About Midplains ag

A lil' Bit More

Midplains Ag is a full-service precision ag consultation and risk management group located in the rolling hills of Northeast Nebraska. Our doors opened in April of 2013 with the mission of partnering with farm owners and operators to collect and analyze georeferenced terra and crop data in order to formulate and implement effective operational decisions for their operations. We have since expanded our operations to provide a full spectrum of precision ag services (including aerial imagery, soil and crop analysis, irrigation analysis and yield data) as well as risk management options for new and existing clientele.

Our mission continues to be to partner with farm owners and operators, like yourself, to enable them to make sound and effective planning and operational decisions to dramatically improve efficiency, effectiveness, reduce overall input costs and increase yield while protecting the bottom line. 

Why we do it

Compared to today, farm management in the mid-20th Century was much simpler and commodity margins were much larger. During the 1960's , corn prices were nearly $10.00 / bushel (accounting for inflation), input costs such as labor, equipment, fertilizer and cost of living were much less expensive. Although farm life was considerably more physically demanding and the accepted tilling practices were often detrimental to the environment, the profit margins allowed farmers to make mistakes and recover from them. 

The technology of the past half-century has changed all of that.

Today's reality is different. Although less physically demanding, managing a farm operation has become a daunting task of increased complexity, increased input costs, and with much lower margins. Technologies such as fertilizer, herbicides, hybrids, and increasingly efficient, complex and expensive machinery  have dramatically altered agriculture in both positive and negative ways. While a larger population is being fed from increased yields and erosion has been dramatically reduced, input costs have skyrocketed and margins have become much smaller. Most farmers now face a reality where inefficiencies and mistakes are capable of crippling an operation beyond recovery. Therefore, it has become essential for farmers to make well informed decisions in order to increase productivity, efficiency and reduce input costs while also protecting their operation and way of life.

How do we face these challenges?

We believe that the proactive and responsible use of precision agriculture and well planned risk management is the best method towards addressing the challenges faced in today's agricultural economy.

Our thoughts?

Adaptation to, and adoption of, evolving precision ag technology and risk management services will continue to progress agriculture towards a more productive, more environmentally-sound future while also protecting the farmers' bottom line.

Data Collection & Data Ownership

We believe that data belongs to you, our client, not to a corporation or any other third party. This is why our mission is to partner with you to enable you to make your own best decisions in how to utilize the data, recommendations, and services, provided by MidPlains Ag, to most effectively manage your operation and protect your bottom line. You make the final decisions on what to apply, who to use as your applicator and all other decisions regarding your operation. We simply provide you the data you need, at the time you need it.

Though, the benefits vs. cost of precision ag may be somewhat ambiguous or difficult to visualize, we can assure you that the cost savings (per acre) of utilizing precision ag services far outweighs the cost of implementation. Quite simply, the old addage of 'knowledge is power' is no less applicable to farming than it is to any other endeavor in life. By being better informed, you're able to make better, and more efficient, decisions for your operation.

Secondly, while many large agricultural corporations restrict who owns collected data and how data is used, often limiting the use of the data to their own equipment and applications.  MidPlains Ag stands firmly by the belief that data collection should never be used to restrict farm choices and aid another company's profit margins.  The farm owner and operators should have the freedom to do business based on the quality of services and price and not be locked to another business's end-goal.

WHERE THE DATA COMES FROM

Data can come from multiple sources throughout your operation. It can be pulled from sensors in your field, from satellite imagery, from soil sampling, and many other places. We maintain close relationships, with several data collection partners, in order to maximize our information and service offerings to you, but the final decision is always yours. 

Services We Provide

• Soil Sampling (Grid or Zone)
• Veris EC (Electrical Conductivity) & OM (Organic Matter) mapping
• Tissue Sampling
• Sap Sampling
• Imagery Analysis (RGB, Multispectral, Hyperspectral & Thermal)
• "As Applied" Map Analysis
• Yield Data Analysis

Who we work with

Sentinel Fertigation

Nitrogen is an important part of growing healthy crops.  Put it on at the right time in the right place with Midplains Ag and Sentinal Fertigation.

senseFly

senseFly is our choice provider for UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems). This global company's ag platform create aerial images optimized to gather insights from above. Multiple sensor types are available; RGB and multiSPEC are continuously available while thermoMap is currently provided only an as-needed.

Veris Technologies

Veris sensors are an excellent tool to help understand the variability within your fields' soil conditions. Since 1996, veris sensors have been changing the way growers, consultants, suppliers and researchers approach production agriculture since 1996. These sensors produce an image depicting what is happening at a base level. Veris Technologies' sensors are a great fit into our precision ag philosophy. The soil, in your field, is the foundation of your crop. Therefore, it is critical to have an understanding of soil conditions prior to crop planning.

AgSense

AgSense represents the revolution in using cellular & GPS technology to manage ag production. We work with their products to provide customers the tools to manage their irrigation through technology.

Farmers Business Network

Farmers Business Network strives to provide Independent and Unbiased benchmarking for your monitor data. Taking your seed variety, soil type, and location and comparing the yields to others to help determine the best seeds to provide the optimum return. We are excited to offer their platform to help you determine the right seed for the right place.

Other Resources

Natural Resources Conservation Service

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) maintains a website called the Web Soil Survey. We reference this website as it is an excellent source of soil information such as soil maps, soil texture, water holding capacity and organic matter (O.M.).