I recently got the opportunity to do so during a key time of year for the agriculture industry: planting season. During this critical window, growers have approximately one week to get the job done and to get it done right.
With the equipment powered up and the machines rolling through the field, I studied how industrial artificial intelligence (AI) can help maximize growers’ potential.
What Boots on the Ground Look Like
I visited Pitstick Farms in northeast Illinois, a 2,500-acre corn and soybean operation. I rode along with Steve Pitstick, who’s owned and managed the family farm for more than 40 years and served as a research partner to the agrochemical company Monsanto.
Here’s how Steve summarized the importance of the planting season: “Of all the things I do in my field, if I mess up my planting, there is no amount of other activities I can do to get a stellar yield.”
It’s true. The number of factors that influence the success of a planting season is astounding. To give you an idea, here’s an abbreviated list of 10 things Steve is responsible for while operating machinery in the field:
Setting auto-guidance for driving through the straights and manually handling each individual turn at the ends of rows.
Communicating via teleconference with an international delegation of agriculture experts who are visiting the U.S. for a tour of Pitstick Farms.
Fielding inbound calls to coordinate logistics on the fly.
Managing the SeedSense tool to measure the accuracy of seed placement, confirm rows are planted cleanly, and view the status of the planted population.
Managing the FieldView tool to gauge equipment downforce and make necessary tweaks.
Managing the SmartFirmer tool to examine organic matter in the soil to help assess field soil health.
Checking GPS auto-guidance with line-of-sight to make sure row planting doesn’t overlap with neighboring row borders.
Inspecting the perimeter of equipment to ensure obstacles won’t be encountered and lifting planters at the ends of rows before executing turns.
Calculating remaining nitrogen and seed, calling out for needed refills and monitoring fuel levels throughout.
Monitoring the hydraulic lines and vacuum pressure of the planter.
My ride-along with Steve at Pitstick Farms demonstrates just how much growers have on their minds. They’re under constant pressure to produce. And in order to deliver, they must work as efficiently and effectively as possible in compressed periods of time throughout the year. Resource utilization, uptime, productivity and yield are paramount.
