This Year Is The Year to Use Precision Ag
Erin Hardin, precision ag coordinator at Southern States, came on The Scoop podcast to share what makes her precision ag program a differentiator in the market. She also talks about in the middle of the spring chaos, how a team can keep their eye on the prize, and stay focused on farmers’ successes.
With a territory the spans Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, Hardin covers a diverse geography, and she says the reception to new technology tools varies.
“Sometimes I see a technology, and I say we absolutely have to have it, and then I have progressive growers jump on board immediately,” she says. “Other growers are skeptical, and so I encourage them to try something on their worst field. We can see what happens, what catches on, and we can definitely back off, but it really helps to sit down with them, and clearly communicate what we are trying to do.”
Her team is using a tool more broadly this year, Adapt-N through FieldAlytics, and it’s one she’s particularly interested to see how it performs in the field and with her farmers.
Hardin says 2022 will be the perfect year for those who may be reluctant to lean into precision ag.
“I think it's inevitable that we're going to maintain our supply chain issues. It's a given that growers really utilize the precision ag programs that are in front of them,” she says. “Even if they've never even tried precision ag before, it's really the perfect year to step out and try precision ag. It’s putting the right product, at the right rate in the right time.”
One success she’s had with proving the return on investment with precision ag has been variable rate lime, which she’s encouraged adoption to be near 90%.
She says often the savings from variable rate lime can pay for a grower’s entire precision ag program. And like other inputs, with tight supplies, variable rate lime will help stretch the supply they have across the needed acres.
“There are fields this year that are on a maintenance lime application that we have had to back off from because of supply,” she says.
Hardin says the precision ag program at Southern States has shown to be a differentiator in the market with farmers, and something that has overall helped their retail business.
“I’m proud of our program itself. We have different aspects of the program that have set us apart, and we’ve been very successful,” she says.
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