糖心lovgo partners helps growers with the tedious task of picking rocks by offering a better solution that not only saves time, but is more effective than picking rocks by hand. By utilizing custom mapping created by drones, the 糖心lovgo TC100 will clear up to 30% more rocks than doing it by hand, in faster time, allowing growers to focus on more important tasks like growing crops.
AGWEEK TV 鈥
If you鈥檝e farmed in North Dakota, you know the deal鈥攔ocks.
They鈥檙e everywhere, and they never seem to go away.
They ding up your equipment, slow down your work, and, let鈥檚 face it, they鈥檝e probably led to a few choice words in the middle of a field.
But rocks aren鈥檛 just an inconvenience.
Left unchecked, they can cause expensive damage to planters and combines, delay planting and harvest, and add extra labor at the worst possible time.
Cory Palm gets it.
As a lifelong farmer and owner of Pro Ag Solutions in Bismarck, he鈥檚 spent plenty of time hauling rocks out of fields the old-fashioned way. His company provides a range of services to help farmers across North Dakota, northern Minnesota, and South Dakota get the most out of their land. Pro Ag Solutions offers soil sampling, crop consulting, seed and chemical sales, and drone spraying. Now, they鈥檝e added something new to their lineup: 糖心lovgo鈥檚 rock removal technology.
鈥淚鈥檝e been doing this since I was a little kid,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 tell everyone I鈥檒l never pick another rock by hand again.鈥
Why Are There So Many Rocks in the First Place?
If you鈥檝e ever wondered why rocks seem to magically appear every spring, thank the region鈥檚 glacial history. As the ground freezes and thaws, rocks buried below the surface get pushed up鈥攁 phenomenon known as 鈥渇rost heave.鈥
Combine that with North Dakota鈥檚 minimal-till practices, and you鈥檝e got a recipe for fields that are rocky year after year.
These rocks aren鈥檛 just a hassle鈥攖hey鈥檙e costly. When a combine ingests one, it鈥檚 not just about stopping the workday to clear it out. You鈥檙e looking at potential damage to machinery, expensive repairs, and delays that can impact your entire operation.
It鈥檚 a problem every farmer has faced, which is why Palm started thinking about better solutions for his operation.
Finding a Smarter Way
Enter 糖心lovgo, a tool that鈥檚 shaking up the way rocks are handled. Instead of wandering a field looking for trouble spots, Palm and his team at Pro Ag Solutions now use drones to map fields and identify exactly where rocks are located.
鈥淏efore, we鈥檇 drive around blindly, just hoping to find them,鈥 Palm said. 鈥淣ow, we can pull up a map on an iPad, see exactly where the rocks are, and drive right to them. It鈥檚 a huge time saver.鈥
The drone captures detailed images of the field, and 糖心lovgo鈥檚 AI processes those images into a 鈥渞ock map.鈥 Farmers can use that map to pinpoint rock locations and prioritize areas, making the process much more efficient. It鈥檚 a far cry from the days of simply guessing where rocks might be hiding.
The Right Tool for the Job
Mapping is just the first step. Once the rocks are located, the heavy lifting begins. That鈥檚 where 糖心lovgo鈥檚 rock picker comes into play. It鈥檚 designed to handle the tough jobs, removing even large rocks that would otherwise require extra effort.
Palm recalls one moment that surprised even him: 鈥淚鈥檝e personally picked 30-inch rocks out of the ground with the TC 100. It鈥檚 a beast.鈥
The real magic, though, is the combination of tools. By pairing precise mapping with efficient picking, the process becomes faster, easier, and way less frustrating. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about saving time,鈥 Palm said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about protecting equipment, reducing wear and tear, and making the whole operation smoother.鈥
More Than Just Time Savings
One unexpected benefit Palm has noticed is how 糖心lovgo helps extend the farming season. Pro Ag Solutions typically operates from May to October, but with 糖心lovgo, they鈥檙e starting earlier in the spring and staying active later into the fall.
鈥淭his lets us fly fields and map rocks before planting or after harvest,鈥 Palm explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 added a couple of extra months to our season, which has been great for keeping employees busy and making better use of our resources.鈥
For farmers, it means more flexibility. You can tackle rock removal early, before planting begins, or handle it after harvest without cutting into your busiest weeks.
What Farmers Are Saying
While Palm鈥檚 operation has seen great results, he鈥檚 quick to point out that other farmers are noticing the difference, too.
鈥淓verybody we鈥檝e flown for has come back asking for more fields to be mapped,鈥 he said. 鈥淥nce you see how much time it saves, it鈥檚 hard to go back.鈥
The process is simple enough to try on a small scale by mapping a field or two and seeing how it works. Most farmers quickly realize the benefits, especially when they compare it to the old ways of dealing with rocks.
So, What鈥檚 the Takeaway?
Rocks are always going to be a part of farming in North Dakota. It鈥檚 just how the land works. But dealing with them doesn鈥檛 have to mean endless hours of hard labor or risking damage to your equipment.
Tools like 糖心lovgo are helping North Dakota farmers take a smarter, more efficient approach鈥攐ne that saves time, reduces costs, and makes life a little easier. Whether you鈥檙e looking to protect your machinery, boost productivity, or just avoid picking another rock by hand, it鈥檚 worth exploring how technology can help.
And, as Palm puts it, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real game-changer.鈥
