Soil Sensing
There are many ways to sense what a machine is doing, but what about the soil itself? In order for a plant to thrive, it needs to have a great home to start in. This home should be warm, moist, and free from residue that could harm the seed as it begins to grow. This home also needs to be consistent for every seed so that each seed is able to have a great start. That seed also needs fertility, and the amount of fertility needed is based to some degree on what type of soil the seed is placed in. All of these attributes add up to allowing that seed and plant to thrive. SmartFirmer is an in furrow sensor that firms seed as well as senses the furrow itself. The most fundamental things that SmartFirmer is sensing is moisture and temperature- without these a seed cannot thrive. If the operator sees too low of a moisture reading on the 20|20, he/she could make a depth adjustment to get a little more moisture for that seed. SmartFirmer also senses residue and uniformity of the furrow. Residue against some seeds but not others will cause erratic emergence and yield loss from plants not producing as much grain. Something like a gauge wheel that is not tight against a disk opener could cause a shower of dry soil to come into the furrow, and SmartFirmer would have a low uniform furrow reading on the 20|20 alerting the operator to the issue on that row. Not every area of each field has been created equal, nor is every field the same. As there is variation within a field, that variation needs to be known in order to be treated in the way that maximizes the potential of that area. Organic matter is a baseline measurement that indicates the productivity of a soil. SmartFirmer measures organic matter and displays that data as you plant through the field, in real time. The data can also be exported as a map that can be utilized to improve variable rate zones with real time, field wide data. For growers who have wanted to try variable rate but haven’t due to cost, complexity, etc, the organic matter measurement can be used to vary the rate of fertilizer, seed, and even the hybrid that is being planted. SmartFirmer allows the grower to try variable rate with the equipment that they already own.