A John Deere Publication

Person smiling in the cab of machine with a field and mountains in the background

"The most beneficial thing to us is probably our relationship with the John Deere Operations Center," said Layne Heward, Ag Rows applicator.

Agriculture, Ag Tech November 01, 2023

Tech@Work

An Idaho farm service company and the power of John Deere Precision Ag.

Darin Baker had a dream back in 1988. At the young age of 21, he had the vision in his head, a potential name for his company, and motivation to make it happen. That same year, he started marking rows with fertilizer for the perfect potato seed placement.

Ag Rows Inc., a farm service company in Burley, Idaho, was born.

Ag Rows later became one of the first farm service companies in their area to utilize GPS auto-steering technology. "We were able to run our machinery 24 hours a day. This drew a much wider clientele of farmers that were looking toward the future of precision farming," says Darin.

And what a future that has turned out to be.

This broader perspective of farming then led Ag Rows into precision spraying. Now they run eight sprayers and have been using John Deere Operations Centers for over four years.

"Our fumigating and cultivating programs are able to capitalize with the use of the Operations Center for mapping and EPA record keeping," Darin says proudly. They are also using the Operations Center for yield monitoring and pulp temperature when harvesting potatoes.

"We have built relationships and friendships that have helped us achieve the successful growth of our company. Each applicator is dedicated to the customers and want the best end-results for them at harvest," Darin explains. That level of commitment from their employees is evident. They now have 16 employees, ten of which are professional applicators.

Layne Heward, one of Ag Rows' applicators, sums it up well. "I don't have a customer that's not embracing the new technology. I always tell them that more information is more power. The more you know, the more efficient I can be for you." ‡