‘FARMING IN STAR WARS’
Dean Jirousek, left, and Scott Kubicek work together to on a cover crop mixture of oats, radish, kale and turnips.
-Dean Jirousek, Area Crop Farmer
Dean Jirousek likes to be a little bit out there. So much so that he has found himself farming in what may seem like another world.
Through computerized technology, a large drone knows exactly how much seed mixture to drop from the sky on one of Jirousek’s soybean fields northeast of Ellendale. He began utilizing the drone technology this fall with the help of his neighbor, Scott Kubicek, who just earlier this year began Gen4Ag, a new business featuring drones for agricultural purposes.
With a drone buzzing around and wind turbines on the distant horizon, Jirousek, 70, never thought he would see agriculture changing so much in his lifetime.
“It’s just like farming in Star Wars,” says Jirousek. “The world is changing, and you have to adapt to change in agriculture.”
On a recent afternoon, Kubicek employed his newest toy to plant a mixture of oats, radish, kale and turnips on Jirousek’s 75-acre field. “This is a hobby I get paid for,” said Kubicek smiling as he operated the controls of the drone flying about 30 feet in the air. In addition to farming, he also owns and operates Advantage Cabinets in Owatonna.
For Jirousek, putting cover crops on soybeans is the ideal combination. With the soybeans dropping leaves, the cover crops will be able to hold moisture. “I’m praying for rain,” he said.
Kubicek describes the drone as being “awful smart” as it plants seed. “It knows where to go,” he said. He added it’s smarter than anyone.
Jirousek has educated himself in the offseason during the winter months on cover crops at various workshops and seminars in recent years. He is hoping to utilize some of the techniques on his farmland.
“It’s healthier for the soil if you have something in the soil all the time and cover the soil,” Jirousek said, adding it’s not good to leave the soil naked.
In general, Jirousek has found American farmers have taken a “step backward” with soil health. He hopes that the combination of drone technology and cover crops will bring positive change to agriculture.
There are many benefits of planting cover crops, according to Jirousek. He hopes to save money on fertilizer and fuel costs. “I plan on no tilling,” he said. “I hope to increase the water quality and have less erosion,” he added.
“We are not as good with the practice of soil health,” Jirousek said. “This will be an alternative to the use of chemicals, which are becoming very expensive.”
Jirousek has been planting cover crops for about nine years, but it’s his first adventure with drone technology, which he considers a “more advanced step” with cover crops.
Most farmers, Kubicek said, plant cover crops with grain drills. However, drones allow for things to get planted much sooner. A bonus of drone technology is that it allows for an extra month of growing.
With the drone technology, Jirousek is cautiously optimistic. “I am experimenting with it. It can be a failure, but I’m giving it a try,” he said, noting it will take up to a year to see if his experiment works.
Kubicek is part of the experiment along with Jirousek. Kubicek, who farms 200 acres with his brother, used the drone for cover crops on about half of their crop land in the Hope area.
“Cover crops is definitely catching on,” Kubicek said. He noted there is currently more research being done to make it profitable for farmers. “We want to make sure we are doing this right. We want to grow the best crop we can.”
Kubicek said he expects state laws will change in the future making cover crops mandatory.
Said Jirousek, “I’m willing to try new things with an open mind.”
Kubicek agreed.
“Dean likes to be out on the cutting edge,” he said, adding Jirousek isn’t a typical farmer doing cover crops.
Both Kubicek and Jirousek know they are taking a risk. “I do high stakes gambling every day (with farming),” Jirousek said.
Kubicek said he believes the drone industry is on the cusp of where the bag phone was with cell phone technology back in the mid-1990s. “It’s going to go crazy in the next 5-10 years,” he said.