You may have seen this cool picture popping up in your social media and farm magazines:
This fun pattern was created as part of an OSU Precision Ag project about harnessing the power of "smart planting". The logo stands in a field at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio, home to the Farm Science Review.
Andrew Klopfenstein, who helps coordinate the project, was interviewed for this article, which gives more context about how this can be applied in any operation.
While farmers may not want to brand their fields with Ohio State logos, there may be value in having a planter that can easily sow multiple hybrids of corn or soybeans in the same field and at different rates. A section of a field with rocky terrain may get fewer seeds sown to compensate for the expected lower rate of success for each seed. Alternatively, the base of a hilly section that’s rich in organic matter may get more seeds because more of them are expected to grow in that area.
Below are some images of how the picture was created.
First, different rates of seed were selected as shown here.
Then, the hybrids were placed in the field as seen here. In one image, you can see the slower growing ("green background") and in the other, the faster growing ("brown logo").
