Today, many farmers are introduced to precision agriculture through their equipment dealer. When someone purchases a Case IH tractor, it comes with a Trimble GPS system. If they buy a John Deere tractor, it comes with a Deere system. Regardless, farmers are told that each requires a separate network to access the necessary RTK corrections.
"Farmers are mechanically inclined and want to understand the 'how' and the 'why,'" says Haley Harms, founder of independent precision farming company Pro Till. "My goal is to teach the farmer, on his or her own system, to the point that they can troubleshoot in the field, and operate at maximum efficiency, without relying on tech-support for basic issues."
John Deere made a wave of new precision-related product announcements over the last few weeks, one of them being MaxEmerge 5e and ExactEmerge meter upgrades.
The college offers an associate degree in Applied Science in Agriculture (60 credit hours). Students enrolled in this program may specialize in precision farming technology by selecting up to 15 credit hours in this area and agriculture business, sales and agronomy.
The college offers an AAS in Precision Agriculture and customized precision ag- related training for agricultural producers, insurance underwriters, equipment dealer and agricultural cooperative employees and others.
Offering training on Ag Leader, Trimble, Reichhardt, Norac and Integris Systems in twice yearly customer training events (spring/fall). Also offering individual training opportunities on any HTS Ag products and SMS software, year round.