• Jun 21, 2016

Use Weather Data to Optimize In-Season Inputs

Weather is obviously the biggest variable in agriculture. And though you can’t control it, you can avail yourself of several tools to track weather conditions to help better manage nutrient applications and ensure your crops have the fuel they need to provide optimal yield potential at season’s end.
 
WinField partner The Climate Corporation offers several products to help optimize nutrient inputs and technology to fit whatever weather Mother Nature doles out. 
 
Field-level weather conditions
One tool provides field-level weather conditions, including wind speeds and rainfall amounts to help you appropriately time nutrient applications. You can also keep an eye on changing weather conditions with text alerts when hail is detected in a field. A growing degree unit (GDU) calendar lets you know the growth stage your crop so you can apply the right ratios of nutrients in the right amounts at the right times.
 
Add on nitrogen tracking and more data
Available through the Answer Tech® app portal, Climate FieldView Pro™ offers added features, such as a Nitrogen Advisor, which takes into account factors such as weather and soil structure to ensure the best placement and timing of nitrogen. Organic matter, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and pH, as well as rainfall amounts, all impact how nitrogen moves in the soil. For example, heavy rainfall can cause leaching, while hot, dry conditions cause volatilization of nitrogen that hasn’t been stabilized — both of which cause nitrogen loss. Timing applications to coincide with optimal weather conditions is imperative.
 
Layer on in-season imagery
With the R7® suite of tools, WinField agronomists have the ability to use in-season imagery to map the field, look at crop biomass, and determine the best- and poorer-performing areas of the field. This helps target NutriSolutions® tissue sampling to address nutrient deficiencies in your crops. By combining in-season imagery with knowledge gained from the Nitrogen Advisor, we can determine a well-prepared, data-driven insight for farmers that will show them how to amend their crops using WinField proprietary products and vended crop protection products to help optimize yield potential.
 
Using technology and data can help you stay abreast of changing weather conditions and how they could affect your crops. The best approach is to use tools together. A combination of tools, such as what is outlined above, works very well to provide a complete system of weather data and in-season imagery to optimize crop performance through strategic nutrient placements. 
 

Weather is obviously the biggest variable in agriculture. And though you can’t control it, you can avail yourself of several tools to track weather conditions to help better manage nutrient applications and ensure your crops have the fuel they need to provide optimal yield potential at season’s end.