Q: What technology do you utilize on your family’s farm?
A: Since I started my career in agriculture technology years ago, I have wanted to use the tools that I learned to execute a strip-till corn program, where we only cultivate the band of soil where the seed is planted. RTK guidance, short for real-time kinematic, is a GPS system that runs off satellites in the sky and allows us to drive our equipment in straight lines and reuse the exact same path year after year. This has played a major role in the efficiency of our farm.
Using our monitor in the tractor cab, we set an RTK guidance line in each field and let the tractor drive itself down the straight rows. Of course, we still need to be present and manually make the turns, but the guidance allows us to be precise about where the tractor is driving and where we’re applying products.
In the fall, we till the soil with a strip-till bar to lightly break up the residue from the previous crop and apply anhydrous ammonia fertilizer at the same time. This tillage tool mounds the soil in a noticeable strip and drops the fertilizer right in the middle. Then in the spring, we use RTK guidance again to plant on top of the same strip of soil and place the seed exactly where the fertilizer was applied. This method allows the crop to easily find the nutrients in the soil and reduces excess fertilizer application. Most of our RTK lines were created over 10 years ago, and we’re still able to reuse them today, thanks to the constant connection via satellite.
When my grandpa started farming, he never would’ve dreamed about the technology we’re using today. Between making us more efficient and reducing over-application of seed and inputs, technology has served us well. And I’m sure I’ll continue to see much more during my farming career.
Nathan Ring farms with his dad and brother in Cass County, growing corn and soybeans and raising Angus cattle.
See more: Ask a Farmer: One of my children has an interest in farming, so where do we even start?
