Newsletter Header
 June 2014
E4 Crop Intelligence: 

Revolutionizing Agriculture Through Information and Technology 
Join Our Mailing List
Quick Links...
 

Call Us

712-647-2666

Still to Come!

E4 To Be Featured on

RFD-TV's American Farmer

TV Show

 

 

RFD-TV will be on-site at E4's office in Woodbine on June 17th to film a segment for an upcoming episode of American Farmer. 

 

The crew will go behind the scenes to discuss and examine how E4 Crop Intelligence works with its customers, helping to transform raw data into actionable crop intelligence for better decision-making.

 

As soon as we know the date that it will be aired, we will let you know. STAY TUNED!


Introducing Kyle Andersen

E4 Precision Sales Agronomist

 

 

We' d like to announce the newest member of the E4 team, Kyle Andersen.

 

Kyle grew up on a family farm in Grundy County, near Dike, Iowa. Working on the family farm, he developed his Precision Ag skills and was involved in row-crop production. Throughout his high school and college years, Kyle worked with several different seed companies, and became very interested in agronomy.

 

While a student at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, Kyle accepted several internships, one of which was at Servi-Tech where he was a summer crop scout. His most interesting internship was at Ag Leader where he worked in the SMS support department troubleshooting and supporting customers, training customers and employees, and creating documentation. One day Kyle answered a call and the customer calling in was Greg Reisz from E4! After resolving the problem, Greg was so impressed he invited Kyle to email his resume and look up E4 Crop Intelligence at its upcoming job fair at ISU...and the rest as they say is history!

 

Kyle graduated from Iowa State University in May 2014 with a Bachelor's Degree in Agricultural Business and a Minor in Agronomy and has since moved to Woodbine, Iowa to join the E4 team as a Precision Sales Agronomist. Kyle's responsibilities will include software and hardware sales, mapping, scouting, and of course agronomy.

 


 

Plant Tissue Sampling

 

Emily Assmann

Precision Data Analyst

 

The 2014 crop is in the ground, post-emerge application is complete and hopefully the corn is growing strong. Soon the corn will be at the appropriate stage to take plant tissue samples.

 

An important factor affecting yield and crop quality is how nutrients move through the plant during the growing season. Rainfall can be measured in a gage, but nutrient status is one of the unseen factors in plant growth and development. Plant tissue analysis will reveal the nutrient status of the plant during the growing season. If deficiencies are found early enough in the growing season, corrective fertilizer applications may be prescribed. If deficiencies are found when the plants are farther along in the growing season, the information is used as a tool for future correction of nutrient challenges. The vital signs usually become very apparent when nutrient imbalances become severe.

 

If you are interested in plant tissue analysis, give us a call. 


 

In-Field Planter Assessment

 

By Ben Michael, Precision Equipment & Tech Services

 

By this time in the season, the planter has taken its last pass across the field and is getting prepped to tuck away for the year. Most of us have probably gone out to assess our stands and determined what we did or didn't like about it. Now is the time to take note of that and decide what changes, if any, need to be made for next season. Here are a few of the things that I pay close attention to when assessing a field.

 

Row Clutches - Did your row clutch shut-offs perform as they were supposed to?   Did they turn on or off too early or too late? Were there any that weren't functioning? Was there adequate GPS for Clutch Control?

 

 

Singulation - Does your stand have consistent spacing between plants? Are there lots of skips or doubles? Before putting that planter away, consider taking the meters out and dropping them off with your meter calibration expert. Most meter service dealerships offer early season discounts.

 

Seed to Soil Contact - Did you have even emergence in your field? If there were any late emerging plants, why? Check to see if there was residue hairpinned in the row as that can cause poor seed-to-soil contact.   Do you need row cleaners? Were they adjusted properly and doing their job? Would seed-firmers help your stand?

 

Plant Depth - Is plant depth consistent throughout the field? If not, why? Was it due to compaction? Does your planter need some form of active downforce if it does not already have that? Do you need to do something different for tillage?

