Loading...Dinosaurs have been extinct for over 65 million years, but their presence is still evident in Fuentes de Magaña, a town in the province of Soria. More than 300 fossilised dinosaur footprints have been found on these lands and some of them are next to one of the plots on which Alejandro Aguado works. “The dinosaur keeps me company while I work and take care of the crops… Hahaha”
“The three tractors we have are John Deere and we are very happy”, says Alejandro. Agriculture is the passion and everyday life of these farmers, who are perfectly at home in the landscape in which they work. “We farm this undulating land and most of the plots are small, but it’s not a problem… When I work on large, flat plots, I almost get bored”, Alejandro says with amusement.
We are at an altitude of 1,100 metres, in a region known as the Tierras Altas (Highlands). The dinosaurs that lived on these lands during the Cretaceous were mainly sauropods, which are among the largest that ever existed. To feed their bodies of more than 20 metres long and more than 20 tonnes in weight, these animals fed only on vegetables. They were herbivores, but at that time the plants that existed were very different from those of today. Alejandro now grows wheat, barley, field peas, rapeseed, and triticale on 550 hectares, continuing the work of his father Amador Aguado, and previous generations of farmers who experienced remarkable changes.
Work smarter, increase profitability
Alejandro’s grandfather went from plowing with oxen to plowing with a tractor, which represented a huge technological leap that his family still remembers. Today, in the 21st Century, the use of precision agriculture technologies presents a new technological leap allowing them to optimise the profitability of their crops and work more easily. Self-guidance and section-cut fertiliser are the main precision farming technologies used in their crops. “With precision farming, everything is easier”, Alejandro says.
With precision farming, everything is easier.
Alejandro Aguado
Self-steering tractors thanks to GPS
Their three tractors are a 7280R, a 6920S, and a 7820, all of which have self-guiding functionality. Last summer they rented a 6R250 for a few weeks and were also very happy. “The 6R250 works great”, says Alejandro.
Overlaps can be avoided by automatic section controll when spreading fertilizer.
Alejandro Aguado uses the GPS system when sowing.
Today, with the 7820 they’re planting barley with which they hope to obtain a yield of 4,000 kg/ha. Thanks to GPS, the self-propelled system can generate virtual trajectories that the tractor follows automatically. “Self-propelled is nothing new for us. My father bought the first self-propelled tractor in 2010 and we haven’t stopped using it since. Now we couldn’t work without it. It doesn’t even cross our minds. For convenience and savings, we highly value it being self-propelled,” emphasises Alejandro.
Fertilizer spreading with section control
The fertilizer spreader is both self-propelled and can be used as a section-cutter. This prevents both overlapping and gaps, ensuring the entire plot receives the designated dose without wasting fertiliser. That way, the mineral fertiliser is not wasted, “which in recent years has risen a lot in price,” Alejandro reminds us.
Sowing barley, Alejandro Aguado hopes for a yield of 4 t/ha.
On the day of our visit, they were also introducing a fertiliser spreader with this technology. It’s coupled to the 7280R. It’s an ISOBUS implement made by a manufacturer other than John Deere, with which they apply a 6-20-8 fertiliser at a dose of 350 kg/ha. They connect it to the tractor and the implement appears on the screen with all the configuration options.
Alejandro quickly sets it up and the tractor gets to work following the path on the screen. In this task, they combine the use of self-propelling with section cutting. “It performs section cutting perfectly. It works very well with the tractor’s ISOBUS”, says Alejandro. With this new fertiliser spreader and section cutting, they expect to save €10,000/year in fertiliser.
Next step: John Deere Operations Center
The next step is to start using the Operations Center. One of the main advantages that Alejandro sees is that when using the Operations Center, the tasks performed are directly recorded in the digital field notebook, which they expect will save time on these administrative duties. “I think it’s very easy, it’s going to help us a lot. With the Operations Center, everything will be faster”, says Alejandro. “This is the path we want to follow. We are adding new technologies that are capable of increasing profitability in the short, medium, and long term.”