Joe VanQuaethem farms about 10,000 acres near Tillsonburg
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
An Ontario producer will share his journey with precision agriculture at the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference later in the month.
Joe VanQuaethem farms 10,000 acres of corn, soybeans and processing vegetables near Tillsonburg, Ont. with his brother and his father, Brian. The farm has completely immersed itself in precision ag practices, but the transition proved to be a challenging conversation amongst the family.
“I’m the one that pushed the technology side of things because I could see how it would organize our 10,000 acres into something that was more precise and clean,” Joe told Farms.com today. “My dad isn’t really a technology guy. Some older farmers have a tough time letting go ... You have to prove to them that technology is going to work.
“We’re entering a transition period where farm dads may not want to use technology but their kids do and you butt heads along the way.”
VanQuaethem’s presentation will also focus on his precision agriculture equipment and how he uses it to better manage his land.
And while high-speed planters and other equipment help him work more efficiently, the biggest challenge facing precision ag is translating the data into revised agronomic practices, he says.
“The paths between equipment and agronomists is crossing,” he said. “Your equipment is only as good as how you use it. And you can make a bunch of maps but if you’re not putting down the right fertilizer rates on the right soil types, you won’t be successful.”
VanQuaethem is one of many great speakers scheduled to appear at the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference.
The event takes place Jan. 30 and 31 at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn in London, Ont.
Top photo: Joe VanQuaethem