Farming by the inch is what propels no-tillers Curt and Christopher Hudson closer to higher yields and increased profitability.

The father-and-son partnership sharpens the cutting edge of precision-agriculture management of their 2,600 acres of corn and soybeans grown near Crawfordsville in west-central Indiana.

“When we see opportunities to push the upper limits of production, we’re very interested,” says Curt, who began no-tilling their farm ground in 1980. “Our goal is to gather every bit of information we can — soil, hybrids, herbicides and populations. We want to know what’s going on in the field, and we want our decisions and our choices to be verified with data.”

Christopher says his dad has always been an early adopter, but Curt readily admits that his son’s technological savvy has been a large help in moving the operation forward.

“We certainly wouldn’t be doing a lot of the things we’re doing without him taking the lead,” Curt says.

Tablet in the Cab

A recent addition to the Hudsons’ precision-farming toolbox is a third-generation Apple iPad tablet that has proven to be a valuable asset.

As an extension of the Hudsons’ Precision Planting 20/20 SeedSense monitor, a FieldView app enables the iPad to present a high-resolution Google map image of the field, overlaid with critical data from the planter.

The 20/20 provides plenty of row-by-row information — singulation percentage with skips and doubles, population, row-unit weight, ground contact and more. Precise seed placement in a high-residue environment is a critical component of maximizing yields…