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Planting Season Reminders from our Precision Farming Team

Apr. 6 2015 Precision By Birkey's

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Keep these important precision farming tasks in mind before and after the planting season.

Reminder #1

Make sure your GPS is working.

Pull your tractor outside early to make sure you can receive a GPS signal.  If locking on to a correction source is a problem, then check the integrity of the wires running to the GPS antenna or receiver.  If you are using a 252, 262 or 372 receiver make sure the power light is lit on the back of the unit.  Condensation inside the antenna or receiver will also hinder GPS performance.  Remove the unit, and tilt it from side to side to test for water damage.  Please call your local PF specialist if you need assistance starting your GPS system up for the first time.

Reminder #2

Accuracy is addictive, and you get what you pay for.

Most growers are utilizing a subscription for higher accuracy operations such as planting.  Here is a list of the different subscriptions we offer.

  1. Rangepoint RTX
  2. Omnistar XP, HP, or G2
  3. Centerpoint RTX Fast or Standard
  4. Centerpoint VRS
  5. Centerpoint RTK

Each subscription is tailored for a different accuracy range as well as price point. Make sure that you do not forget to renew your subscription before going to the field. Your local Birkey’s PF Specialist would be happy to discuss the different options and help you choose the plan that would best fit your operation’s needs.


Reminders #3-4

FM 750: Clear off old field data.

Over time the FM 750 display will fill up with field data including guidance lines and coverage logging.  Eventually, the display will not operate to its full potential unless you delete your old data.  Click on the link below to see how to correctly delete field data from a FM 750 display.  Remember, if you want to retain your field names and guidance patterns to only select the fields that are no longer needed in your operation.


PRO 600 / 700: Delete last year’s data from the card and display.

To delete last year’s data from the Pro 600/700, and the data card, follow these steps.

  1. Make sure all the data that you need has been downloaded onto your computer
  2. Take the data card out and place it in your home computer.  Delete the .cn1 file from the card.
  3. Power up the Pro display without the data card in it and go to Data Management and the Delete tab
  4. Select Data Type “Task” and choose Operation “All,” Grower “All,” Farm “All,” Field “All,” and Task “All.”
  5. Press the Delete button and confirm the data to be deleted.  Press Ok to delete the selected data.
  6. Power off the display and wait for it to completely shut down.
  7. Insert the empty data card into the Pro and power on the display.  The Grower, Farm and Field names remain, but the previous year’s data will be erased.