Very excited for it.
I’m not trying to complicate it too much but I’m in position that I’m basically paying taxes on it and that’s it. My uncle got the family chunk of ground and he gave me a decent amount just so I’d move out to his neck of the woods to help because none of his kids want anything to do with it and he needs help. .
So I’m starting ground floor. Very little equipment, so I know I’ll be renting the ground and hiring custom jobs for now. My main concerns are making sure we utilize our water access in a non-dumbass way and if we can capture data that informs our seed/chemical application that’d be awesome. So monitoring erosion and moisture levels, while keeping a close eye on plant health/weeds. Are there ways to put sensors in that can do this real-time or is that cost too much of a barrier to entry and you have to go with an agronomist? It feels like this is pie in the sky, but if I start making moves now, who’s to say what that initial investment would look like in 10 years.
Thanks for the reply.
I do some agronomy work for a few guys on the side. The guy I learned from was pretty old fashioned, and I’ve kept it that way so I’m not really on the up and up when it comes to the latest drone technology and what all the capabilities are. Like if they can see and identify weeds or anything like that. Easiest thing if you have time is to get a 4 wheeler and take a quick look at the fields yourself once a week. If you have any questions on what something is just send me a picture.
For disease pressure, not sure how you’d be able to identify anything early without physically being in the field. If you subscribe to Climate FieldView they will send you field health images of your field. It’s satellite imagery it could possibly help you identify a problem, but in my opinion a lot of damage will probably already have been done if you don’t catch it before you see it on that imagery.
As for moisture they do make fancy moisture probes that will help you schedule irrigation based off what it says is in the ground. Don’t know a lot about them. (I farm dryland hence why I’m a poor.) I think you can rent them but no idea on cost. They might even have a built in rain gauge.
For my crop scouting customers I just probe down to 3 feet and make an educated guess on the moisture. Then I’ll schedule irrigation based on the forecast and crop demand.
I would recommend you have fields grid sampled so your can address any fertility issues and get your pH correct. If your pH is out of wack you can limit the availability of some nutrients.
