Ready to dip your toe into the high-tech water? Three farmers explainhow they did it.

Farmers are on a shopping spree to help them get into precision farming. We talked to three Missouri farmers who are riding the wave, buying high-tech add-on equipment to fine-tune their precision programs.

Rick Luttrull, Craig Linneman and Brian Miles took the plunge within the last 2 years, spending from $4,000 to $10,000 to add mapping capability, yield monitors or variable-rate spraying options.

The three share other practices as well. All own John Deere tractors, planters and combines, which they bought new. And all raise dryland corn and soybeans using no-till or minimum tillage techniques.

Advice from a gadget guy

"I'm kind of a gadget guy," admitted Rick Luttrull, who farms near Lewistown in the northeastern part of Missouri. 

He started on the high-tech track with an Outback light bar on his sprayer a few years ago. This spring, he invested $10,000 in an Ag Leader electronic mapping system that he integrated with the light-bars on his self-propelled Nitro sprayer.

The Ag Leader system allows for precision farming by using global positioning system (GPS) technology, connecting with a satellite to accurately map fields as Luttrull moves through them the first time. On future trips, his screen tells him where to position his equipment to match up with the rows. On the sprayer, Ag Leader's real-time variable rate control turns his booms on and off automatically, tracking the amounts sprayed on each field as it guides him.

"The screen shows me where I've been, and I can see where to go next," Luttrull said.

In past years, he dreaded spraying his more irregularly shaped fields, but the new system fended off fatigue. "If you put your two hands together and spread out your fingers, that's how one of my fields is shaped," he said. "I was flipping switches constantly, and I used to have a pounding headache when I was done from trying to remember where I'd sprayed. Now it's not a chore at all." 

His wife noticed his improved attitude. "She said I used to be a grump when I got home from that field," he laughed.

Beyond easing fatigue, Luttrull also sees economic benefits to the equipment as it could eliminate overlapping inputsÑboth seed and chemicals. Some estimate that eliminating overlap might save farmers 5 to 10 percent in costs. "I don't know how long it will take, but it will pay for itself," he said.

Before harvest this year, Luttrull will move his Ag Leader system to his John Deere combine to track yields. The combine came with a built-in yield monitor, but it doesn't map the field.

"I'd recommend buying extra cabling in each vehicle so you can make the change real fast," he said. "Farmers are an impatient breed. When the sun's shining, you need to be out there."

Luttrull bought two add-on units so that he can use them in two of his tractors as they pull planters next springÑone driven by his father, and one by himself. He will map the seed variety that he uses in each field, and count seeds as he drills them into the ground.

He'll also use the systems to record tillage. Eventually, he'll measure tillage hours and other input costs compared to yield on each field, providing insight for future management improvements.

"If you're going to do mapping, you need to map all your land, and do it consistently," Luttrull said. "If you do it in bits and pieces, it won't do you a bit of good." 

Like the other two farmers, Luttrull purchased his add-ons from MFA. "I might have saved a couple hundred dollars buying from somebody else, but I bought from MFA and I'm really glad I did," he said.

Rick Greene with MFA's Precision Agronomy Systems came out with a team to set up the system, and they've been back several times. "When I see an instruction book a half-inch thick, it discourages me," Luttrull said. "Their support has been unbelievable."

Luttrull learned about new, high-tech add-ons by asking questions at the MFA elevator in nearby La Belle, at farm shows and from talking to neighbors. He even queried his local John Deere dealer. "He's a good friend, and I can trust him," he said. "He recommended Ag Leader." 

Miles gets mileage out of mapping

Brian Miles farms near Marshall, in the middle of Missouri. In addition to raising corn and beans, he feeds 1,000 hogs.

Last fall, Miles purchased an Ag Leader flat screen yield monitor for his combine at a cost of about $7,000. He uses it to measure yields during harvest.

"I try to keep up on technology, but typically we wait a year or two to see how it will function," he said. "Time's money. I like to wait until the bugs are worked out."

