Winter Conference 2025 ‣ Precision Planting Spotlight [Stuber & Fehr Farm]

Farming meets engineering

Luke Stuber, a product engineer and farmer, shares the key technologies he’s helped build as solutions to agronomic issues he’s seen on his operation, Stuber & Fehr Farm.  

First, they added ReClaim to their sprayer for quick and easy boom priming, plus faster boom clean out. Then they added SymphonyNozzle and the 20|20 to gain swath control. When they added SymphonyVision|Spot, the accuracy and savings multiplied.

What is SymphonyVision?

Today’s sprayers only allow a blanket application, making it hard to apply the right herbicide rate cost-effectively due to inconsistent weed size and density. SymphonyVision uses cameras to intelligently adjust the application based on weed severity, allowing you to save on chemicals and control weeds more effectively.

SymphonyVision|Spot uses cameras to detect weed severity, a metric unique to Precision Planting, to adjust the rate of each nozzle automatically when weeds are present while turning off nozzles when they aren't. 

The most common question farmers ask Luke about targeted spraying with SymphonyVision|Spot is, “How do you use it?” His personal experience and sprayer data prove that SymphonyVision|Spot works, saving him time and money. Here are the three examples he shares in his presentation ↓

Enlist soybeans

Going into the growing season the plan was to use SymphonyVision|Spot for targeted spray on Enlist soybeans. The prepass, at time of planting or a couple days afterwards, was a burn down with Authority Supreme as the residual. Luke planned to come back six to eight weeks later, once the Waterhemp started to come up, to make two post-passes using only contact killers. 

Luke used an 80-acre field as a test. He blanket applied herbicide to 40 acres and spot sprayed the other 40 acres, targeting primarily Waterhemp that were either missed or emerged after the first pass. 

Corn rescue scenario

Mother Nature likes to throw curve balls, and this past spring was an example of that. After applying burndown and residual before planting, a 6” rain delay caused them to fail. The first initial post-pass at V2 wasn’t enough because the Waterhemp were getting out of control. As a solution, Luke pivoted to applying another round of herbicide, this time with SymphonyVision|Spot, as a rescue pass. 

Luke said, “I've always looked at it as a tool to save money, but the reality was in this case, I actually spent more money than I had planned on. I had budgeted for one pre and one post, and then I sprayed again. So, I spent more money, but I got better weed control."

Fall burndown

Even in a “bad” field, like this one, targeted spraying reduced chemical use by 43%, cut costs by $3/A, and allowed for more proactive weed control. Fall burndown works well with vision-based spraying since it only requires contact herbicides.

Key benefits of SymphonyVision

• Fewer refills (approx. every 300 acres) means reduced downtime and labor costs.
• In some cases, there's no need for a full-time tender operator, lowering man-hours.
• Improved machine efficiency, allowing for faster field coverage.
• Better weed control and improved weed management practices. 

^{Actual savings may vary depending on field conditions, weed pressure, herbicide costs, and other factors. These example scenarios are for illustrative purposes only using prices from the Farmers Business Network on 1/20/2025 and should not be interpreted as a guarantee of savings.}