Precision FarmingBETTER OPERATION MANAGEMENT THANKS TO NIR SENSOR

For Sven Borchert, head of the Gross Germ­er­sleben agri­cul­tural company, docu­menting all farm and field proce­dures is a matter of course. He records impor­tant data during harvest with the HarvestLab 3000 – so what conclu­sions does he draw from it?

November 2022

Text: Julian Stutz
Photos: Betriebsgemeinschaft Groß Germersleben, Adobe
Videos: John Deere

Modern agri­cul­ture and energy produc­tion

Since 1991, the Gross Germ­er­sleben agri­cul­tural company has been culti­vating land on the western edge of the Magde­burg Börde in the rain shadow of the Harz Moun­tains, around 30km from the federal state capital of Magde­burg. It’s a diverse company; in addi­tion to crop produc­tion, it relies on gener­ating green elec­tricity from biogas and wind. It grows pota­toes for processing into chips and French fries, as well as various types of grain, rape­seed, sugar beet and maize for the biogas plant.

“We are diverse”

Sven Borchert intro­duces the company.

Quality manage­ment during drought

Like many other farms, the drought of summer 2022 posed major chal­lenges for the Gross Germ­er­sleben company. Wheat quality was partic­u­larly vari­able. “With the help of the NIR sensor, the quality of the grain could be precisely deter­mined, and wheat of varying quality could be sepa­rated” Mr Borchert explains.

“We can sepa­rate wheat of different quality”

Sven Borchert reports on the use of the NIR sensor in the wheat harvest.

Deter­mining the optimal time for harvest

Farm managers and workers docu­ment all of the farm tasks, and contin­u­ally look to improve processes. “With the help of the HarvestLab 3000 NIR sensor, the optimal time for the rape­seed harvest can be deter­mined remotely just by knowing the mois­ture content and quality,” explains Mr Borchert.

“The rape wasn’t ripe yet”

Sven Borchert explains the added value of the NIR sensor when harvesting rape­seed.

Harvest plan­ning

In digi­tised agri­cul­ture, not only crops, but also data is harvested. “Harvest quan­ti­ties, mois­ture content and quality infor­ma­tion allow us to draw useful conclu­sions about soil quality and water supply. This helps Mr Borchert to improve plan­ning and adjust seed rates for the next season. how he thinks about the seed rate plan­ning for the following year.

“We can plan better for next year”

Sven Borchert explains the advan­tages of the NIR sensor when harvesting maize.