis performance. Overall, she described the process of retrieving data from scans as “very, very easy” despite the geographical drawbacks associated with cell phone and internet reception.

“I would love to get my hands on this (scanner) and use it throughout the season on a regular basis to monitor on-farm trials that we have. There are so many ideas I have for this,” Porter said. “You can test it out by sending off samples for validation, which (LeafTech) encourages you to do.”

However, the LeafTech Ag scanner, which entered the market this year after being developed in Greenfield, Ind., is “very costly,” Porter cautioned. “That is why I was only able to test it out for two weeks, using checkoff dollars. I don’t know how many farmers would want to spend what they are charging right now, but I can see crop consultants, retailers and cooperatives going for this type of product to use as a diagnostic tool.”

Scott Woker, regional manager for Ag Technology Solutions Group, said the scanner’s cost is justified for its ability to provide on-demand leaf tissue analysis as opposed to taking days to submit and analyze samples to a laboratory. Woker demonstrated the LeafTech scanner, which he said one customer referred to as his “personal b.s. detector,” for those attending the Field Talk.

‘When you’re in the V3 soybean growth stage and considering yield potential, you don’t want to have to wait several days for a laboratory analysis. Depending on the weather, you’ve got a limited time that you can get in the field. This makes your decisions (about targeted nutrient applications) very important,” he said.

Tissue testing requires only around 30 to 45 seconds to complete with the LeafTech scanner, which can also scan corn and cotton (more crops will be available soon, according to the company). The device includes scanning hardware, software, battery, charger and hard case. Training is also included in the cost of the scanner. The Leaftech Ag digital lab currently retails for around $15,000 based on an annual subscription.