2015 Precision Agriculture Conference: Breakout Session Series: Part IV

Feb 27, 2015

Solving the “I don’t know”

More than 20 professionals from financial, agricultural, weather and other industries gave their time in a series of breakout sessions designed to help the over 200 attendees of the 2015 Precision Agricultural Conference learn about the newest technologies and to pick the brains of the people on the forefront of precision agriculture practices.

The Farms.com coverage of the breakout sessions continues with Darryl Lacey, a precision farming specialist with Delta Power Equipment. His session discussed the lessons farmers have learned recently and how to apply those to the future.

Lacey talked about how the idea of driving straight is where precision agriculture most often starts, but it shouldn’t.

“You won’t save as much money driving straight as you will by shutting off something like the sprayer,” he said.

Solutions vary, but how farmers arrive at the solutions is the difference. With the new technologies, return on investment is a large contributor.

“Farmers love to spend money,” he said. “But what they love even more is when they make that money back and then some.”

He eluded to the past when planting with an auto-boom shutoff or auto-boom height variation was unheard of and now it seems to be the norm.

When it comes to the future, Lacey said he thinks there won’t be a divide among competitors.

“Doesn’t matter if you’re green (John Deere), red (CASE), or blue (New Holland),” he said. “You buy a new tractor, take a tablet, put it on your arm rest and purchase a $2000 app from a store.”

Check back on Farms.com often as more breakout sessions from the 2015 Precision Agriculture Conference will be covered.

Did you attend Darryl Lacey’s presentation? If so, how did you find it? What’s your take on future technologies with precision agriculture?

Be sure to check out part one, part two and part three of the Breakout Session Series.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.