We finally started drying out in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois after a VERY wet June. Leaching of nitrogen is a concern in many areas. Now’s the time to get out and scout the interior of your fields. Our new Horizon Drones will be great for this. Contact us for more information. This weather has also been perfect conditions for white mold (Sclerotinia Stem Rot) in soybeans. Early fungicide application is your best bet to combat this. It maybe something to consider if you already plan to make another herbicide pass on any late planted beans.
We installed another John Deere Field Connect a couple weeks ago now. The field connect gateway includes both cellular and satellite communication. It is powered by a battery that is recharged with a solar panel. The gateway is paired with a 1 meter probe for row crops. This probe has 5 moisture sensors built in to it at the following depths to read soil moisture: 4”, 8”, 12”, 20” and 40”.
This system gives growers with irrigation pivots information to make better informed decisions about when or when not to water. The system also comes with some additional add-on options like a rain gauge, temperature probe, leaf wetness senor, pyranometer (solar radiation information) and weather station (air temperature, wind speed, wind direction, humidity data and growing degree days). All of this information is then available to be viewed remotely through easy-to-use graphical interface at myjohndeere.com (see picture of Deere’s sample data).
Sloan Support 