VRT.. Echelon or Farmers Edge

[agstar77]

We should all go out and buy some of that fancy overpriced NH equipment in the NH T.V. ad so we can be successful like Jordan.

[JDGreen]

Exactly colleville.. Already have some initial maps and in looking at them some areas seem right and some totally wrong. Most certainly not interested in doing anything unless in my own mind they are completely right.

[SASKFARMER3]

Now that's funny!

[blackpowder]

Again, not doing personnaly so not qualified.
However, my agronomist says her client spends the same $/ac on fertilizer. He has rich rolling land. It evens out the crop maturity and cuts out the lodging.
We feel it would pay on maybe %20 of my acres due to severely variable soil quality. My current drill is not capable. My next one will be. Sectional control being the instant payback on technology.

[farmaholic]

Didn't you know NH smart is smarter than JD smart? And Agco dumb is dumber than IH dumb. KF Farms success hinges on being NH smart and a little greasy....

[JDGreen]

I would only have about 1/3 of my acres that would really pay as most 1/4s are flat and square. I'm not interested in necessarily saving money on my fert but rather making sure it's being place more accurately and in the right areas. I'm also interested in variable rating Reglone as a quick prescription can save thousands at dessication in lentils.. Another area im interested is variable rate in the seed.. Less plants on hiltops and more in bottoms etc..

[cottonpicken]

Won't start up the inflation defalation debate.

Supply/demand because economies are cracking so iron ore/copper/crude are getting donkey punched,they are set in an elastic demand world.

Any opinions about food being more inelastic and price?maybe we will weather the storm a bit better?

I'll try to find the link but one analyze has canadian housing at 63 percent over valued.

[TASFarms]

My neighbour is big into farmers edge. He swings for the fence. I beat him two years in a row on durum yield . Varible rate seeding has more merit than fertility like Klause said. Just putting on extra n is a waste. You would be better off buying more blended fert and putting that on than paying for someone to tell you what to put on. And if you knew how much rain and when it was coming would be instant money in the bank when doing fert program.

[farmaholic]

My neighbor uses one of the two above named companies and "rumour" has it they sprayed some kind of micronutrient cocktail on their wheat then opted(or where advised?) not to spray for fusarium. They had some pretty high fusarium counts and blew out their wheat early at a pretty pathetic price.

[Klause]

Prescription and Vr farming is a full season job. Why do you think it ends at seeding?

[Hamloc]

I dont use either companies service,my only thought is CPS makes their income from selling inputs farmer's edge from precision ag it would seem farmer's edge is the more logical choice.

[Oilking]

Nice post Errol, I agree that grain and livestock prices will likely be affected down the road. But it's highly unlikely that fertilizer,seed, and chemical prices will come down too. That just wouldn't be right or make sense if it did ( sarcasm fully intended of course) !

[seabass]

We have used Farmers Edge for 3 years and I would give them a passing grade as far as results go but ultimately u will have final say on what inputs are put where and how much which is very important because u already know your fields.
That being said I know a guy out of Weyburn who works for echelon and he claims both companies do the same thing using same principles.
We use our yield maps and satellite ndvi to determine zones and yield potential. Ultimately u know your good and poor zones. Its the average areas that u probably wanna maximize potential.
I very much agree with VR ing seed depending on topography. It has made a difference on the fields with different soil textures.
I honestly don't think u save any money on fert u just end up putting more in the right places. In the end all these decisions can be trumped by that bitch mother nature.
Overall it is definitely something to try and over the years of doing it u will get better at making your zones and applying nutrients. Just takes time and luck. All the best seeding

[Westcentralsk]

Maybe I'm being too optimistic but with $9 something canola and $5 something wheat how much more downside can there possibly be? Maybe a buck lower on both? It's not like grain had the same run up like oil, gold and other commodities. I remember reading something someone posted awhile back that oil at $11/barrel in 1974, adjusted for inflation today should be $50. $4 wheat back then should be $18 today. So when oil hit @$140 or whatever the high was and wheat hit @$10 for a high...well, it wasn't even close to the same playing field.

[freewheat]

Not saying it will be as crazy low as 2000, but do you remember sub 5 canola and flax, and sub 3 wheat, sub 1.50 barley, and sub 4 peas and sub 1.40 oats?

I think there is unfortunately room for more downside.

Selling flax and canola for 4.80 is no fun, even when n is 25 cents.