 

If you have questions with any of these issues, don't hesitate to contact E4 Crop Intelligence and discuss what can be done to help resolve some of these issues. We see a lot of different planter setups and field conditions, giving us the knowledge to help you BOOST your yields!


Crop Insurance Update

 

It has been an interesting spring thus far with the weather patterns. Remember to contact our agent, Lance Ploeger if you have any potential claims because of inclement weather. Those of you who haven't purchased hail insurance and would like to put some extra protection on your crops, contact Lance and he will get it taken care of.

 

Please keep in mind the acreage reporting deadline is quickly approaching. You will need to certify your planted acres at the FSA office, then complete your acreage reports. Lance is available and would like to start getting those done so we don't push the July 15th deadline. If we could have them all done by July 1st, it would give us plenty of time to change things if we notice something isn't correct. There is never a problem until there is a claim, so we want to get it done correct the first time.

 

Lance will be calling you soon to start setting up appointments. If you have already certified, please call and Lance will be here to get them done.

 

Lance Ploeger

Crop Insurance Consultant

Agri-Business Insurance LLC

Office: 712-275-4191

Fax: 712-275-4192

Cell: 712-490-7224

 

 

E4 Customer Appreciation Event  

 

E4 Crop Intelligence will be hosting our annual Customer Appreciation Event on Friday, August 8th 2014.  We welcome you to stop in and meet the new E4 Crop Intelligence employees and staff. 

 

Included in this year's event:

  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (also known as UAVs or Drones) will be on display and inflight. Demonstrations will show how powerful drones can be when they fly and the information they gather, as well as how that information can be processed with E4 Crop Intelligence.

 WHAT: E4 Crop Intelligence Customer Appreciation Event

 

WHERE:  E4 Crop Intelligence, Woodbine, IA

 

WHEN: Friday, August 8th 2014

  • 4:30-6:00 P.M. Unmanned Drone Demos
  • 6:00-7:00 P.M.  Free Supper
  • 8:00-10:00 P.M. Free Musical Entertainment provided by the Danger Kitty Band

 At E4 Crop Intelligence we sincerely appreciate your business and hope to see you and your family August 8th.


The 2014 Crop Is Off To Very Good Start

 

By Greg Reisz

Owner/President

 

It seems that every spring we find ourselves frantically trying to get last minute tasks done as we prepare to hit the fields to get seed in the ground. As frustrating as it can be one thing is certain, we usually get the job done and later wonder why we worried so much - right? Well this spring was no different. For the most part planting season came and went without much excitement although we experienced a little frost - not that it caused much damage. Recently some have experienced heavy rain and some hail. Yet, overall the crop is shaping up well.

 

As this crop progresses, it will be critical to keep close observation of the following events that our E4 Sons crop scouts have identified:

  • Herbicide resistant weeds

  • Corn Rootworms

  • Tracking Growing Degree Days (GDDs)

Weed emergence is occurring now so it's time to evaluate your overall weed control program and consider options for any post emergence applications needed. Be on the look-out for Palmer Amaranth. Although ISU confirms that infestations have been found in five Iowa counties, the probability that more are out there is certain. Although Palmer Amaranth and Waterhemp have a similar appearance, there are ways to distinguish between the two. A trained E4 Crop Scout can certainly be of assistance here. The best way to manage against any infestations of these resistant weeds is to identify them early and prevent their spread.

 

Corn Rootworm larvae are now appearing and actively hatching in fields so it's a key time to monitor their activity to determine your strategy for later this season. Review your hybrid selection planted in 2014 for what traits they have. Although many hybrids being offered have the Bt trait, there have been known issues with rootworm resistance throughout the Midwest. You should be especially cautious and look at fields that have been in continuous corn and the same Bt trait hybrid has been planted in those fields. Let's avoid the possibility of root lodged corn come late summer. If you have E4 Sons scouting, they will alert you on any rootworm development during the course of the early growing season.

