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Precision technology improves efficiencies without the capital cost

WORKS ON ALL MACHINERY: The i4M monitoring and control systems can be used on existing machinery regardless of brand or type.
WORKS ON ALL MACHINERY: The i4M monitoring and control systems can be used on existing machinery regardless of brand or type.

This is branded content for i4M/Precision Agronomics

With fertiliser and fuel prices at record levels, crop farmers are looking for greater efficiencies to help offset rising costs.

Director of Precision Agronomics Australia, Matthew Roesner, says as the costs of inputs go up, more farmers are seeing that they have to improve efficiency, "but they don't have the capital budget to go and buy the latest and greatest tractor or the latest and greatest spreader, seeder or sprayer."

That's where Precision Agronomics' i4M systems come in. The on-the-go monitoring and control system can be used on existing machinery regardless of machine brand or type.

"So they can fit an i4M system and be able to take advantage of doing things like variable rate or site specific management without having to have that huge capital cost," Mr Roesner said.

They can fit an i4M system and be able to take advantage of doing things like variable rate or site specific management without having to have that huge capital cost

- Matthew Roesner, Precision Agronomics

i4M products include a fertiliser spreader controller app, which allows farmers to carry out variable rate fertiliser prescription plans, minimising fertiliser wastage and ensuring crops receive the optimum fertiliser dosage.

Fuel and labour cost savings can also be made using the i4M tillage height controller, Depth Command, designed to enable more efficient deep ripping based on soil types.

Other i4M products include a seed drill controller that can be used to carry out variable rate seed prescription plans using a single bin seed drill, and the i4M Chaser Bin monitor, designed to precisely measure and log chaser bins.

The i4M system is tractor independent, running off a tablet located in the cab, which communicates to the machine over a Wi-Fi link.

IMPROVING EFFICIENCY: The i4M tillage height controller is designed to enable more efficient deep ripping based on soil types.
IMPROVING EFFICIENCY: The i4M tillage height controller is designed to enable more efficient deep ripping based on soil types.

Mr Roesner says this methodology reduces complexity and cost, ensuring products are reliable and simple to use.

He says transfer of variable rate maps and depth maps is easy. There's no unlock codes or subscription price - once farmers buy the hardware, they get access to the server for transfer and management of prescription maps.

"It's a really quick and easy learning curve. The systems have been designed with simplicity in mind," he said

Launched in 2018, the Australian designed and built system now boasts almost 300 users in Australia, and 150 in the UK, and numbers are growing each year.

i4M is wholly owned by Precision Agronomics Australia (PAA), an Australian company with over 10 years experience at the leading edge of precision agriculture.

The vision of PAA is to close the precision agriculture loop to ensure that farmers obtain profit and production gains through variable rate technology and analysis of all forms of agronomic data

  • For further information, visit the i4M website at: i4m.net.au

This is branded content for i4M/Precision Agronomics