In With the New: Ag Technologies Introduced to Member-Owners
May 23, 2022
Agriculture is an ever-changing industry, and new technology is introduced practically every day. As new developments take shape, Agtegra recognizes the need to adapt and strives to stay ahead of the curve by finding methods to best serve our growers.
Recently, Agtegra introduced a scouting platform called Taranis, which utilizes the latest drone and imagery technology to provide growers with valuable insights on their fields. The platform takes crop scouting to the next level by utilizing drones to capture submillimeter imagery of the crop.
“Autonomous technology in agriculture will quickly be adopted as products mature,” said Brent Wiesenburger, Agtegra Director of Agronomy Technology Services. “Drone scouting used to require hours of processing time per field, and now, it only takes minutes. Artificial intelligence (AI) built into an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) scouting platform can identify weeds, disease, insects and even nutrient deficiency. These products will forever change how fields are monitored.”
Taranis’ technology removes the estimation work that traditional scouting requires and, instead, precisely shows where problems exist with “leaf-level precision." This allows agronomists to create targeted, variable rate prescriptions for fields. Agtegra is proud to be an early adopter of this technology and has already witnessed positive results from the platform’s use.
Trial leads to partnership
Agtegra also had the privilege of trialing Raven’s autonomous, cabless OMNiPOWER™ platform this past fall. Agtegra team members tested the technology on a driverless fertilizer spinner box, powered by the OMNiPOWER technology, by remotely operating the equipment from a nearby pickup. This trial consisted of 2,600 acres across varying field conditions, which gave team members the opportunity to evaluate its fit into Agtegra’s custom application business in years to come.
“As for Agtegra we’re going to keep looking for what is the best fit for our patrons within the autonomy space,” said Allen Neuharth, Agtegra Centralized Dispatcher and Fleet Manager.
Likewise, a few of Agtegra’s member-owners utilized Raven’s OMNiDRIVE™ technology during harvest this fall and were able to provide exceptional feedback for Raven to further develop the technology. With OMNiDRIVE, a farmer can remotely operate a grain cart tractor outfitted with the OMNiDRIVE hardware from a tablet in their combine. Agtegra’s Innovation Centers are authorized Raven autonomy dealers. Contact your local Innovation Center Specialist if you are interested in utilizing this technology on your farm.
Leading the industry with innovative technology to advance operations
“The evolution of technology is always encouraging, as it is there to make our jobs and processes easier, which in turn makes us more efficient,” said Kaleb Bowman, Agtegra Agronomy Automation Manager. “As we continue to try to outpace customer needs, we are embracing technology and automation to meet those demands. When opportunities of technology and automation, like the OMNiPOWER, come to us, it is our obligation to both our vendors and patrons to test and help develop it so those things can be brought to market and give us a lead in understanding how it will fit into our operations moving forward.”
Agtegra will continue to partner with Raven, Taranis and other companies to discover, assess and advance ag technology for our growers.
Recently, Agtegra introduced a scouting platform called Taranis, which utilizes the latest drone and imagery technology to provide growers with valuable insights on their fields. The platform takes crop scouting to the next level by utilizing drones to capture submillimeter imagery of the crop.
“Autonomous technology in agriculture will quickly be adopted as products mature,” said Brent Wiesenburger, Agtegra Director of Agronomy Technology Services. “Drone scouting used to require hours of processing time per field, and now, it only takes minutes. Artificial intelligence (AI) built into an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) scouting platform can identify weeds, disease, insects and even nutrient deficiency. These products will forever change how fields are monitored.”
Taranis’ technology removes the estimation work that traditional scouting requires and, instead, precisely shows where problems exist with “leaf-level precision." This allows agronomists to create targeted, variable rate prescriptions for fields. Agtegra is proud to be an early adopter of this technology and has already witnessed positive results from the platform’s use.
Trial leads to partnership
Agtegra also had the privilege of trialing Raven’s autonomous, cabless OMNiPOWER™ platform this past fall. Agtegra team members tested the technology on a driverless fertilizer spinner box, powered by the OMNiPOWER technology, by remotely operating the equipment from a nearby pickup. This trial consisted of 2,600 acres across varying field conditions, which gave team members the opportunity to evaluate its fit into Agtegra’s custom application business in years to come.
“As for Agtegra we’re going to keep looking for what is the best fit for our patrons within the autonomy space,” said Allen Neuharth, Agtegra Centralized Dispatcher and Fleet Manager.
Likewise, a few of Agtegra’s member-owners utilized Raven’s OMNiDRIVE™ technology during harvest this fall and were able to provide exceptional feedback for Raven to further develop the technology. With OMNiDRIVE, a farmer can remotely operate a grain cart tractor outfitted with the OMNiDRIVE hardware from a tablet in their combine. Agtegra’s Innovation Centers are authorized Raven autonomy dealers. Contact your local Innovation Center Specialist if you are interested in utilizing this technology on your farm.
Leading the industry with innovative technology to advance operations
“The evolution of technology is always encouraging, as it is there to make our jobs and processes easier, which in turn makes us more efficient,” said Kaleb Bowman, Agtegra Agronomy Automation Manager. “As we continue to try to outpace customer needs, we are embracing technology and automation to meet those demands. When opportunities of technology and automation, like the OMNiPOWER, come to us, it is our obligation to both our vendors and patrons to test and help develop it so those things can be brought to market and give us a lead in understanding how it will fit into our operations moving forward.”
Agtegra will continue to partner with Raven, Taranis and other companies to discover, assess and advance ag technology for our growers.