Name: Dave Geils
Location: Harvard, Illinois
Crop Season:  2007
Crops/Acres: Corn ~ 4,000 acres
Associated Equipment: Hagie STS 14, 1,400-gallon tank with 12-row nitrogen toolbar

1. Why did you consider adding GS to your farming operation?

Everybody is trying to figure out how to control costs. Every year we sidedress more acres to use nitrogen more efficiently. I read articles about GreenSeeker and believe in the concept of being able to grow corn on less nitrogen. GreenSeeker seems to be the best way to achieve that.

2.  How difficult was the GS equipment to install?

It was easy to install. It only took us a few hours. You just attach the sensors, plug it in and it is good to go.

3.  How would you describe the Redball/Ntech support?

I didn’t require any support to install GreenSeeker and get it running, but I needed technical advice on how best to use GreenSeeker the first year out. The advice was sound and came from a person with practical experience using it on his own farm.

4.  How difficult was it to learn to operate the system?

It is like anything new. It takes a day or two to get comfortable. Our big struggle was that the controller in our Hagie sprayer didn’t have variable rate on the go. We had to reinstall the original Raven controller. Once we solved that, we didn’t have any problems. It went as simple and smooth as you can expect anything to go.

5.  Did the equipment perform as described?

The equipment works fine. It is easy to use and did what it said it would do.

6.  How has using GreenSeeker impacted your farming operations? Do you think GreenSeeker saved you money either in cost savings or yield improvement?

We were a little conservative with GreenSeeker the first year. We used it on 4,000 acres and reduced nitrogen application about 20 pounds an acre on average. We didn’t lose any yield. You couldn’t tell any yield difference between fields with lower nitrogen applications and our regular program, which averaged about 155 pounds.

We saved at least 20 units across the board. The total nitrogen savings was about $24,000. So I paid for the cost of GreenSeeker the first year. 

7.  What would you tell a fellow farmer who was considering GreenSeeker?

You have to trust what you are doing and have faith in the concept. Don’t go hog wild. Maybe only do half your crop the first year. And then you will see whether it will pay for itself.

There are a lot of times when you are sidedressing (without GreenSeeker) and the crop doesn’t look like it needs it. The GreenSeeker takes the guesswork out of it.

8.  Any final thoughts on GreenSeeker.

The overall concept behind GreenSeeker will be even more important in the future. If you can save yourself a little bit on each farm, it adds up.

Even though prices are good now, you still have to farm like your profit potential is poor. That is just good business. The biggest way you can save money is with N.

If there is a penny to be saved, I am going to save it. Those pennies here and there are what got you through when you were selling your corn for $2. The way nitrogen costs, we can’t afford to waste it.

Government programs are not going to keep giving us money if we aren’t good environmental stewards. We might as well get in front of the game with tools like GreenSeeker.