By Croptimistic Technology Inc.
5
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The podcast currently has 21 episodes available.
Paul Sullivan (Twitter/X) joins the show to talk about the challenges he and his farmers are dealing with in his area of Eastern Ontario. We discuss some really interesting population trials that he’s doing, fertility issues coming off years of high fertilizer prices, and what difference SWAT MAPS has made for him and his farmer customers.
“When we look at yield, yield is a component of kernel number times kernel weight, and that gives us basically yield per acre. So with the definition of the SWAT MAPS we feel those yield components, we can kind of connect the genetics with the water supplying capacity in addition to the management of the farm.” - Paul Sullivan
Paul is a certified crop consultant and agronomist in Eastern Ontario. He has operated his agronomy services firm, PT Sullivan Agro, since 1997, and started using SWAT MAPS in recent years. His area of the province, which is just outside of Ottawa, is mostly corn, soybeans and wheat. Paul’s work focuses on developing crop plans around nutrient management, pH, pesticides, and some genetic recommendations as well.
Before starting the business, Paul spent eight years as a soil and crop advisor with the ministry of agriculture and food covering three counties with the provincial extension group there. So he has a long history of working directly with farmers to solve agronomic problems.
00:00 Welcome to SWAT Agronomy Podcast
00:26 Introduction to Today's Episode
00:55 Meet Paul Sullivan
02:23 Paul's Agronomy Journey
02:49 Early Challenges and Solutions
04:48 Soil and Fertility Issues
06:18 Managing Crop Residue
08:28 Adopting SWAT MAPS
14:47 Population Trials and Hybrid Management
21:03 Impact of SWAT Maps on Business
23:20 Conclusion and Farewell
Learn more at SWATMAPS.com
In this episode of the SWAT Agronomy podcast, Derek Rude, VP of Research and Development at Croptimistic Technology, discusses the evolution of precision ag technologies like SWAT MAPS and SWAT CAM. The conversation touches upon the development of precision agriculture tools, advancements in soil mapping, challenges in scaling SWAT MAPS, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning models, and the introduction of SWAT CAM for crop and weed imaging. Derek highlights the importance of data integration, higher resolution soil sampling, and future improvements using AI and autonomous technologies to enhance efficiency and agronomic decision-making.
“The real value is tying that data back to the SWAT zones. Because we know all of these critical properties: the soil properties, the water properties of these SWAT zones. So now we can really better explain what the SWAT CAM data is telling us, because we have that foundation, that SWAT foundation. So we can go take some pictures of some fields and show some variability. That's cool. But until we tie it back to the SWAT foundation, it doesn't have that big value that it does now.” - Derek Rude
00:00 Welcome to the SWAT Agronomy podcast
00:33 Introduction to Today's Episode
01:49 Meet Derek Rude: Background and Experience
02:37 Challenges and Innovations in SWAT Technology
03:24 The Evolution of SWAT BOX
04:21 SWAT BOX Features and Advancements
07:24 Integrating AI and Machine Learning
10:48 SWAT CAM: Crop and Weed Imaging
12:07 Future Directions and Challenges
18:12 Adoption and Feedback on SWAT CAM
22:19 Autonomous Soil Sampling and Ground Truthing
28:56 Final Thoughts and Contact Information
Learn more at SWATMAPS.com
We have a really special episode for you as we sit down with Les Henry. Retired in 1996, Les is a professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, a private consultant, and farmer. He is a renowned soils expert and in 2010 he released a lighthearted book about his passion for soils titled “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water”. He has taught and mentored many farmers, agronomists and ag professionals over the years, and his impact on the industry cannot be overstated.
In today’s episode, Les reflects on his career milestones including conducting soil surveys, helping farmers solve problems like soil salinity, teaching and research he has done both in Canada and abroad, his 48 years of writing, his views on farmer-led research and extension and much much more.
“At the end of the meeting, a farmer got up and said, 'you told us what we already knew in language we couldn't understand and took all day to do it. And he was right! So on the way home, I said to my department head, we have to do something different here. That was something I'll remember forever.” - Les Henry
1:56 Henry’s background and how he started his career
3:06 Working on soil surveys and getting started in teaching
4:12 The importance of listening to farmers
6:30 Henry’s work on salinity
12:24 The five years Les spent on soil surveys
13:44 Work in soil fertility
15:44 What’s different from what he used to teach about soils?
