GK Technology introduces Surface Shaping and SD Surface (in conjunction with Rust Sales) which offers land managers an innovative approach to field design. Surface Shaping allows for advanced drainage design, giving farmers the ability to design intentional water flow and directionality, above and beyond normal ditching and "land leveling." Kelly Sharpe explains how this new technology preserves valuable topsoil while eliminating problematic water-holding areas through advanced design and precision implementation.

• Surface Shaping differs from land leveling by focusing on water direction rather than just creating flat surfaces
• Surface maps are created within ADMS, producing cut/fill maps showing where soil should be removed and where it should be added (the controller will move the blade to do exactly what the map calls for)
• Preserves agronomic integrity by allowing farmers to limit topsoil removal to prevent exposing clay subsoil
• Implements precise design plans where equipment operators follow color-coded maps until areas turn green
• Requires less technical expertise from equipment operators since the plan guides the entire process
• Focus applications include: Red River Valley field surface modifications, irrigation grade preparation, terrace building, and construction site preparation
• Requires farmer input during mapping stage to ensure the design meets specific field needs
• Can reduce fuel and labor costs by eliminating unnecessary passes across the field

Contact GK Technology to learn more about how Surface Shaping can transform your field's drainage and productivity.

SD Surface will not be available fall 2025, but we will keep you updated on the official release date!

https://gktechinc.com/

Soil is more than just what we see on the surface, on average consisting of 45% mineral components, 5% organic matter, 25% water, and 25% air, with bulk density measuring how much dry soil weighs per volume. 

• Bulk density indicates the space available in soil for air and water
• Sandy soils counterintuitively have higher bulk density than clay soils
• Clay soils typically contain more organic matter which contributes to greater pore spaces
• Bulk density increases as you go deeper into the soil profile
• Tillage initially reduces bulk density but destroys aggregate structure
• No-till transitions require time for new aggregate formation
• Compacted soils with high bulk density limit root exploration
• The ideal soil provides adequate pore space for root growth
• Calculating total nutrients requires understanding soil bulk density

More on measuring bulk density and bulk density as a soil health indicator: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/Soil%20Quality-Indicators-Bulk%20Density.pdf

Join us for our next Tiny Bytes! 

https://gktechinc.com/

Sarah and Jodi continue their conversation about common precision agriculture issues encountered during spring planting, focusing on field boundaries, controller settings, and troubleshooting variable rate applications.

• Field boundaries matter critically for prescription applications – without proper mapping, sections of equipment may shut off unexpectedly
• Prairie Pothole regions require special boundary considerations since water levels change frequently
• Use buffer tools to expand tight boundaries and prevent equipment sections from shutting off at field edges
• Out-of-boundary rates must be set in controllers, not prescriptions, since prescriptions only work with GPS coordinates
• Controllers need specific settings for GPS signal loss, especially important during solar flare events
• YouTube is an excellent resource for finding controller-specific instructions
• Some monitors require purchasing additional unlocks to enable variable rate capabilities
• Unusual issues like mice chewing wires can cause mysterious prescription failures

Visit our website at www.gktechinc.com to access our Q&A forum, where you can ask specific precision ag questions if you are a GK Technology, Inc. customer.

NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetative Index) helps farmers detect how green and/or productive different areas of their fields are by measuring the ratio of near-infrared to red light reflected from plant canopies. This technology creates reliable productivity zone maps when analyzed consistently over multiple growing seasons, enabling targeted input management across variable field conditions.

In this Tiny Byte Sarah and Jodi cover:
• NDVI measures plant canopy density by comparing near-infrared light reflection to red light absorption
• Chlorophyll absorbs visible light while plant cell structures reflect near-infrared light
• NDVI values range from -1 to 1 (or ~0-100 in ADMS) with higher values indicating denser vegetation
• Creating reliable management zones requires multiple years of imagery, not just single snapshots
• Best imagery comes from periods when crop canopy is developing or starting to senesce
• NDVI data often correlates with yield potential and can identify consistently productive field areas
• Zone management allows targeted input application based on productivity potential
• The most valuable NDVI images show variation in greenness rather than complete saturation

Check out our backlog episode "Choosing Quality Imagery" in Season 1 for more information on selecting the best imagery for creating management zones. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2297340/episodes/16135793

https://gktechinc.com/

Sarah and Jodi reflect on the fast-paced spring planting season of 2025, sharing their experiences supporting customers with ADMS software and troubleshooting common prescription issues while managing rapidly changing field conditions.

