Field Sampling Technology Allows for Real Time Decisions

Patrick Sanders, Director of Agronomy Enablement with Nutrien, talks about new sensing technology, which allows producers to collect field samples and identify agronomic gaps more efficiently.

“We do have some new sensing technology that is coming online that we're testing to take the samples in the field via some optical technology, we're actually by clamping the sensor on the leaf and understanding what those nutrients look like within that particular sample, right there within like five minutes of taking the sample, that allows us to do sampling at a higher resolution within the field and target more areas, which gives us a higher resolution of understanding and therefore a higher resolution of being able to make a decision across the fields.”

Once a gap is identified, application methods then shift towards an on-demand approach.

“I think that the sentiment is to move on demand in season applications when you need them. We saw that with nitrogen doing split applications in nitrogen, and that trend really took off, you know. That you can do the same thing with nutritionals as you test within the field. Then it's really about dialing in what sort of nutritional or what sort of product you need to address that particular situation.”

Sanders says a variety of products are available on the market to assist producers, but the right fit depends on the individual operation and its needs at any given time.