In Illinois, Precision Planting, a unit of the Climate Corporation, launched SmartFirmer, a seed firmer with onboard sensors to map the soil as the seeds are planted. The data is viewable on Climate’s FieldView and will allow farmers to not only map row by row organic matter, soil moisture and furrow residue, but also to perform on-the-go control of planting population or hybrid based on organic matter measurement.
Every field has multiple yield environments determined by soil type, organic matter, topography, drainage, and dozens of other attributes. The SmartFirmer high definition organic matter map can develop precise prescriptions for planting population, seed hybrid and fertility applications.
In particular, soil moisture is a critical component for seed germination and uniform plant emergence; and ultimately, crop yield. SmartFirmer will give farmers row-by-row visibility to soil moisture in the seed furrow, allowing farmers to choose the right planting depth as soil conditions change.