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Planter Technology, Precision Ag, GPS and LED: New at Empire Farm Days
Seneca Falls, NY.  Every year Empire Farm Days puts the latest technology on exhibit and at work in demonstrations. Precision ag, planter technology, tile plows, and LED lighting are among the highlights at the August 9-11, 2016 edition of the show that fills 300 acres at Rodman Lott and Son Farms in Seneca Falls, NY.

Daily from 10 am to 10:30 am, White’s Farm Supply is sponsoring a seminar on The Agronomic Benefits of Planting Technologies in the Welcome Center. The seminar, offered with a guest speaker from Precision Planting, will discuss the advantages of using variable rate seed and fertilizer application, section control, and technology that ensures proper seed depth and placement at planting to promote optimal corn and soybean development.

Daily from 10:30 am to 11 am, White’s Farm Supply is sponsoring a seminar on Tile Plow Seminar in the Welcome Center. The seminar, offered with a guest speaker from Crary Tile Pro, will discuss how tiling impacts water management for crop production and how farmers can use tile plows to install farm drainage tile or corrugated tubing themselves. Organizers say it is important to do your homework before making a purchase to make sure the equipment will meet grade tolerance for soil and topography.

On Wednesday, August 10, from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, the New York Farm Viability Institute, is sponsoring a Precision Ag Seminar in the Soil Health Center. Presenters include Avery DeGolyer, IT Manager with Western NY Crop Management, and Ben Flansburg of BCA Ag Technologies. The seminar will range from the big picture view of what precision ag prescriptions are and what makes a good prescription to strategies for data handling and management, integrating hardware and software systems, data security, and data ownership. The discussion will include how to fit farm goals with creating management zones and appropriate grid sizes for data collection and analysis. A panel presentation will include DeGolyer, Flansburg and farmer Todd DuMond who develops his own prescriptions.

A change in the Empire Farm Days Field Equipment Demonstrations schedule now has the global positioning systems/GPS-guided tractor and tillage demonstrations starting the daily program at 10 am, followed by hay mowing, forage chopping and handling and hay raking, merging, baling, processing and handling.

Empire Farm Days visitors will see LED lighting systems from VM5 Lighting Solutions in the dairy exhibitors tent and the Dairy Profit Seminars tent. The systems use polycarbonate shatterproof lenses suitable for all barn applications. The LEDs emit no U/V light, which reduces insect attraction and insect-related issues. VM5 Lighting Solutions personnel will be on hand in the dairy exhibitors tent to discuss LED products and systems suited for all agricultural and food-grade applications.

Experience Empire is the theme of the 300-acre Empire Farm Days in 2016 with educational seminars; crop, live animal, and working equipment demonstrations; Test Drive and Ride experiences; and a host of exhibits and information on agriculture, the outdoors, and rural living. Parking is $10 per vehicle. Rodman Lott and Son Farms is located at 2973 State Route 414. Learn more at empirefarmdays.com.