 

Corn growth and development can be tracked by accumulating growing degree days (GDDs or GDUs). Insect development can also be watched by using a similar method as well. Data provided by your seed supplier will provide important corn development events based on how many GDDs it requires, such as GDDs to tassel, silk, black layer. This is extremely helpful in making decisions early in the season for scheduling harvest, silage chopping or need for LP to dry corn if needed. Those of you that are utilizing E4 Crop Intelligence software have a clear advantage since GDDs are automatically calculated once we have your planting dates input into our system. You will have an illustrated graph showing when to expect various corn and insect development for each field and hybrid that is in your 2014 crop plan that can be followed throughout the growing season.

 

This is just one of many functionality features with our software. If you are not using E4 Crop Intelligence software, contact us and we can answer your questions and show you how it can help provide your crop management program more value.

 

Finally, with every crop year you have the ability of using your data to make important agronomic decisions that can be a great starting place to benchmark your own growth. We at E4 would like to help you with collecting, auditing and managing the vast amount of data that you will have during the course of the year and then at the end, conducting analytics to determine how well you have done. We are here to help you with your enterprise business and would like to partner with you every step of the way. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like a demonstration of the value E4 Crop Intelligence software can provide you and your operation.

 

Have a continued successful and safe 2014 cropping season.

Precision Technology Showing Strong Growth in Agriculture

 

By Greg Townsend

Agronomy & Business Development

 

It becomes more apparent every year that precision agriculture practices are picking up the pace when it comes to growers using these new technologies. What used to be considered, magic and widgetry, have now become mainstream on-farm toolsets. Whether it's GPS guided soil sampling, variable rate technologies, vehicle guidance, boom/nozzle controls or site specific management practices, producers today are finding value and confidence with what precision tools and services can offer them in their operation.

 

As an example of the continued increase in the use of precision technologies, consider the following trends taken from the "2013 Precision Agriculture Services Dealership Survey Results", sponsored by CropLife Magazine and Purdue University*.

 

Here are just a few of the findings comparing trends from 2011 to 2013:

 

Category

Change in Trend from 2011 to 2013

GPS For Logistics

Increased 5% in 2013

Soil Sampling Using GPS

Increased 7% in 2013

Variable Rate Seeding

Increased 8% in 2013

GPS Boom/Nozzle Control

Increased 15% in 2013

 

So, what does this all mean to you? If you are part of the growing trend of growers using precision technologies for making fact-based farming decisions, you're in good company. If you are on the outside of precision ag and looking in, don't miss out on the opportunities ahead. This is knowledge-based technology that requires data gathering and human interpretation. Your inherent knowledge of your farm, your fields and practices will always be a critical ingredient to getting the most from using technologies.  

 

 E4 Crop Intelligence is here to support your needs with managing and organizing your farm data.   Why choose E4 Crop Intelligence?

  • Your data is secure - We only share your data with those parties you designate and even then it's on a permission based format.

  • E4 Crop Intelligence is built from the ground up - We developed our software based on in-field experiences of over 20 years of crop management and consulting. Our system makes sense - common sense.

  • Full User Support - Managing the immense amount of data your operation generates can become a full-time job. Whether you want to manage your own data or have E4 set-up your Grower/Field/Farm data files, we are here to advise and provide technical support every step of the way.

  • A "Color-Blind" System - With so many precision ag tools and systems being offered by ag machinery companies, we can take any data, format or files and organize it in a way that lends itself more useful to you.

Your data is essential for making important agronomic decisions and can be a great starting place to benchmark your own growth. Let us help you take that first step.

 

* Holland, Jacqueline K., Bruce Erickson, Dr., and David A. Widmar. "2013 PRECISION AGRICULTRAL SERVICES DEALERSHIP SURVEY RESULTS." 2013 PRECISION AGRICULTRAL SERVICES DEALERSHIP SURVEY RESULTS (2013): 1-68. Purdue University. Croplife Magazine and the Center for Food and Agricultural Business, Nov. 2013. Web. 10 June 2014.

 
Don't forget to save the date!
Our annual customer appreciation event will be held on August 8th, 2014!
Call the office for more details: 712-647-2666