Recently, Phil Bane, CEO at Bane-Welker Equipment took a few of his employees to a workshop in Brazil, South America. Joining Bane were Rick Isenhower, GM of Operations; Trever Schatschneider, IT & AFS Operations Manager; and David Reeves, Precision Farming Specialist, all from Bane-Welker. In addition to these employees, five representatives from Purdue University organized and attended the workshop. The goal was to learn how the latest precision farming technologies are applied in other countries and gain a better overall understanding of farming practices across the globe.

Purdue University was contracted by CNHI, the parent company to Case IH and New Holland, to organize the workshop. Purdue is working toward improving the curriculum regarding precision farming and that will eventually help Case IH dealerships better utilize precision farming and make it more efficient. Bane-Welker aids in the training and the curriculum agenda.

During the visit, Bane-Welker employees, Purdue University representatives as well as 18 additional CHN precision farming specialists from around the world visited two sugar cane farms and two Case IH dealerships to observe the daily operations.

"It was interesting to see first-hand some of the challenges they face in Brazil and even more interesting to see how they deal with those challenges," stated Phil Bane, CEO of Bane-Welker Equipment. "One example is they have poor cell service for RTK signals with precision farming and are unable to transmit cellular signals, so they use temporary solar powered towers to communicate. Their ingenuity was impressive."

The time spent together was important because all attendees were able to gain a better overall understanding of how techniques work across the globe.

"Attending workshops and other educational events is an important part of Bane-Welker's commitment to our customers and our craft," stated Rick Isenhower. "Our success and our customers' success depends upon our commitment to learning as much as we can and sharing that knowledge every day."

In March, all participants will regroup in Belgium to talk about what they learned and how they can each better their own operations at home for their customers.

Bane-Welker Equipment is an agriculture equipment company and Case IH dealer. Bane-Welker offers new and used equipment, service and customer support. The 46-year-old company has locations in Crawfordsville, Lebanon, Remington, Terre Haute, Pendleton, Plymouth, Winamac, and Wingate.