Hoober Inc: Case IH, Kubota, Farm Equipment Dealer Index

Only Ability to Receive Cell Phone Signal Required

(Intercourse, PA) – There’s no denying precision farming, GPS and RTK (Real Time Kinematic) technology continues to make an enormous impact on farming. The incredible accuracy, added efficiency, and increased productivity are essential to the future of the farming community.

Now, through a co-operative effort between Keystone Precision Instruments, a construction and survey equipment company, and Hoober, Inc., a Case IH dealer, RTK technology will be available to more farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region than ever before. Relying on Virtual Reference Stations (VRS) through a network owned by Keystone Precision Instruments, Hoober can now provide GPS and RTK technology and accuracy to any farmer who can receive a cell phone signal.

“We have an agreement with Keystone Precision Instruments that allows us to access their KeyNetGPS network –which is what they call their VRS network, for our RTK corrections,” said Ken Diller, who heads up Hoober’s Precision Ag Support Team. “Their network covers everything from the lower edge of Maine all the way to the North Carolina border.”

While nearly everyone has experienced issues with their cell phone losing its signal depending on where you are, the strength of the signal with the KeyNetGPS network takes coverage to a completely different level.

“You can be in an area that’s very, very marginal for your cell phone, but what you find is even in those situations, when you compare the signal strength of your cell phone to the signal strength with this VRS network, it’s a whole different world,” said Diller.

Given the demand for precision and accuracy in surveying and construction requirements, Keystone Precision Instruments developed KeyNetGPS three years ago. Hoober approached Keystone Precision Instruments with an agricultural application for the technology, resulting in an economical and viable RTK option for all farmers.

“We took tractors with AutoPIlot on them, put in the modem, and ran a test line at five different locations in Pennsylvania and Delaware,” said Diller. “We put two orange flags one inch outside each rear tire and we ran the exact same line for a week. We never touched a flag, proving the network’s accuracy.”

With the VRS network the tractor itself acts as a base station so corrections from the network server are specific to the tractor. In addition, unlike RTK network towers which provide coverage within an eight mile radius, farmers now have the ability to operate anywhere within the KeyNetGPS coverage area without losing accuracy.

Flexibility is another benefit for farmers using the VRS network. Farmers have the ability to get the RTK accuracy for less money by purchasing their own data plans.. If RTK accuracy isn’t needed all year long then a data plan can be purchased one month at a time as needed; saving the farmer money.

Hoober has exclusive rights to the KeyNetGPS network in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and parts of Virginia. This agreement illustrates Hoober’s confidence in the network’s reliability, performance and capability.

“We’ve been testing the technology for at least three months and we’ve been very pleased with what we’ve seen,” said Diller. “We’ll continue to do testing between now and the end of the year and we anticipate being fully prepared to get farmers ready for planting next spring.”

About Hoober
Founded in 1941, Hoober, Inc. has four locations (Intercourse, PA, McAlisterville, PA, Middletown, DE, and Seaford, DE) and serves agricultural and construction customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

About Keystone Precision Instruments