19:36: Writing “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water”
23:15 The top takeaway from Les’ writing
25:18 Research needs to start with a real problem
26:00 Recent writing on cover crops
28:00 Variable rate and SWAT MAPS
34:03 Government interference
35:36 What Les is most proud of
37:50 Doing things “My Way”
Purchase a copy of “Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water”
Learn more at SWATMAPS.com.
Tyler Kessler joins us to discuss his independent agronomy consulting business in Southern Saskatchewan. The company provides a range of agronomic and precision agriculture services for farmers who want to optimize yield, improve soil health, and reduce environmental impacts. They are also a service provider of SWAT MAPS. Before incorporating Kessler Ag Ventures in 2015, Tyler worked in ag retail for eight years and spent a couple of years with an ag chemical manufacturer. He says in those days he wasn’t seeing a lot in precision ag that convinced him it was really adding a lot of value to farmers. That was of course until he discovered SWAT MAPS. Tyler shares his pursuit in helping farmers with agronomy and technology, using SWAT MAPS, on-farm trials, and a whole lot more.
“We're doing a lot of research and development on our own, so seeding rate, fertility responses, herbicide. We're breaking new ground and our network of consultants and the network that Croptimistic has continues to share their information and knowledge….We've got a great map now. We've gotta match the agronomy on the best map there is.” - Tyler Kessler
2:17 - Meet Tyler Kessler who discusses his independent agronomy consulting business and how he got involved with SWAT MAPS
3:50 - Discover how clients encouraged Tyler to investigate and eventually incorporate SWAT MAPS into his offerings
4:59 - Understand the vetting process Tyler did to insure SWAT MAPS would be a good fit for both his business and clients
5:59 - Hear how Tyler not only has added SWAT MAPS to his business but also uses it on his own operation
6:37 - Explore the geographic variability Tyler finds on each field for each client and the insight SWAT MAPS provides him to accommodate for that
8:04 - Understand the barriers of ag tech adoption for some producers and how Tyler works around and with them
8:56 - Explore the protocol Tyler uses for incorporating SWAT MAPS into his services with a grower
10:03 - Discover how Tyler continues to expand his agronomy consultant business and client list in his region
11:10 - Learn how Tyler’s job has changed with ever emerging technology over the last ten years
12:47 - Explore what other ag tech Tyler has incorporated into his client offerings and what he sees being developed to help his growers
13:47 - Learn about various ag tech products that were not a good fit for Tyler’s business and clients and how he identified them
15:09 - Understand the new technologies Tyler is exploring and the network he has developed with Croptimistic to get his producers the best combination of products and technology
16:42 - Discover the relationship that has to be forged between producers and agronomist to optimize success on the farm
17:55 - Explore the variables Tyler has found that make a big impact for producers and the methods he’s using to maximize production
19:46 - Understand the ROI Tyler has experienced for his business after adding SWAT MAPS to his services
20:52 - Learn about what issues are top of mind for Tyler’s producers in 2024
21:53 - Discover what direction Tyler anticipates new technology is headed in and how he plans to use them going forward
Learn more at SWATMAPS.com.
Trav Hair is based in Horsham, Victoria and has worked in ag for 20 years. He’s part of the agronomy team at Crop Opti Services and works closely with research and development companies at their trial site bringing new products to market. As well as looking after his own agronomy clients, Trav also works with machinery companies to help growers utilize their machinery purchases to enable them to achieve better results through the technology these machines provide. Trav shares the value they’re finding in both SWAT MAPS and the SWAT CAM, and the big strides they are making with variable rate herbicide applications.
“Any person that's stepping into precision ag, if you're doing it to save money, I think you're doing it for the wrong reason. I think stepping into precision ag is a really good platform to get a better return on investment and actually make more money at the end of the day.” - Trav Hair
2:49 - Meet Trav Hair and discover where he is from and his journey into his current role at Crop Opti Services
5:43 - Explore how Australia’s agriculture practices have stayed at the forefront of precision ag practices in development and use
7:39 - Discover the origins of mapping in the area and the pitfalls in execution and understanding prior to the use of SWAT MAPS
9:24 - Learn about the practicality of installing and using SWAT MAPS technology and the many data sets produced by them
10:37 - Explore the process from acquiring data from the SWAT MAPS to making practice changes on each individual field and operation
12:17 - Understand the economics involved in employing spot spraying technology and the amount of financial benefit some producers are achieving
15:52 - Discover the barrier to adoption for different options for “See and Spray” technology including machines, technology and chemical variety
18:45 - Learn about the catalysts that best encourage producers into exploring this technology and discovering its benefits
22:10 - Explore how variable rate fertilizers may be the best way to initiate variable rate technology onto an operation that hasn’t previously used it before. Variable rate herbicides and seeding rates are likely to follow.
