J-Ace Farms, located near Blue Earth, Minn., uses precision farming practices in its strip-till and no-till farming operation. Matt Alford, and his father-in-law, Jim Erdahl, typically build strips in the fall for corn the following year using a 16-row Environmental Tillage Systems Soil Warrior strip-till unit, applying prescription-rate phosphorous (P) and potassium (K).

Bethany, Ill., farmer Clint Robinson says he hasn’t had much trouble with adopting precision farming equipment since adding their first auto-guide system that used an Ag Leader OnTrac steering system in 2002. But that’s not to say he hasn’t encountered challenges.

The Applegates are no strangers to incorporating technology into their farming operation. Doug, who farms with his wife, Kathy, and two sons, Brent and Luke, have always looked for ways to leverage electronics and information in their farming operation.

Greg Deim, who farms with his father, Craig, and brother, Justin, has been using precision farming equipment almost since its inception. “Dad always was an early adopter,” says Greg.

Rick DeGroote, and his father, Duane, farm 23,000 acres in 5 counties in northeast and north central Iowa. Growing corn and soybeans that are either no-tilled and conventionally tilled, depending on the field, the farm team relies primarily on John Deere equipment for all tillage, spraying, planting and harvesting.

Roric Paulman grows a wide variety of crops on 10,000 acres in the Sutherland, Neb., area. About 85% of the cropland is irrigated and he and his son, Zach, practice no-till or strip-till across all crops. 

Seth Wenzel and his father, Brian, are transitioning to strip-tilled corn and no-tilled soybeans on the 4,000 acres they farm near Kent in northwest Illinois.

The path some farmers take in their strip-tillage journey is to quickly adopt — and heavily invest in — RTK farm-by- the-inch technology. But for Tom Cotter at Cotter Farms near Austin, Minn., he would rather first get research need vs. want and properly develop prescriptions before going too deep, too fast.

Jack Boyer has an engineering background, so he’s not afraid to roll up his sleeves and attack equipment problems that come his way.