Kerry Knuth steers his sprayer across a field, occasionally craning his neck to watch his newest piece of equipment shoot fertilizer at the base of his growing corn.
Kerry Knuth bought the 360 Y-Drop equipment, which applies nitrogen to the base of the plants. Knuth said the Y-Drop saves nitrogen fertilizer compared to the center pivot system.
Del Ficke digs up soil samples and finds a worm crawling in the rich moist earth. “It smells beautiful. It’s medicinal. It’s spiritual,” he said. He uses all-natural ingredients to build his soil nutrients.
UNL agronomy professor Javed Iqbal demonstrates how to use a sensor to measure corn canopy reflectance and determine whether the crop needs more nitrogen at a Field Day event in Creighton.
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Del Ficke raises cows on his land. His soil health has dramatically improved after he switched from large-scale farming to producing grass-fed beef. “You can only improve soil health so much with just plants and reducing things, the animal impact is the deal that puts you over the top to really build good soil,” he said.
Jackson Stansell developed the Sentinel Fertigation platform during his time as a graduate student at UNL. The platform he developed uses satellite images and a series of algorithms to help farmers determine whether to put on more nitrogen fertilizer in real time.
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