Chandler Equipment’s Platinum Partnership with Raven Industries and growth alongside the Precision Ag development for 25 plus years, has given us the opportunity to provide our customers with state-of-the-art systems at a great price, personally configured solutions, and 24/7 troubleshooting support. Our goal is to have all farmers running the guidance and product control systems they need to stay up to date with current platforms. Products such as Raven’s new CR-7 and Viper4 field computers have full product control and ISO capabilities which can be integrated on almost all new and existing equipment. We have maintained the opportunity to work with all the major brands of precision ag manufacturers to accommodate our equipment for your specific needs.
Precision Agriculture
- Question: What is “precision agriculture” and why is it important?
Answer: Precision agriculture is one of many modern farming practices that make production more efficient. With precision agriculture, farmers and equipment work better, not harder.
Precision ag reduces the misapplication of products and increases crop and farm efficiency. Growers can take large fields and manage them as though they are a group of small fields.
There is a lot of technology used to make modern agriculture more efficient:
GPS guidance and Steering
Precision agriculture was born with the introduction of GPS guidance for tractors in the early 1990s, and the adoption of this technology is now so widespread globally. Giving the end-user the ability to map locations they have been is the most common use for GPS guidance. A GPS-connected controller in a farmer’s tractor automatically steers the equipment based on the coordinates of a field. This reduces steering errors by drivers and any overlap passes on the field. In turn, this results in less wasted seed, fertilizer, fuel, and time. Raven Inc. CR7 & Viper 4 platforms offer a wide variety of control based on the end user’s needs.
Product controlled applications
Computer applications can be used to create precise farm plans, field maps, crop scouting, and yield maps. This, in turn, allows for the more precise application of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, thus helping to reduce expenses, produce higher yields, and create a more environmentally friendly operation. Utilizing the latest in technology allows us to offer a product that keeps our customers to know will be applying the material in the most precise manner and minimizing any waste.
Variable rate technology (VRT)
– VRT refers to any technology that enables the variable application of inputs and allows farmers to control the amount of inputs they apply in a specific location. The basic components of this technology include a computer, software, a controller, and a differential global positioning system (DGPS). With easy to download maps from your home base this technology makes applying the right amount of product where it is needed. All of Ravens field computers allow for VRA application.
Data Acquisition and Remote support
With your data online in a secure Slingshot account (that can update in near-real-time), you can monitor vehicle locations, make on-the-fly changes to work orders, like prescription maps, and track, collect and analyze data all from your assets at the place and time that works for you. You can even look back at maps and records of work performed throughout the season, one year to the next. Wireless data transfer lets you plan, budget, schedule, and invoice in ways that were simply impossible with thumb drives and other clumsy methods to move data to and from the field. No more lost data or downtime from changes to work orders or prescription maps.
Slingshot’s Remote Support gives dealers the power to help customers solve problems with their system in real-time – remotely. No need to get in a truck and drive out to the customer’s vehicle, and no need for the customer to wait for you. Dealers can observe the Field Hub or field computers, diagnose problems, advise the vehicle operator, and if necessary, take control of the system from the office and fix the problem. And of course, dealers also have Slingshot personnel as back up: we can get into the customer’s system and keep them up and running, too. This support service means that you can simultaneously slash downtime and build confidence.