Exata Group manages more than 27,000 hectares of land and is one of the largest agricultural companies in Slovakia. Their goal is to provide professional services in the field of plant and animal production, which are based on the latest technologies and the experience of their professional team.
„For the second year since the implementation of precision agriculture principles, we have successfully saved €26 per hectare on fertilizers and seeds.“
The management of the company tries to look ahead in the long term, and therefore they consider it necessary to start with precision agriculture in as many enterprises from their portfolio as possible. The decision to introduce precision agriculture was almost unanimous. A team has been formed to deal with the matter. They did a detailed research and selected several supplier companies that could match the required criteria. In addition, they focused on the long-term goals that Exata should achieve. "The CleverFarm company was one of the four companies with which we started cooperation. After the first meeting, we immediately decided that this company met our requirements. The team of experts and the platform they offered looked very promising.'', explains Ing. Ján Narancsík, manager of precision agriculture for EXATA GROUP, a.s. "We did some tests of what CleverFarm offers on our fields and based on that we decided to continue," continues Narancsík.
In the first year, Exata applied the principle of precision agriculture on 700 hectares. It is one thing to have a professional platform and a professional guarantor, but another thing is also the introduction of technical things such as GPS, RTK, spreader. This is a big and important step for the company to continue implementing precision agriculture.
„Since CleverFarm also offers consultation on technological solutions in its portfolio, this aspect significantly facilitated our operations. Additionally, it was great that the CleverFarm team guided us through the entire process of precision agriculture. From analyzing the crop plan for the season, collecting data from combines on yields and soil samples, to continuous monitoring of crop conditions at the parcel level, providing expert advice, and evaluating the economic impacts on yields, nutrient balances, and nitrogen utilization at the parcel/zone level. They also recommended suitable steps for the following season, which brought us even greater efficiency.’’ Ján Narancsík.
‚‚We have to look at economy, efficiency and, of course, effectiveness. Of course, sustainability, i.e. ecological efficiency, is an integral part. However, the economy clearly wins from all these goals. We need the right data to make a decision. It is a mistake when someone thinks that they will buy some SW and immediately produce and save tens of percent. We realize that we need at least 2-3 years to get the best possible data’,’ continues Narancsík.
With increasing data such as soil samples, current and historical data on the condition of the vegetation and the experience of the previous year, decisions are made much better. In the second year, Exata expanded the application of precision agriculture by almost 1000 hectares. The aim was to save on fertilizers and seeds.
For complete, the recommendation is to reduce the amount of nitrogen to almost zero. In the future, this part of the plot may switch to a regenerative farming method with the aim of retaining water and thus becoming permanent grass.
After having sufficient data, we decided to trust in our strategies and began to save on fertilizers and seeds. This helped us save a significant amount of money in 2023.
The total savings on fertilizers and seeds on a total area of 1500 hectares in the 2022/2023 season were 39,700 euros. This equals savings of 26 euros per hectare.
