Kyle Kuphal | Staff reporter
kkuphal@pipestonestar.com

New technology that targets weeds is getting positive reviews from those who have used it in southwest Minnesota.

One of the items is John Deere’s See & Spray system. The other is the SMARTSCRIPT drone system from Sentera, which was acquired by John Deere earlier this year.

Ross Van Hulzen, of Edgerton, said Van Hulzen Farms has a John Deere 412 R sprayer that was equipped with See & Spray and another one that came with the technology factory installed that they started using this year. The technology uses cameras mounted on the boom of a sprayer that “look forward and see the weed before the nozzles pass over them,” Van Hulzen said. He said the driver can travel up to 12 mph while using the system, which makes split second decisions about whether to spray or not.

Van Hulzen said the cost saving potential was the biggest factor that interested him in trying the See & Spray technology. The fact that crops that don’t need to be sprayed aren’t sprayed was another factor.

Nick Einck, director of agronomy, at Chandler Co-op, said the Co-op started using the See & Spray and the drone technology this year. The drone uses high precision technology to detect, identify and map weeds with accuracy, according to Sentera. That information is uploaded to Sentera, which provides a prescription that’s uploaded to sprayers, which can then identify exactly where a weed is and which nozzle needs to turn on at what time to spray it.

Einck said Chandler Co-op was interested in the technology in order to implement what it refers to as “site specific spraying.”

“What that means is we’re using technology to identify exactly where the weeds are and just spray the weed rather than the acre,” Einck said. “What that allows for us is an opportunity to cut chemical costs and hopefully boost yields because we’re not taxing the crop with metabolizing all that chemistry.”

To use the See & Spray equipment, the operator selects the crop that’s in the field and anything that’s not that crop gets sprayed.

“It’s approved for corn and soybeans,” Van Hulzen said. “If you have it set that you’re spraying corn, it knows what a corn plant looks like, so anything that is not corn that it identifies as vegetation, it considers that a weed. When you’re in beans, corn is actually a weed in beans, so when you’re spraying beans it actually sprays corn.”

If no weeds are detected, no spray is applied. Van Hulzen said that’s the case the majority of the time.
“In corn, we did not apply 63 percent of the time and we did apply 37 percent of the time, so there was a 63 percent savings in chemical,” Van Hulzen said. In beans, they saved 57 percent.

He said the amount of savings varies from field to field based in part on the amount of weed pressure. It also depends in part on the chemical program used by the farmer.

John Deere charges a per acre fee for the See & Spray system when it’s turned on and not applying herbicide. There is no charge for when chemical is applied. Van Hulzen said that even with the fee, the system is worthwhile.

“The savings outweigh the fee just because there are so many acres you don’t apply,” he said.
Van Hulzen said the technology also saves time because the operator doesn’t have to stop and fill up the tanks on the sprayer as often, and it’s easy to use.

“If you’ve run a John Deere sprayer, it’s very easy to run,” he said. “Literally, you turn it on or you turn it off, and by toggling it on, you just tell it what crop you’re in and it really takes care of itself.”
Einck said the drone must be flown by a trained and certified individual.

He said both the drone and the See & Spray technology have similar outcomes and he’s found them to be equally effective. He said they allow Chandler Co-op to help farmers save money on chemical, and those dollars can then be reallocated to other measures that can help increase yields.
Einck said the technology is expensive for individual farmers, which is why it makes sense for a retail outlet such as Chandler Co-op to purchase it and make the technology available to them. While this type of technology is used by a limited number of farmers today because they’re new, Van Hulzen and Einck said they expect it will catch on and become more widely used. They also expect it to grow in its capabilities and be able to provide additional data in the future.

“We’re sure excited to see where the future takes us and we’re excited that we can offer this for our farmers, our customers and our owners, being as we’re a co-op,” Einck said.

Kyle Kuphal | Staff reporter
kkuphal@pipestonestar.com

The 2025 harvest is winding down and it’s time to plan for next year’s crop.

Jon Risacher, a crop consultant with Nutrien Ag Solutions in Pipestone, helps farmers do just that. The goal, he said, is to maximize the number of bushels through management practices. That includes looking at fertility, seed, plant health, disease, insects, what worked and what didn’t, and more. He said it all comes down to management.
“You’ve got to be a good manager to be successful,” Risacher said.

