AAS Summer Farm Tour

Network with the Best of the Best

Our goal for the Summer Farm Tour is to create networking opportunites for our clients and neighbors. Similar to Innovator Round Tables, these events provide opportunities to showcase clients' farms and allow other growers to see, feel and smell the difference they are making and visualize components on their own farm. These Summer Farm Tours are open to anyone, are hosted by AAS Clients, and take place in the summer. If you have ideas you'd like to share or speakers you'd like to see, please let us know.

2011 AAS Summer Farm Tour

The 2011 Summer Farm Tour provided participants with a range of topics to stimulate thinking and networking. Chism Craig and Clint Jayroe from Cresco Ag shared their perspective on confidential on-farm data sharing and evaluation of practices through the use of their web based “MesoFarm” process. The ability to query particular varieties performance across a MesoFarm of more than 70,000 acres of yield data rose interest in how to bring this Delta agriculture firm’s processes into the Midwest.

Moe Russell of Russell Consulting Group shared about the DNA of a Successful Farmer, including amongst many other items, the leader’s attitude. There was heated interest in land values and particular strategies to deploy cash during high profit years all while bullet proofing the balance sheet to be able to catapult ahead of competition in down years.



Neil Mylet of LoadOut Technologies shared his perspective on the evolution of mobile phone and data connectedness on the farm. His firm is rapidly developing new applications, some of which include hardware interfaces, to improve farm efficiency and ease of use. The group was highly engaged in requests for new applications to be developed. And although Neil shared a 24% average of farmers having smartphones, our attendees hand display was 80%+ for both days. These farmers are leading the way in technology and management.

At both Kelley Cheesewright’s farm and Matt and Tim Chapman’s farms, attendees wound up hanging out between speakers and afterward for quite some time. We believe these speakers sparked some serious discussion and know that many of the business leaders present appreciated the time with one another as well. The peer group networking opportunity is purposeful impact we plan to retain and grow for our clients.

Speakers:

1. Moe Russell - Co-founder and President of Russell Consulting Group of Panora, Iowa focused on farm risk management.

2. Cresco Ag, LLC - a third party information company based in Arkansas focused on helping growers and their trusted advisors manage risk and maximize profits talked about on-farm data.
• Clint Jayroe - Director of Sales
• Chism Craig - Vice President of Research and Development

3. Neil Mylet – Founder of LoadOut Technologies focused on smartphone apps for agriculture.

2010 Summer Farm Tour

The first Advanced Ag Solutions Summer Farm Tour was a huge success. Hosted by David Miers of Greensburg and Dan DeSutter of Attica, we were able to gather a great group of ag innovators to share their best management practices with each other. By bringing such creative thinkers together, we demonstrated how great businessmen and women can learn from each other in order to improve their farm profitability and streamline their farming operation. Many attendees were able to gain a unique perspective and network with neighboring farmers.

Presenters included Dave Robison from Cisco Seeds, Daryn Romine from Romine Tile Service, Bob and Jeremy Meiners from AGREM LLC, and Shane Maller representing Trimble. Discussion topics ranged from controlled vs contour drainage to mapping cover crops for nitrogen content, all the way around to RTK GPS effect on accurate repeatability. Host farmers also shared their current management practices and attendees were able to ask questions about exactly how they run their operation.

We all learned a lot at these events and look forward to gathering together routinely in the future. We’re already planning the next winter roundtable, so let us know if you have any ideas! Thanks again to our host farms and if you’re interested in hosting next year, let us know.

More From the Presenters...

Dave Robison - Cisco Seeds:
Cover crops are gaining popularity once again as many row crop and cereal grain producers are recognizing their benefits. But what cover crop fits your farming situation? Do you want nitrogen production? Do you want to scavenge nitrogen (and other nutrients)? Or both? Does winterhardiness of the cover crop matter? Or do you prefer the cover crop dies over the winter? Learn more on Dave's blog.

Bob and Jeremy Meiners - AGREM LLC:
AGREM LLC specializes in advanced tile drainage and irrigation systems. AGREM’s Contoured Drainage System offers the most efficient means of removing water from your field, as our lateral lines are placed perpendicular to water flow instead of parallel as is done in conventional system drainage. The AGREM Subirrigation System is the only system available that combines the benefits of contoured drainage with irrigation. As irrigation water is applied below the surface, AGREM’s Subirrigation System requires less water and fuel for irrigation when compared to pivot or drip irrigation. Our extensive network of professional independent contractors allows AGREM to be able to install a system for you in a timely manner regardless of the location of your farm.

Trimble:
Precision Partners of Indiana is an independent technology distributor who delivers tomorrow’s on farm technology today and charts the way toward the future. By knowing precisely how technology can financially and agronomically fit your farm operation, we identify your goals and script a technological plan to accomplish your vision. We then follow through with a top of the line service network and an unmatched parts inventory.