Potato Grower

"We always knew there were some bottlenecks in the irrigation systems, and clogged nozzles," Lutz says, "but we didn't have a way to detect that efficiently and on a large scale." Lutz flirted with satellite imagery on his operation, but consistently felt that the data he got back, though impressive, simply wasn't all that helpful. So he sought out Ceres Imaging, scheduled flights during key stages of the potato growing season, and has been pleased with the results. "We're better able to prepare for heat and other changes throughout the season," he says, "and that brings incredible peace of mind." "It's fairly easy to take an image, deliver it to the grower, and promise that it will improve his return on investment," says Scebold. "But it's important to look at it from the producer's point of view to understand what the data is and how he can use it. Having a team of in-house agronomists is expensive for us, but it's very powerful." Bridging the Gap Many Ceres employees are producers themselves or come from a production agriculture background. With that basic understanding of what it is In this water stress imagery of a potato field at Skone & Connors farm in Washington, clogged nozzles are visible as yellow rings, indicating relatively stressed areas of the field. that farmers truly need to succeed, the company has been able to develop a relationship of trust and honest conversation with its clientele. With an ever-increasing focus on traceability and sustainability in the potato industry, that bridge connecting the traditional culture of farming with practical, business- building technology of the future will only grow more important in coming years. Scebold believes it's the responsibility of everyone in the agriculture world to embrace that technology while sifting out the superfluous fluff. "A lot of growers have a misconception about ag data and ag imagery," he says. "Everyone in the industry—producers, manufacturers, salesmen, ag media—feels the frustration out there. But there are companies like Ceres Imaging who are doing their part to make their imagery and data more useable. "The technology is there, and it's undeniably cool if we apply it the right way." To learn more about the services provided by Ceres imaging, call (888) 704-9398 or visit www.ceresimaging.net. WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 15 WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 15

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