Below is a description of FieldSmart, the agronomic division formed by Western Sales (a 6-store John Deere dealership) who partnered with two other groups on a suite of services. FieldSmart provides many agronomic services to growers such as;
- Smart Data
- The technology is available in the machines for data to be collected during all operations that occur on the land. This data is beneficial for tracking trends in fields and on the farm.
- Smart Zoning
- Creating zones in a particular field based on a data source preferred by the grower whether it be; Electrical Conductivity, Elevation, Historical Harvest Data or Satellite Imagery. This allows the field to be broken up into smaller more manageable zones.
- Smart Soil Sampling
- Soil samples will be taken within each zone of the field. This gives the agronomist an idea as to what kind of nutrients are in each zone.
- Composite soil samples are also available.
- Smart Rx
- Prescriptions are made based zone maps, historical data, soil sample results and discussions with the growers. This is a multi-step process that takes into consideration all the factor that may affect the growing conditions of the field.
- Smart Scouting
- Agronomist monitor fields from the beginning to end of the production year. Reports are provided to the customers after every visit. The agronomists provide growers with an unbiased opinion about the growth and maintenance of their crop.
All of these processes were used for determining prescription maps and management decisions for the research project. Not one field is treated like the next, the process takes into consideration many factors before the prescription map is made.
