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A farmer shaping the land­scape

At just 40, Rémi Janin can both look back with pride and forward with deter­mi­na­tion. He can be pleased with his efforts to protect his family tradi­tion of organic farming and direct selling. With a degree in land­scape archi­tec­ture, he is working to make his farm in Vernand, Haut-Beau­jo­lais, France, more resilient to climate change. At the same time, he is striving to make the land­scape more mean­ingful for the people who live in the region and for visi­tors.

How to Success­fully Run a Prof­itable Alpaca Farm?

A fluffy body with long legs and a long neck, then a head with big googly eyes, often crowned by a funny hair­style – it’s the alpaca. This species of camel has been expe­ri­encing a surge in popu­larity in recent years, with many farms offering alpaca prod­ucts and events. But how can farmers handle farming and breeding, regard­less of the trends? Elis­a­beth Freitag manages the largest alpaca breeding farm in Germany and shares insights into the oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges.

Dossier

Preci­sion Farming

Auto­matic steering systems and site-specific field manage­ment are finding their way onto farms as the options become wider and more diverse. Preci­sion farming can make busi­nesses more effi­cient, more sustain­able and more econom­i­cally viable.

Here you will find useful guid­ance on how to get started as well as back­ground infor­ma­tion on preci­sion farming.

Precision Farming

Making access to Preci­sion Ag Tech­nology more afford­able

For over 20 years, John Deere has been providing Auto­Trac guid­ance systems to help farmers and contrac­tors maxi­mize their effi­ciency. In August 2024, John Deere launched the Preci­sion Ag essen­tials pack­ages – a retrofit solu­tion compat­ible with all types of equip­ment, regard­less of its brand or age – making smart farming easier and more acces­sible. Here we share some first-hand expe­ri­ences from the field.

The Furrow is also avail­able on paper!

Your John Deere dealer

Visit your John Deere dealer and ask for a subscrip­tion of The Furrow.

More knowl­edge, more sustain­ability: Light­house Farm Network

Partic­i­pants from banks, NGOs and machine manu­fac­turers learn more about the current chal­lenges facing agri­cul­ture and possible solu­tions at the Light­house Farm Academy. With the accu­mu­lated knowl­edge, they can make deci­sions that will help farmers tran­si­tion to more sustain­able systems. Marc Gijs­bers is one of these partic­i­pants and reports on his expe­ri­ences as a member of the Academy. 

Partial deep tillage – a win-win for soil fertility, yield and climate protec­tion

The prin­ciple of partial deep tillage (PDT) boasts a rich history, having been devel­oped in East Germany as early as the late 1950s. Initially aimed at increasing soil fertility and yields, this method has found renewed rele­vance today. Soil scien­tists Prof Dr Michael Sommer from the Leibniz Centre for Agri­cul­tural Land­scape Research (ZALF) and Andre Hahn from the agri­cul­tural machinery manu­fac­turer Lemken are now lever­aging this histor­ical knowl­edge in their ‘Carbon Tillage’ project to further protect the climate. 

Adding value by inte­grating Angus cattle into an arable rota­tion.

In mixed arable and live­stock oper­a­tions, there is a symbi­otic rela­tion­ship akin to the Romanian proverb ‘one hand washes the other’. With multiple branches to the enter­prise, risks can be balanced through mutual support. In times of declining grain prices, the value of live­stock serves to offset losses, while in instances of live­stock chal­lenges, the grain serves as a reli­able commodity for sale.

Tractors

Culti­vating opti­mism in Alsace where corn is king

Believe it or not, the Vix family were all born on June 26. Wendelin Vix, hale and hearty at 87 years old, has passed on his love for farming to his son Jean-Marc and his grandson, François. Visiting this person­ality of Alsa­tian agri­cul­ture was well worth the trip, 26 years after doing a first report in the French edition Le Sillon. Let’s redis­cover care­fully managed La Neumatt Farm, based in Wantzenau (Lower-Rhine), where corn is king and cause for opti­mism.

Precision Farming

Healthy wheat with less fungi­cides

In addi­tion to arable farming and fattening pigs, the Anschütz family relies on energy produc­tion from biogas and photo­voltaics, and provides heat to 90 house­holds through a heating network. Networks also play a big role in the family's farm manage­ment: Their trac­tors are equipped with the Auto­Trac steering system, the John Deere Display and JDLink, all connected to the John Deere Oper­a­tions Center. For a crop protec­tion agent trial, the Oper­a­tions Center was addi­tion­ally connected with xarvio from BASF. 

Precision Farming

Increase effi­ciency with satel­lite tech­nology

The govern­ment is increas­ingly restricting the use of agri­cul­tural inputs. In addi­tion, prices have risen to unimag­ined heights. Many farmers are wondering how to use fertilisers, seeds, growth regu­la­tors and crop protec­tion chem­i­cals more effi­ciently. One possible answer is to imple­ment preci­sion farming: Those who work with appli­ca­tion maps based on satel­lite images can achieve more uniform yields.