Gayville: 605-267-3100
Spink: 605-761-1001
VARIABLE RATE TECHNOLOGY
Variable Rate Technology (VRT) is a big component of Valley Ag Supply and is a modern technology that we encourage all our customers to use. We believe that it is the agronomical, economical, and environmental right thing to do to ensure that the right products are placed in the right part of the field to maximize your return on investment and reduce waste. The main way that Valley Ag Supply uses VRT is through spreading fertilizer, but we can also make prescription maps for seed for our customers to use when planting.
Fertilizer
Your field's fertility needs can very from one end to the other or even from one acre to the next. Using variable rate technology we can apply each type of fertilizer where it is needed in the field. While this usually does not reduce the total amound of fertilizer needed on your field it will allow us to apply it where it is needed to reduce waste and maximize your return on investment.
It starts with getting your field grid sampled. Grid samples are taken in 2.5 acres grids so that we can better understand what is needed in different areas of the field. The data that is gathered from each of these samples is put into our SMS Advance software, which analyzes the data with formulas that we have developed in house over the years.
We can also overlay your harvest data with this grid sample data to make an accurate year by year removal analysis instead of a 4 year guess as to what you would like your field to yeild. Areas of the field with higher yields or years of higher production will pull more nutriants out of the ground and thus will need to be replaced with more fertilizer so as not to mine the ground.
All the information gathered from these grid samples and processed through our software is compatible with the monitors we have in our application equipment. This allows us to spread the fertilizer at different rates througout the field.
Seed
With a history of yield data we can draw out zones in your field to make planting prescriptions to vary the seed planting populations. The most consistant way to get a good seeding map is to have past harvest data (at least 2 years of corn and 1 year of soybeans).
We can also use a tool called R7 to create a planting prescription map. R7 has in-season images from up to 10 years back that show us the high biomass areas (which should have produced more yield) and low biomass areas (which have a yield drag). With this technology it helps us to see how consistant the yeild is over time. If the maps are similar we can overlay them and draw out zones of different seeding populations.