26:03 - Discover the advantages SWAT CAM have provided Crop Opti Services and the producers they support
29:45 - Learn about where Trav feels precision ag will go in the future and how it has and will influence the industry going forward
As always you can learn more at SWATMAPS.com
Nebraska farmers, brothers, and co-owners of JTM Ag, Trent and Justin Mastny join us to talk about their search for a system that would serve their farm better. They also discuss how JTM Ag now helps other farmers in the area take their variable rate technology to the next level through SWAT MAPS. They now combine the precision of SWAT Maps with soil and tissue sampling through Agronomy 365 and BW Fusion and have had some remarkable results. They go on to share about research they’ve been doing on population economics, experiments they’re conducting on their own farm, and their early impressions of the SWAT CAM technology.
“So what we're trying to do is we're not necessarily trying to save people's seed, we're just trying to put those dollars in areas of the field where it's gonna return their money better. So in our wetter areas, our zones seven, eight, nines and tens, we are trying to push those populations. And then as Justin said, in those lighter areas, 25, 26,000 to still get that average of 29 to 30,000. That's really what we're after… We're just trying to relocate those dollars to make you more money in those areas.” - Trent and Justin Mastny
2:12 - Meet Trent and Justin Mastney and their search for a system to better serve their farm and find out how they landed on SWAT maps.
2:26 - Discover what led to the formation of JTM Ag and what precision ag options including SWAT maps they are able to offer their clients
4:14 - Explore their personal farming operation and how they have incorporated new technologies and practices into its management
5:19 - Learn about the impact of pursuing efficiency with dry fertilizer on their operation and the benefits they have observed
6:21 - Discover how the benefits and results of SWAT maps quickly overcame their initial skepticism in using the SWAT suite of tools and how they help other producers come to the same conclusions with trials of the technology
11:14 - Explore the financial ramifications in the use of precision technology and the revenue it can generate for the producer
14:14 - Learn the many different conditions and land variability the SWAT map can account for and allow the producer to adjust his practices to best support
15:28 - Discover how JTM Ag introduces SWAT maps to an operation and the fees associated with it
16:36 - Explore what Trent and Justin feel are still challenges they are facing on their operation and how they are mitigating those issues
19:28 - Explore the ongoing research, trials and experiments Trent and Justin are conducting on their land to evaluate future technologies
22:30 - Discover what SWAT Cams are and how they can be used to benefit operations
25:53 - Hear the advice Trent and Jim share with other producers exploring practices in precision agriculture
Follow Trent Mastny @TrentMastny and Justin Mastny @JMastny27. As always you can learn more at SWATMaps.com
A1 Agronomy owner and operator Anita Renwick joins us to discuss her independent agronomy business in Manitoba. A1 provides soil sampling programs and in-season agronomy services in the southwest corner of the province as well as parts of southeast Saskatchewan. Born and raised on a mixed cattle and grain farm in Southwest Manitoba, Anita studied agronomy at the University of Saskatchewan. She ultimately decided to start A1 Agronomy for growers interested in maximizing the yields and looking for unbiased advice. She shares the need she saw for independent agronomy in the area, how she is helping some farmers adopt precision agriculture for the first time, and what a difference this more detailed approach is making in yields and profitability.
