Too Old for Back to School?

Aug 29, 2014

You’re never too old to learn things that will help your farming business.

Are you, like me, in the 50+ category? Do you feel intimidated by technology? If your son or daughter is not there, are you capable of downloading an app or changing anything on your phone? As the kids are settling in back at school, I challenge you to conquer your phone and make it just another one of the tools that any farmer has on hand.

Today almost everyone has a cell phone. But do you have a smart phone, and if you do, are you utilizing it to help run your business better? According to statistics from Pew (January 2014), 90% of adults have a cell phone. The majority of people, 58%, now own a smart phone. A smart phone is a handy thing, particularly for farmers. It can help you to accomplish a number of tasks while you are in the field.

Cell phones are great for checking the latest agriculture news as you are in the field. In addition to checking websites to determine the price of cash crops, etc., many services now exist to receive price updates via text messaging and other things. You can even follow the price of cash crops on twitter – which you can have on your smart phone.

By now you have heard the expression “There’s an app for that.” While in the early days of apps, there was not a large number of Apps for the agriculture and farming industries – more and more farm apps exist and can be quite useful. Farms.com has a complete list of agriculture apps.

In the early days of apps, you could often only find an app in one platform, but today, most apps are available for Android and Apple. For example, the Farms.com Used Equipment app lets you easily search for used farm equipment in your area (Ontario), without having to surf the web.

There are lots of great apps out there, some specific to farming, some just great tools. If you have a great app that you find particularly useful for farming, share your thoughts with us, we would love to share your app suggestions with other farmers.

Click here to see more...

Video: Dr. Emerson Nafziger: Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates for Corn

The Crop Science Podcast Show, Dr. Emerson Nafziger from the University of Illinois breaks down decades of nitrogen research. From the evolution of N rate guidelines to how soil health and hybrid genetics influence nitrogen use efficiency, this conversation unpacks the science behind smarter fertilization. Improving how we set nitrogen fertilizer rates for rainfed corn is a key focus. Discover why the MRTN model matters more than ever, and how shifting mindsets and better data can boost yields and environmental outcomes. Tune in now on all major platforms!

"The nitrogen that comes from soil mineralization is the first nitrogen the plant sees, and its role is underestimated."

Meet the guest:

Dr. Emerson Nafziger is Professor Emeritus of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with degrees in agronomy from Ohio State, Purdue, and Illinois. His research has focused on nitrogen rate strategies and crop productivity. He co-developed the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) model, which is widely used across the Midwest. His research spans N response trials, hybrid interactions, crop rotation effects, and yield stability.