Risacher, who also grows corn, soybeans, alfalfa and oats, said planning for the next year starts during the harvest when farmers are out in their fields looking at factors such as weed pressure. He said weeds were a challenge this year, specifically water hemp.

“The weeds take your fertility,” Risacher said. “They take your moisture, they rob from your crop, so if you don’t get them under control you’re going to give up bushels, and it was kind of prevalent this year. In corn we saw some pretty big reductions and definitely in beans. It just choked the beans out.”

Risacher said there were also disease issues with corn this year. He said tar spot was expected to be more prominent, but it turned out that southern rust  was the bigger problem.

“I would say between the disease and water hemp, those are going to be our two biggest conversations this year,” Risacher said.

Pests were not as big of an issue this year. Risacher said there were pockets of aphids, but not as extreme as it’s been in other years, and root worms were not as much of a problem as they were a couple years ago. He recommended farmers to keep an eye out for them, however.

Choosing the right seed varieties and hybrids can help with some of these issues and is a major consideration when planning.

“Seed is always the most emotional because that’s the first thing you truly do,” Risacher said. “Yes, fertilizer, but there’s still fertility in the ground. Seed, you’ve got to get it into the ground and get it out of the ground, and you’ve got to wait six months before you know what you did right or wrong.”

For perspective, he said that in a lifetime a farmer might get just 40 chances to decide what seed to use.

Soil sampling is another practice farmers might implement to prepare for the next growing season. It can measure things like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc, boron and iron. Risacher said that’s typically done every four years or so.
He said marketing is also a factor, and plays a bigger role than it used to.

In general, farming is a risk and the goal is to manage the risk.

“Make a plan and adjust, would be my biggest preach to anybody,” Risacher said. “And don’t be afraid to adjust. You have to adapt because things can change.”

He also encouraged farmers to consider their budget when making management decisions and not to be afraid to ask questions.

“I would say work with somebody that you’re comfortable with and that you trust, and find the right questions that you want to ask,” Risacher said. “I personally write a lot of notes on little things. I write sticky notes everywhere.”

By Jen Burris

For the fifth year in a row, competition remains fierce between many downtown Sioux Falls eateries that have developed pork-focused entrees for the annual Downtown Pork Showdown.

Inspired by the success of the annual downtown burger brawl each January, the event was first developed in 2021 through Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. and the South Dakota Pork Producers Council with Smithfield Foods as an initial sponsor. South Dakota Pork Producers Council took over the role of sponsor in 2024.

“We are very happy to be sponsoring the event this year,” said Abbey Riemenschneider, director of programs and communication with the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. “This is the fifth year, and it has been growing every year.”

South Dakota Pork Producers Council is an organization dedicated to advocacy for the South Dakota pork industry through education, research, and marketing, according to their website. The organization also promotes safe food production, protects and promotes animal well-being, protects public health, safeguards natural resources, provides a safe work environment, and contributes to a better quality of life in South Dakota communities.

Additionally, the council works throughout the year to promote the nutritional benefits of including pork in diets and its versatility in various dishes.
“The showdown demonstrates how you can incorporate pork into any type of dish, from breakfast to dessert,” Riemenschneider said.

The month-long competition, which showcases this versatility, was moved to October this year to align with the nationally celebrated Pork Month. Today, hogs are marketed throughout the year, but Pork Month is recognized in October, which is when hogs were previously marketed.

There are a wide variety of dishes this year, from Dongpo Pork Bowls at Bread and Circus to a hog heaven ice cream featuring caramelized pork belly rolled into brown butter ice cream with bourbon candied pecans and bourbon caramel served between two chocolate chip and pecan cookies at Parlour Ice Cream at the Washington Pavilion.
“I’ve only tried a couple,” Riemenschneider said. “I have a really big sweet tooth, so I love the ice cream at the Washington Pavilion. “It’s absolutely to die for.”

While she has several more dishes she hopes to try, she noted that they “all look absolutely phenomenal.”

She is also looking forward to bringing ideas from the competition to her kitchen to try to recreate.
Patrons who try out pork dishes can rate their experience on the passport.dtsf.com.

Participants will be asked to rate the following categories: best use of pork, flavor, tenderness, presentation, and overall experience, on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. The business with the highest ranking at the end of the month will be the Downtown Pork Showdown Champion and receive the traveling trophy along with bragging rights.