“That's just an example of being able to add complexity to the decision making and just really bring in the detail on those specific fields, because it's not every single field that's going into this crop that's getting this treatment. It's just the fields where this is relevant and this is a potential issue and we're trying to ensure that we do everything that we can to get the yield that we think is possible out there. So yeah, just a more detailed approach.” - Anita Renwick
2:12 - Meet Anita Renweck and explore the background she had which led her to founding A1 Agronomy
4:22 - Explore the unique benefits in hiring an independent agronomist and how the SWAT Maps program can augment their offerings
5:32 - Learn about the crops Anita primarily works with and what determines which crop is best suited for the area
6:29 - Explore the introduction of precision agriculture to producers in the area who might not be using it yet and what makes it appealing to their operations
10:50 - Understand the journey to incorporating precision agriculture in an operation and how Anita navigates that with her clients through data
11:39 - Learn about the biggest challenges Anita faces along side her clients including salinity and how precision agriculture has affected its management
16:45 - Discover the success Anita has found with precision agriculture in her business
18:44 - Explore what the future holds for A1 Agronomy and the challenges Anita expects to face
20:20 - Understand the growth of A1 Agronomy overtime and the team Anita has cultivated
23:09 - Look to the future with Anita and where she expects technology and producer needs to go
Check out what Anita is up to at a1agronomy.ca or on twitter @a1agronomy
Agronomist Deb Campbell of Agronomy Advantage joins us to talk about her work in Ontario, Canada. Deb has a great perspective as a Certified Crop Advisor who has worked directly with farmers for many years. As you’ll hear, she not only runs a thriving business, but also has been very involved on the Certified Crop Advisor Board of Directors, the Provincial Soil Action Group, AgScape, and many other entities. Deb talks about some of these responsibilities, and of course her thoughts and experiences with precision ag tools.
“We're running very quickly into a deficit of people in this industry, in this channel, from start to finish and thinking that we're gonna do that all with robotics and computers, I think is a fallacy. So trying to cultivate that next generation to spark some interest in pursuing agriculture from the perspective of CCAs, just I'm very passionate about that and trying to open doors for young people to get them started.” - Deb Campbell
Learn more about SWAT MAPS: https://swatmaps.com/
Evan MacDonald's Twitter and LinkedIn
Senior Precision Agronomist Evan MacDonald joins us to talk about water, potatoes, and some of his research in Prince Edward Island in Eastern Canada. In addition to working full time for Croptimistic Technology, Evan began pursuing his PhD with a project focusing on variable rate seed spacing in potatoes. He now has two years of data from trials showing variable rate seeding can significantly impact potato farmer profitability. His journey has been one of identifying missing pieces of the puzzle when it comes to precision ag and then trying to find and validate those pieces. And that’s what ultimately led him to SWAT MAPS.
“All in all over two years in my trial sites, it was a benefit of about $170 an acre Canadian with a variable rate seeding strategy. So I think the economic return is definitely there. We can manage these areas of our field a little bit differently just by tweaking spacing. It's not like we're putting extra fertilizer down or something. All we're doing is just kind of changing the distribution of the seed across the field.” - Evan MacDonald
Josh Lade farms along with two other families north of Saskatoon, SK where they raise wheat, canola, peas, lentils and barley. Josh grew up on Kangaroo Island in Australia, on a sheep and seed potato farm. Upon moving to Canada over 12 years ago, Josh found a keen interest in the technology side of the business. He joins us to talk about precision weed control, his experience with the SWAT CAM, and harvest weed seed management.
“That's going to be a way that I feel that we can really prove to the wider population that we need these chemicals to be sustainable in a way that we don't have to go back and till everything, but we're putting them where we need them. We're not putting them everywhere.” - Josh Lade, Saskatchewan farmer
Follow Josh on Twitter
On Today’s Episode:
2:05 - Meet Josh Lade and discover his journey from growing up in Australia to farming with variable rate technology in Canada
3:45 - Learn how Josh has integrated newer variable rate technologies on his operation and how alkaline soils motivated him to pursue it
05:38 - Explore the unexpected benefits Josh encountered while evaluating and mapping soils including different levels of sulfur and how that helped balance the additional cost of having the soil maps created
9:44 - Discover the future benefits which affects his seed rates and input expenses that Josh has been able to achieve as he continues collecting and monitoring the data generated by SWAT maps
9:39 - Learn about the SWAT CAM used by Crop Pro and how easy it is to use and the value it provides producers like Josh for kochia management
13:53 - Hear about the value in harvest weed seed control and the use of the seed terminator that helps reduce the influence of weeds in the soil seed bank
17:31 - Explore the already realized financial benefits to these technologies
21:52 - Josh discusses how technology is best introduced and evaluated for use on his operation to determine if it will be a good investment and fit
26:54 - Josh shares some parting words of advice for any producers thinking about exploring precision agriculture and how best to introduce it
Make sure you subscribe to this show on your podcast platform of choice. You’ll find the SWAT Agronomy Podcast on all of them: iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.
If you have a question you want answered on a future episode, send it to us on Twitter using the hashtag #SWATAgronomy.
The SWAT Agronomy Podcast is brought to you by SWAT MAPS, and hosted by Tim Hammerich.
The podcast currently has 21 episodes available.
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