OLATHE, Kan. — Producers and commercial service providers applying liquid manure to fields can now more accurately analyze, adjust and document gallons applied per acre, on-the-go, to meet specific nutrient targets. The John Deere HarvestLab 3000 with Manure Constituent Sensing analyzes liquid manure 4,000 times per second to provide laboratory-quality values for important nutrient constituents to help producers manage their total fertilizer program.

HarvestLab analyzes the entire load in real time so applicators know exactly how much material is applied per acre.

According to John Mishler, precision ag tactical marketing manager for John Deere, the HarvestLab 3000 infrared sensor used to evaluate nutrient characteristics of forage crops and feed can now be used to provide accurate values for major constituents found in liquid manure used for fertilizer. “The system provides accurate, real-time values for total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous and dry matter content of the manure as it’s applied to the field,” Mishler explained. “This enables the operator to manually or automatically adjust the volume based on the nutrient values to meet specific nutrient targets or goals for their fields, and possibly save on commercial fertilizers.”

HarvestLab 3000 with Manure Constituent Sensing analyzes liquid manure 4,000 times per second. 

Mishler explained that nutrient levels of the manure can vary tremendously within a load and between loads compared to traditional sampling methods used to determine fertilizer values. “HarvestLab analyzes the entire load in real time so applicators know exactly how much material is applied per acre and what the nutrient values are. It takes out all the guess-work, resulting in better decisions and more uniform nutrient applications and, ultimately, better crop response.”

HarvestLab 3000 can be used with a variety of tanker or dragline equipment to apply liquid swine, beef and dairy cattle manure. During application, the nutrient values are shown on the John Deere display in the tractor cab, and with Tractor Implement Automation, the tractor/applicator speed is automatically adjusted to maintain the desired application rates or nutrient levels. Using JDLink™ Connect, application data can be sent wirelessly to the John Deere Operations Center for mapping and documentation, or shared with trusted advisors.

HarvestLab 3000 measures nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium values and more for liquid manure applied as fertilizer.

“HarvestLab helps producers control fertilizer costs by automatically applying valuable manure at the right rate in the right place, based on their specific crop needs and fertilizer goals,” Mishler added. “The three-in-one HarvestLab 3000 is a highly portable, highly accurate sensor that can be used to analyze forages at harvest and at the time of feeding, and now with manure applications for fertilizer. It may be the most versatile tool producers can use to analyze and manage their forage, feed and manure resources.”

HarvestLab 3000 with Manure Constituent Sensing and activation is available starting August 2019. Customers with existing HarvestLab 3000 units will need to order the parts to install the sensors on their manure application equipment, as well as activate the manure sensing software.