Remember the simple days when high-tech in the field meant having a tractor with air conditioning and a radio? Today, cabs are positively teeming with technology.

Once a dealership owner himself and now a full-time farmer, Bob Bottens has gotten to view precision technology from both sides of the tractor door.

TheProfiler uses dependable Watermark sensors and highly reliable AgSense telemetry to remotely monitor soil moisture information using the web.

Chris Breen, who farms with his father, Pat, is in charge of most of the precision technologies used on their South Dakota farm — which encompasses most all of their equipment.

A recent survey of No-Till Farmer readers revealed that while a good knowledge level of precision farming product exists with their local equipment dealers, almost all of that knowledge resides within one specialist’s head.

Mike Zimmerman uses auto-steer to take stress and waste out of his field operations. For the past 8 years, auto-steer has kept his lines straight and given him the ability to better monitor seeder and sprayer operations instead of focusing solely on driving the tractor. He has auto-steer in two tractors and his sprayer.

Eight years ago, three companies joined forces to develop a robust RTK tower network throughout areas of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. This is unique because these three companies were actually competitive dealerships in the region.

The WIRELESS ART Rate and Blockage monitor takes the uncertainty out of air cart operation. You will know if your seeding system is having any of these common problems.

Dean James got his first piece of precision equipment, a yield monitor for the farm’s combine, in 1998. It paid for itself in two years by quantifying how much yield was lost due to edge effect in tree-lined fields.

Precision farming has experienced exponential growth in the last five years. And along with the benefits of increased yield, decreased fertilizer cost and improved productivity, there has also been an increase in service calls, questions and technical challenges for farmers using the new technology.