For many Midwestern growers, cool, dry conditions early in 2021 made planting easier but caused worry over emerging seed. Then the weather shifted through June and July, dumping nearly 18 inches of rain in a 3-week period in some areas. This, paired with recent heat in August, made crop management unpredictable.

Tyson Walters is a third-generation corn, soybean and alfalfa farmer in central IL who took over his family’s 850-acre farm alongside his brother 2 years ago. Both Walters and his brother have full-time, off-farm jobs, which makes getting into the field more challenging during the growing season.

Like many growers, Walters works with a local co-op that helps scout and make crop protection applications. They utilize aerial satellite imagery from Syngenta for real-time communication and decision-making for their fields.

With this season’s heat and humidity, conditions have been ideal for pests to thrive and growers have focused on protecting their investments out in the fields. Fortunately, corn prices have increased significantly this season over last, which is a game changer when it comes to application decisions and crop management. As Walters says, there are certain applications you’ll make if you know there’s a potential return on your investment.

Walters uses Syngenta Imagery to keep an eye on some of the hotspots in certain areas of his field that he knows are prone to have more pest issues, like field edges and borders.

Side-by-side imagery in FarmShots™ satellite imagery.

With aerial imagery throughout the entire season, Syngenta Imagery users can see the impact and progress from their in-season decisions. Walters watches crop progress with the side-by-side viewing function in FarmShots satellite imagery, selecting days he knows they made an application and seeing the current field status, noting its impact.

To see the Syngenta imagery software in action, visit https://demo.farmshots.com or contact your local Syngenta crop protection representative.

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