Precision Ag Focused, Customer Service Driven: Jason Portner
Many of you remember when an air conditioned tractor cab was the must-have technology. Today, as you know, the sky’s the limit. With today’s precision ag technology, your tractor can maneuver through the field and you don’t have to touch the steering wheel, your spray booms or planter sections can turn on and off automatically—with sub-inch precision.
As acres farmed and input costs continue to increase and on-farm labor decreases, precision ag technology is here to help. So where do you start, or what do you add? That’s where Jason Portner comes in. Working with UFC members for six years now, Jason is transitioning from a full-time DSM position to become our Precision Ag Specialist.
 “I’m excited to apply my time and focus to precision ag technology and help producers decide what will work best for them, help them set it up, and help them better understand how precision ag can increase yields and save time and money,” Jason says.
As a DSM, Jason spent a lot of time working with precision ag technology. On top of that, he enjoys computers, is a farm kid, and likes applying technology to farming. “Anytime I can take technology and apply it to help growers, that’s exciting,” he says.
UFC carries the Ag Leader® line of precision ag technology. Along with Ag Leader, Jason has contacts with representatives from all other precision ag companies, so he can answer producers’ questions—it doesn’t matter what brand of technology they decide to go with.
He also works with FarmRX, the group UFC contracts with to do grid sampling and run other precise analysis of producers’ fields and growing conditions. “Today’s technology gives us yield data for the entire field. My job is to dig deeper and help producers figure out why one portion of their field yields better or worse than another, so we can improve yields,” Jason says. Contact Jason at the Ag Service Center (507-228-8224) with any precision ag questions you may have.
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