travis schwickerath. outline personal & farm background internships precision ag benefits career...

Travis Schwickerath

Outline

• Personal & Farm Background

• Internships

• Precision Ag benefits

• Career Path

Personal Background

• New Hampton, Iowa

• Graduated in 2006

• Ag Systems Technology major– Agronomy minor

Farm Background

• Schwickerath Farms– 1800 Acres– Custom feed hogs– Custom harvest and field tile installation

• Adoption of precision agriculture– Ez Guide Plus – Ez Steer– Ez Guide 500– Insight for yield monitoring, seed & direct command

Internship Experiences

• Ag Leader Technology – Spring 2008– Technical Support Specialist– Troubleshooting skills– Equipment knowledge– Dealer & customer training– Customer service

Internship Experiences

• Howard R. Green Company – Summer 2009– Precision Ag Consultant– GIS Data– Data analysis– Recommendations– Competitive marketing strategies

Precision Ag Benefits

• Auto-steer– Ease of operation

– Increased productivity

– Less stress

– Extended operating window

Precision Ag Benefits

• Intellislope - Tile plow control– IaRTN

– Increased productivity

– Increased yields

– Tile Maps

Career Path

• Additional Internship

• Fall 2010 graduation

• Work in the ag industry

• Return home to farm