Discover how precision agriculture technology and real-time field data helps prairie farmers boost efficiency.
Prairie farmers are discovering how precision agriculture technology can transform the way they manage crops. Tools like FieldView™ act as a crop planning tool and real-time field data capture software, helping growers make informed decisions without needing to walk every field.
For growers who have logged onto FieldView but haven’t gotten traction yet, it’s useful to find out what farmers are experiencing once they are fully operational. Consider the case of Derek Dery, who farms near Saskatoon. The family operation seed crops over a 50km radius, so it’s not practical for Derek or his advisors to walk fields. “FieldView changed our relationship with our agronomists because I can see online what they’re seeing in the field. I don’t have time to walk fields,” Dery says.
“With FieldView’s Field Health maps, I can see what the weather has done for the crop,” he adds. “We use those intuitive maps to plan our passes. There’s no need to fumble with a notebook in the dark” when fieldwork requires you to start before sunrise or after sunset. “We just open the iPad and it’s all there.”
Mike and Regan Ferguson rely on precision agriculture technology from seeding to harvest, on their farm near Melfort, SK. Using FieldView has changed their perspective on what success looks like. “We think a lot about probability,” Mike says. “What are the factors that will help us determine our prospects for growing a successful crop this year?”
The Fergusons have come to rely on FieldView all season long. “With FieldView, we’re able to see what’s going on in the field in real time,” according to Regan. “Then we know what we need for product or whether we’re going to be short. FieldView is extremely helpful for those in-season logistics.” By using this crop planning tool, they can monitor conditions, predict challenges, and maximize their chances of a successful crop.
Real-time field data capture software allows their advisors to tap in remotely and see exactly what’s happening on the ground. Mike Ferguson notes: “We do a lot of trials and FieldView helps us tell the story. Some of our advisors work a long way from us. With FieldView, they can tap in and see exactly what we’re seeing. A tool like FieldView keeps everyone up to speed.”
As highlighted in ‘Control What You Can With Digital Farming Tool’, using digital tools allows farmers to focus on the decisions they can influence while minimizing risk across the operation.
Dave Hewlett of Ashton, MB, loves the convenience of assessing crops with FieldView’s real-time field data capture software. “It really helps with planning,” he says. “Being in the right place with the right products at the right time. That’s a big change we saw once we started using FieldView.” It's important to understand how real time imagery and scouting tools can help farmers make better-informed decisions across their fields.
Hewlett also appreciates the convenience of collecting data through FieldView’s precision agriculture technology. “FieldView allows us to verify what we’re doing,” he adds. “We can record it, reference back to it. No more sticky notes that blow off the tractor cab on a windy day.”
Now that he has the benefit of a few years of data, “we’re finding there’s more and more ways for that data to be useful,” Hewlett adds. For example, “everyone knows about that back corner of a field that’s been a problem. We all have fields like that,” he says. “But storing that information in a note pad in someone’s back pocket just doesn’t cut it. Collecting that data digitally helps us retain that knowledge.”
Hewlett’s advice to those who have yet to jump into FieldView: “Get started. The usefulness of the data may not occur to you right away, but it will come. You’re collecting data anyway with every pass so you might as well start using it.”
Find out for yourself what a difference FieldView can make. Check out our FieldView resource centre or call 888-924-7475.
On-farm field trials are the key to harnessing the full potential of your fields to prepare for current and future growing seasons. Rather than spending endless time and effort placing flags and hand-scrawling notes just to see how two potential field scenarios stack up against one another, Climate FieldView’s on-farming testing is incredibly simple and easy to use.
On this episode, Chapin Bell, Climate Business Manager catches up with Keenan Fahlman from Holdfast, Saskatchewan. It’s not long before these two get to the goods on how Keenan sees the value of using FieldView on his farm practically every day.
Quality data is key to the good life, and one piece of technology can connect your entire operation. The FieldView Drive can make old equipment collect data like a brand-new model.