In 2006, he plans to spend up to $3,000 in add-ons to allow him to install the Ag Leader system in his Patriot self-propelled sprayer so he can vary herbicide and insecticide applications on the fly and record the applications for later analysis.

"It will really help when we overlay maps from each year in about 4 years," Miles said. "We hope to use the information to target the right amount of fertilizer to the right spot. It will also help determine whether we need to put in tile to drain seep pockets."

In looking back, Miles is pleased he selected Ag Leader. "They were the leader in the industry from the start, and they continue to widen the gap."

He's also happy with his dealer decision. "One of the main reasons I bought from MFA is that they provide good service," he said, adding that he purchases his chemical inputs at MFA in nearby Emma, Mo. "When I ran into a problem, I'd call my contact, Benji Walker, on his mobile, and he'd have me going in a minute."

Makes sense for this accountant

Craig Linneman farms near Carrollton, about 70 miles east of Kansas City. He worked as an accountant until 1992, when he got tired of working in an office and moved back home to farm with his dad. High-tech mapping systems feed his penchant for counting every bean and following every dollar.

In 1998, Linneman added a yield monitor to his combine, although it didn't include a global positioning system, which he added later. In 2000, he added light bars to help him guide his equipment accurately down rows. In 2005, he purchased a Rawson variable rate controller for his planter at a cost of $4,000 from AgriServices of Brunswick, which is associated with MFA.

Linneman likes the fact that his add-on systems can be moved easily, and he doesn't feel the need to keep cables in every vehicle. Portability is one of the reasons he avoided purchasing built-in GPS capability that John Deere and other equipment manufacturers offer.

Still, when it comes to Ag Leader or other add-on systems, "Don't expect a payoff for your investment now," Linneman warned. "It's going to take many years of comparing data. But the more information you have, the more I'm convinced it will pay off. I'm positioned to take advantage of it."

Economics motivated Linneman's purchase, but caring for the environment was also a factor. The variable-rate guidance system helps him apply the right amount of fertilizer in the right locations. By preventing overlap, he will save on input costs, and by making sure he covers every bit of ground intended, he could bring in more revenue. "It costs me too much to hurt the environment," he said.

Real benefits to come in the future

MFA used to handle all of Linneman's post spraying until he bought his own sprayer this spring for anhydrous application. The co-op's agronomists continue to sample his soil and apply phosphates and potassium, which require more water and bigger equipment. MFA uses the same mapping system on their sprayers, and they will integrate their data with that gathered by Linneman.

"This winter I'll sit down with Rick Greene and we'll develop a prescription for what I'll do next year," Linneman said. He'll capture his data on a flashcard and take it into Brunswick, where the staff will send it to Greene. Greene will clean up the data and analyze it before returning it to Linneman, who will view it on his home computer.

"I could analyze it myself but this works better for me," Linneman said. "I pay for their expertise."

Like Linneman, Miles will hire MFA to analyze his information. His crop insurance business keeps him too busy in the winter months to spend time massaging the data.

Luttrull plans to download his data to his home computer at the end of the season, where he'll analyze it himself. "We used to write everything down in a book, and sometimes it would get misplaced, or sometimes Dad's way of writing it down was different than mine," he said.

Fathers OK with it

These three farmers make using electronic equipment sound easy. It hasn't been quite as easy for their fathers. 

"It's kind of frustrating for my father," Luttrull said. "He's not at all familiar with a computer." He's able to work the built-in computer in the John Deere combine, but there's been a learning curve on the Ag Leader equipment." He understands the need to use it, however. "He was an early adapter himself, employing no-till practices as early as 1973." 

Linneman and his father are accountants, and they both appreciate the value that will be gained from tracking all this data. "I'm the driving force behind it but he has adapted to it and he's very good about it," Linneman said.

Miles's father embraces the new technology. "He's always been progressive," Miles said. "He's willing to try anything, and I'm proud of that."