Recent Articles

On May 17th 2022, the FAA shut down WAAS correction satellite 138, replacing it with WAAS satellite 135. If you’re seeing “Low Accuracy No Corrections” since this change, you’ll need to adjust… Continue reading Updating Trimble EZ Guide Plus for 2022 WAAS Change

This web-based calculator estimates the number of bushels remaining in a grain bin once the sweep auger is started. Plug in the bin diameter, angle of repose or grain depth, and slide to set how much of the floor is exposed.

Each winter brings with it another seed buying decision and thus another opportunity to make some spreadsheets to overanalyze said decision. I continue to look for better ways to compare profitability between… Continue reading Seed Cost Matrix for Quick Breakeven Calculations

Our market advisor periodically publishes a histogram that shows how many times a marketing year high in corn or soybeans has occurred in each month, starting with the 1970/1971 marketing year. I… Continue reading Changes in Commodity Marketing Year Highs Over Time

StarFire 3000 globes currently sell for $one arm and a leg, while 6000s sell for $one arm and two legs. If you’re shopping between the two and don’t need SF3, one of… Continue reading StarFire 3000 vs 6000: SF1 Signal Pull-In Time

Throughout all of the frequent rains we experienced this summer, my catchphrase was “what a time to be a fungus”. If there was ever a year we should see a fungicide response… Continue reading 2021 Fungicide Results

Table of Contents Adjusted Dry Yield Results Trait Response Seed Profitability Analysis Fungicide Response Overview Plot Design This plot location is well drained and pretty consistent in soil type (mostly Herrick, some… Continue reading 2021 Corn Plot Results

One thing I miss about working in an office is the ubiquity of whiteboards for jotting a note or fleshing out an idea. If you’ve seen the algorithm scene from The Social… Continue reading Quick Tip: Dry Erase Markers on Window Glass

This is an enhancement to the wiki server I use to document equipment and processes on our farm. Here is the initial article if you haven’t read it yet. On my farm… Continue reading Interactive Checkbox for Wiki Checklist Pages

Google Forms is one of my favorite data intake tools for its simplicity, ease of multi-device access, and price. I use a Google Form to digitize scale tickets which helps share the… Continue reading Using Google Forms for Scale Tickets (Plus Custom Functions to Make it Great)

If you engage in any direct-to-consumer agriculture, you’ll need a point of sale system to process credit card payments, track sales, etc. Square is a popular choice for many small businesses and… Continue reading Analyzing Square Item Sales in a Matrix Spreadsheet

For several years we’ve had a wet area in a field which we suspect is due to a collapsed clay tile line. My dad had attempted to located the line once before… Continue reading Tips for Locating Drainage Tile Lines via Google Earth

Despite John Deere’s sincerest wishes, not every piece of equipment that covers our fields has a GreenStar display in it. Not only do we have a mixed fleet of guidance systems, but… Continue reading How to Manually Log Partial Coverage Maps in John Deere Operations Center

John Deere Data Manager is a Windows-only program that simplifies the process of copying setup files to the proper location on a data card or flash drive. Since this is not available… Continue reading Loading GreenStar Setup Files from a Mac

One of the first resources I found in my quest to quantify the local basis market was this dataset from the University of Illinois. It provides historical basis and cash price data… Continue reading Localizing University Basis Data Using Regression Analysis

We recently discovered that the Enlist tank mix we intended to post spray on our beans was not label approved after running into some gumming issues. Of course what does “label approved”… Continue reading The Fastest Way to Locate 100 Herbicide Labels

⚠️This guide is out of date after the 2022 changes to WAAS satellites 135 and 138. Click here for an updated guide. The Trimble EZ Guide Plus was our farm’s first entrance… Continue reading Fixing Trimble EZ Guide Plus “Low Accuracy No Corrections” in 2021

This project started while my wife and I were managing spring frost protection in our strawberry patch and trying to better understand how the temperature experienced at the bloom level compares to… Continue reading The Hottest (and Coldest) Farm Data Tool: IOT Temperature Logger

There are a handful of reasons I enjoy farming with an Apple Watch: viewing notifications and taking phone calls with dirty hands, glancing at the weather forecast with the turn of a… Continue reading Quick Tip: Using a Smartwatch to View a Remote Camera

Early in 2020, I was facing my first year of managing my own acreage and subsequently marketing the grain (what a roller coaster I was in for) so I became a sponge… Continue reading Tools for Quantifying Historical Basis