Channel® Field Check Up & FieldView™: Getting the Most Out of Every Acre

Read Time: 3 minutes
November 2, 2021
Jeremy Miner
Technical Agronomist at Bayer Crop Science

You can only do so much as one person, so having an extra set of eyes on the field is a big help. For Channel Seedsmen and Agronomists, the Field Check Up Series is a way to monitor what’s going on in the farmer’s fields throughout the growing season, and gives us more opportunities to understand your operation’s needs on a deeper level.

What is the Field Check Up Series?

The Channel Field Check Up Series consists of four onsite visits from a Channel Seedsman during key stages: The Seedling Stage at the beginning of the season, followed by visits during the Vegetative and Reproductive Stages, then finally the Maturity Stage during harvest.

The Maturity Stage is the final piece of the puzzle. It tells us if everything we did throughout the season had a positive impact on your operation. During the Maturity Stage, a Seedsman will check for any new problems, evaluate plant health and help you prioritize fields for harvest. This stage is exciting, full of anticipation, and arguably the most important as it’s the culmination of all the hard work from this season, and also where planning for next year’s success begins.

Four Key Checks During Maturity Stage
1
Previous Visit Follow-Up

If your Seedsman visited during pre-harvest, you’ll review any recommendations made at that time to ensure the best return on your investment. If the combine is rolling, you can discuss indicators of product performance and how it will impact future decision-making.

2
Prioritizing for Harvest

Using in-season information, you and your Seedsman will decide which fields to harvest first. The Climate FieldView™ yield analysis tool gives you early indications of product performance across your operation (as a reminder, you’re always in control of who can access this information).

3
Looking Ahead

Your Seedsman will help you prepare for next year by utilizing FieldView™ harvest data to position products and take advantage of early order seed programs, so you can save money and not have to think about it when the growing season ramps up again.

4
Custom Crop Report

Every stage visit, your Seedsman will be documenting their observations — including adding notes on product performance — through FieldView. These stage observations, including pins and photos, are then delivered to you in a Custom Crop Report.

More on Custom Crop Reports

Using field-by-field data from FieldView™, Custom Crop Reports are designed to help you gain insights from each stage with detailed observations from your Channel Seedsman. Studying your wins and challenges will help you and your Seedsman make adjustments along the way and create a plan for maximizing next season’s success.

Expect an overall assessment of your fields as well as more detailed pins marking specific areas of interest, complete with photos, detailed notes and recommendations.

In addition to its intuitive design and enhanced data visualization, the Custom Crop Report also makes it easy to access agronomy articles related to each visit.

 

The Field Check Up Series allows us to be with our farmers every step of the way; a true partnership where Seedsman can anticipate concerns and questions, and be ready with advice and solutions. Every check up is crucial, but as for the last one of the year? It feels a lot like Christmas — and for me, there’s nothing more exciting than seeing the smile on a grower’s face when they finally get to see what’s behind the wrapping paper.


About the Author

Jeremy was raised on a farm in east-central Iowa. After graduating from Iowa State University in 1998 with a degree in Agronomy, he began his career with Monsanto/Bayer. In his 23-year tenure, Jeremy has held roles in pre-commercial seed corn production and also worked in the area of corn research and development. He has been a Technical Agronomist since 2014. Jeremy and his wife Laura live near Williamsburg, Iowa, and have two sons, Mitchell (19) & Justin (16). In his free time, Jeremy is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys deer and turkey hunting, as well as just spending good quality time with his family.