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If farmers have good data, they can quantify what good
practices look like.
That was part of Seth Crawford’s message to
attendees during the 2020 Farms.com Virtual Precision
Agriculture Conference & Ag Technology Showcase.
Crawford is vice-president of AGCO’s Fuse Connected
Services and Digital Customer Experience.
Using corn production as an example, Crawford
highlighted the discrepancies between harvests.
“We know that from recent record winners it’s possible
to get as much as 600 bushels per acre, out of one bag
of corn seed,” he said.
In 2019, David Hula, a producer from Virginia, harvested
616 bu/ac on his farm to win the National Corn Yield
Contest.
But when looking at United States Department of
Agriculture figures, the average corn harvest in 2019
was 168 bu/ac.
“That’s a huge gap. How do we close that gap?”
Crawford asked. “You don’t need every possible
variable mapped out, but it is important to leverage
the data you do have to improve your agronomic
performance in the future.”
Growers can gain about 20 per cent of net farm
income over the next few years if they manage data
properly, Crawford said.
Focusing on making key improvements and putting
insights to use are important to achieve that goal.
“Look at the data points you have and look at the ones
you may want to enable with minimal effort or expense,
and start leveraging the information you have so you
have a continuous improvement process.”
Next, a grower should focus on the data he or she has
and where they would like to make the biggest gains
or savings.
“With data in your hand, you can consult key advisers
for advice on what will make the greatest impact,”
Crawford said. “And your advisers will be able to give
you better information back because they’re talking
about real facts.”
Automating as much as one
can is another important step.
This helps ensure data is
always up to date.
“The great thing about
precision farming is you don’t
need to have everything at
once,” Crawford said. “You
can add on bit by bit so you’re
automating and collecting the
relevant data and putting it
back to use.”
“GROWERS CAN GAIN ABOUT
20 PER CENT OF NET FARM
INCOME OVER THE NEXT
FEW YEARS IF THEY MANAGE
DATA PROPERLY.”
WATCH THE VIDEO
03
HOW TO FILL IN
AG DATA
GAPS
The ability to capture and share data has grown exponentially
in recent years
DIEGO FLAMMINI
FARMS.COM
PHOTOS: v
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