Situations and questions they cover: 
• When to dissolve prescriptions during the export process to optimize controller compatibility
• Understanding the difference between hard breaks and interpolation in prescription maps
• Why you should never dissolve a fully interpolated map without applying rate increments first
• How controller limitations affect prescription exports and formatting requirements
• The importance of creating test prescriptions before heading to the field
• Setting appropriate minimum and maximum rates for fertilizer applications
• Tips for managing controller-specific requirements like single shapefile exports
• How to maintain prescription integrity while meeting equipment limitations

Join us next time for the second half of our conversation about common spring questions here on Ag Geek Speak.

https://gktechinc.com/

Using the correct UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) zone is crucial when working with GIS data mapped to a UTM zone. We explain how projections work to translate locations from Earth's spherical surface to flat maps, and why UTM zones are critical for accurate agricultural mapping.

• UTM divides Earth into 60 zones, each six degrees of longitude wide
• UTM choice errors cause maps to appear in completely wrong locations, like oceans
• Creating maps in the wrong UTM zone leads to unusable prescriptions for field operations
• Maps created in one UTM zone but opened in another will show incorrect positions
• Farms located on UTM zone boundaries may encounter projection issues more frequently
• Always verify your UTM zone settings when working in mapping software
• Turn on background maps to confirm your fields are projecting in the correct location
• Reprojection tools in ADMS can help fix UTM errors

Avoid the sharks and floaties, check your UTM!

https://gktechinc.com/

Travis Yeik joins us for part two of our deep dive into the interaction of artificial intelligence and humans in agriculture, exploring current applications and future possibilities of this transformative technology in farming.

We chat about... 

• Weather forecasting is already utilizing AI to provide crucial planning information to farmers
• Precision agriculture applications include weed identification, disease monitoring, and targeted spraying
• Livestock operations benefit from AI monitoring of animal health, feed consumption, and production metrics
• Irrigation management systems use AI to optimize water usage and placement
• Biogenetics represents a revolutionary frontier where AI is accelerating crop development
• Protein structure mapping has advanced from mapping dozens to millions of proteins in just years
• Future AI applications could include profit maximization planning and automated stand count analysis
• Adoption challenges mirror previous farm technology introductions like auto-steer systems
• Data collection remains a critical challenge for AI implementation in agriculture
• Human oversight will remain essential even as AI capabilities continue to advance

Join us as we continue exploring how technology is transforming agriculture and what it means for the future of farming.

https://gktechinc.com/

Precision agriculture focuses on treating different parts of a field according to their unique yield potential instead of applying the same approach everywhere. Variable rate applications start with establishing realistic yield goals for different areas within a field based on their consistent performance patterns.

In this episode, Sarah and Jodi discuss:

• Using historical yield data to determine which areas consistently yield higher or lower
• Combining yield history with grid soil sampling data to create targeted fertilizer applications
• Assigning variable rate yield goals by zone when managing variability
• Being realistic about low-yield areas that consistently underperform
• Recognizing how nutrients accumulate in low-yield areas while being depleted in high-production zones
• Creating variable rate maps even with just composite soil samples by setting different yield goals
• Understanding precision agriculture is primarily about efficiency, not just yield maximization
• Managing costs by reducing inputs where appropriate while giving high-producing areas what they need

https://gktechinc.com/

We explore the future of human decision-making in precision agriculture and the role artificial intelligence might play in supporting – not replacing – farmers.

• Travis Yeik brings unique perspective from his background in farming, agronomy, and software development
• AI has existed since the 1950s but recent advances in computing power and algorithms have accelerated development
• Farmers must make complex decisions integrating agronomy, mechanics, business, finance and weather variables
• Current AI excels at specific tasks but cannot integrate all the complex knowledge domains needed for comprehensive farm management
• The true potential of AI is as a decision-support tool that helps farmers process overwhelming amounts of data
• Data availability remains a significant challenge for training AI models capable of nuanced agricultural recommendations
• Increasing farm sizes and tighter margins create a need for better decision-support tools, making AI potentially valuable
• Integration of AI should enhance rather than replace the human judgment and experience essential to farming

In part two of our conversation, we'll continue exploring how AI tools can help make farmers and agronomists more efficient without replacing their essential roles.

https://gktechinc.com/

We tackle a common technical prescription writing question in this Tiny Byte: what does it mean to place a prescription on the root of a drive and why does it matter. Understanding this simple concept can solve many frustrating issues when loading prescriptions onto different monitors.

• The "root" of a drive is the main directory—the blank space you see when first opening the drive
• Different farm equipment requires prescription files in specific locations
•  Page 203 of the 2025 ADMS User Manual lists out where prescriptions need to be saved on different monitors
• Some monitors require files directly on the root (no folders)
• The slash (/) in file paths just indicates folder structure
• Never use special characters in file or folder names—stick to letters, numbers, and dashes
• Proper file placement ensures controllers can find and use your prescription files

https://gktechinc.com/