GPS World

Tag: Connected Farm

  • Trimble advances precision irrigation with uniform application for corner arms

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    Trimble’s Irrigate-IQ now has “uniform corner,” which allows farmers to apply a consistent amount of water on the area covered by a center-pivot corner arm.

    The solution prevents over- or under-watering through a uniform application, which can reduce crop stress, promote better nutrient absorption due to reduced run off and leaching, and ultimately improve crop quality and yield. In addition, it enables farmers to optimize water use. This can be beneficial for farmers located in areas with limited water resources or with water restrictions.

    Irrigate-IQ uniform corner uses advanced algorithms that enable consistent water application regardless of the position of the corner arm. Whether the corner arm is starting to extend, fully extended, or folding back, Irrigate-IQ uniform corner minimizes the risk of overlaps or gaps in application.

    Because it controls each individual nozzle based on the desired application depth and the position of the corner arm, uniform corner provides the highest level of accuracy to achieve maximum uniformity across the entire area covered by the corner arm. In addition, Irrigate-IQ uniform corner works with multiple brands of corner arm equipment.

    “Most farmers invest in a corner arm system in order to extend their irrigable land. However, typical systems do not provide consistent watering,” said Neil Douglas, Irrigate-IQ market manager for Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “This means they are not optimizing their water resources, and potentially damaging their crop and reducing yield by over- or under-watering it. Irrigate-IQ uniform corner allows farmers to extend the capabilities of their current corner arm through consistent water application to achieve the greatest return on their investment.”

    Farmers can set the field depth and let the corner arm run, or they can add Irrigate-IQ monitor and control so they can remotely manage their whole pivot. For farmers who choose to add monitor and control, they can use the Connected Farm Irrigate app to remotely keep track of pivot status, or to turn their pivot on or off or change its direction.

    Irrigate-IQ uniform corner is expected to be available worldwide in the first quarter of 2016.

  • Trimble, Mapshots integrate agriculture software

    MapShots and Trimble have integrated MapShots AgStudio software platform with Trimble’s Connected Farm.

    AgStudio can now read as-applied maps and production data from Connected Farm. Previously, AgStudio software users could only read harvest data from Connected Farm.

    Users with current subscriptions to AgStudio software are able to communicate seamlessly with Trimble field devices and wirelessly transfer field data, as-applied maps and production data from planters, spreaders and sprayers as well as combines for harvest data.

    The recent integration taps into the new Trimble Connected Farm file transfer API, which provides data sharing access with the Connected Farm solution, and offers AgStudio software users more flexibility in importing data from an even wider variety of company systems.

    “This integration with Trimble’s Connected Farm solution allows our customers greater access to information that streamlines production management,” said Ted Macy, vice president of operations at MapShots. “Whether it’s variable rate seeding, variable rate fertility, or managing harvest data, AgStudio software users now can import even more valuable information and make decisions based on activities carried out by Trimble guidance and steering systems.”

    Trimble’s Connected Farm solution combines industry-leading hardware and software to increase efficiency and enable better decision making. Together, the two companies allow agricultural providers to better manage production data.

    “The integration with MapShots AgStudio software fits into Trimble’s Connected Farm strategy to provide growers a more complete picture of their field activities while allowing them a choice of software tools to analyze data and make production decisions,” said Pierre-Andre Rebeyrat, strategic marketing director of Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “We are excited to welcome MapShots to the growing list of companies that have taken advantage of the Connected Farm file transfer API.”
    For further information, users can contact their regional MapShots sales representative at 678-513-6093 or e-mail MapShots at [email protected].

  • Trimble Adds Agronomic Service to Connected Farm Solution

    Trimble is offering a new agronomic service that is part of its Connected Farm solution. The new service, Soil Information System (SIS), provides farmers and their trusted advisors with in-depth 3-D soil data they can use to make more informed decisions about their crop production goals.

    The SIS data is accessed through Connected Farm and can be used with Trimble’s Farm Works farm management software or other GIS platforms. Connected Farm enables better decision making by providing one central location for accessing key information impacting farm operations such as rainfall totals, weather forecasts, commodity tracking, planting coverage, yield mapping, fleet management, and irrigation monitoring and control, Trimble said.

    The SIS 3D soil mapping technology uses advanced sensors along with intelligent targeting and geoprocessing algorithms to produce high-resolution, accurate soil and topographic information. By providing a greater understanding of the physical and chemical characterization of the soil, including how inputs move through the soil, SIS enables farmers to initiate more effective solutions to resolve the unique challenges of each area of their fields. The SIS solution outputs precise, multi-layer soil models that are more comprehensive than traditional methods used in the industry today. Some examples of map types include: root zone depth, soil texture, plant available water, compaction depth, macro and micro-nutrient levels, soil nutrient holding capacity, and salt and toxicity concentrations.

    By analyzing soil variability and patterns prior to sampling — and by using its industry-exclusive data acquisition and analysis software — SIS provides targeted recommendations on the best locations where soil samples should be taken. In some cases this reduces the number of samples required to provide high-quality information by as much as 60 percent over traditional sampling methods. As a result, the solution enables agronomists to be more efficient with in-field data collection, providing valuable time and operating cost savings.

    “By adding the Soil Information System solution to Connected Farm, Trimble is providing farmers and their agronomists with critical soil information they can use to improve crop production and benefit the bottom line,” said Levi Kettle, Connected Farm business area director of Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “For example, knowing the soil’s plant available water capacity can aid in irrigation layout, scheduling, moisture sensor targeting, root stock selection and many other management decisions.”

    “Variability in yield and quality are due primarily to non-uniform soils being managed as uniform soils. In the past, our inability to identify the components of this soil variability prevented us from achieving greater crop uniformity and better economic returns,” said Robert Wample, Ph.D., a plant physiologist and owner of Edgeknoll Consulting, an SIS service provider. “SIS allows us to take a proactive approach to overcoming soil variability, and when combined with geo-referenced variability in crop yield and quality, the effectiveness of this approach is enhanced even more resulting in an ‘agricultural forensics’ approach to precision agriculture.”

    The SIS solution is available in several service levels depending on the accuracy and resolution required for the particular crop type and the grower’s production goals.