Articles by Clair Urbain

What Farmers Want From You

Compensating for Implement Drift Can Be a Tedious Process

By Clair Urbain posted on June 7, 2016 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

Matt Miller worked closely with his father-in-law, Randy Hoff, near Mitchell, Neb., getting his equipment set up for automatic guidance. It’s helped the 450-acre irrigated corn, edible dry beans and sugarbeet operation better leverage strip-till and made it easier to build strips and then stay on them at planting.

Dealer Support Critical to Developing Precision Practices

By Clair Urbain posted on May 6, 2016 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

John Detlor continues to slowly adopt precision farming technology into his 800-acre operation that he operates with his brother, James, near Wautoma, Wis. As he does, he’s finding dealer support is key to a successful transition.

Precision Fertility Yields Answers & Questions

By Clair Urbain posted on April 22, 2016 | Posted in Equipment, Precision Agriculture

Larry Tombaugh says he used to make mistakes farming, but now he calls them “experiments.” That change in attitude has helped him achieve yields near 284 bushel per acre for corn and 80 bushel per acre soybeans on his Streator, Ill., operation.

Steering Toward RTK Reliability on Sidehills

By Clair Urbain posted on January 8, 2016 | Posted in Equipment

Dustin Mulock, who farms with his father, Carl, near Woodville, Ont., is on the lookout to find ways to improve soils while reducing the horsepower needed to plant crops.

Spotty GPS Signal Requires Backup Marker Use

By Clair Urbain posted on October 27, 2015 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

Mazeppa, Minn., strip-tiller Rod Sommerfield has a very forward-looking view of precision agriculture. He believes the best evolution path is toward smaller, more autonomous machines that will look at the field microenvironment and adjust crop inputs for optimal yield on the spot.

Precision Ag

Easing the Precision Transition to Higher Accuracy

By Clair Urbain posted on October 13, 2015 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

Ryan Nell's family farm has been using precision farming equipment since 1999 — when he was 13 years old. Today, he's part of an extended family cash grain and dairy operation near Beaver Dam, Wis., and they continue to fine-tune and leverage precision farming data to improve productivity on their operation.

Riding the Fence with Choosing Precision Platforms

By Clair Urbain posted on September 16, 2015 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

Adam Casner is a seventh generation farmer at Casner Farms in Carrollton, Mo., and since the family adopted precision farming techniques, they are into their third generation of equipment.

Red Plus Green Can Equal Frustrated Farmer

By Clair Urbain posted on September 5, 2015 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

The Stoller family farms 4,700 acres near Kentland, Ind., and have almost always had a John Deere fleet of equipment. But as they transition to strip-till in both corn and soybean rotations, they added a Case IH RowTrac 470 tractor into the equipment lineup in 2015 to help them reduce soil compaction.

Applying Farm Data to Improve Strip-Till Decision Making

Turning raw precision numbers into actionable information helps Illinois strip-tillers Dan and Trent Sanderson save money on inputs and increase efficiency.

By Clair Urbain and Jack Zemlicka posted on August 21, 2015 | Posted in Equipment, Precision Agriculture

Turning raw precision numbers into actionable information helps Illinois strip-tillers Dan and Trent Sanderson save money on inputs and increase efficiency.

Seeking Residue Management with a More Consistent RTK Signal

By Clair Urbain posted on August 20, 2015 | Posted in Seeding & Planting, Cover Crops

Strip-tiller Tom Broeren readily admits he’s a coward when confronting residue on corn fields going back to corn on his 1,100 acres near Walnut, Ill.

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