July 29, 2016
CapitalPress.com
5
Precision ag by
way of boot straps
Barry Peterson
helps bring a game
changer to the
marketplace
Barry Peterson
Position: Integrated
Solutions manager, Papé
Machinery.
Age: 52
Family: Wife, Valerie, married
30 years; has two sons and a
grandson
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
When Pacific Northwest
farmers and ranchers walk
into Papé Machinery deal-
erships later this month,
they’ll be able to peruse
John Deere equipment as
usual. But they’ll also be
able to check out the lat-
est precision ag offering: A
twin-camera, 5-pound drone
they can toss in the back of
the pickup and program to
fly their fields.
Papé has reached an
agreement to sell the Ag-
Drone, designed and man-
ufactured by HoneyComb
Corp., of Wilsonville, Ore.
For about $21,000, the
buyer gets a full package
of plane, case, spare parts,
training and, most critical,
data processing.
The arrangement un-
derlines Papé’s embrace of
advanced agricultural tech-
nology. Data from the Ag-
Drone can be downloaded
seamlessly into John Deere
equipment, officials with
both companies say, with
real-time machine to ma-
chine communication prob-
ably on the horizon.
The man at the center
of Papé’s move isn’t your
classic computer geek with
a university degree. He’s
not an electrical engineer or
software developer.
Nope. Barry Peterson, Pa-
pé’s Integrated Solutions man-
ager, came out of the compa-
ny’s equipment rental division
and didn’t go to college.
Courtesy of Papé Machinery
Barry Peterson rose through the
ranks and as integrated solu-
tions manager is taking Papé
Machinery into the drone age.
He worked for an elec-
trical sign company before
joining Papé 24 years ago.
He is primarily self-taught
on computers. Recognizing
he needed to get up to speed
in an equipment industry
transformed by “tele-matics,”
he sought out information
technology specialists for
insight. It became clear agri-
culture and technology were
merging.
“Early on, one of the
things that kept coming to
the surface is the popula-
tion is growing, and they’re
building where farms used
to be,” he said. “We’ve got
to figure out a way to feed
billions of people with less
land. One of the best ave-
nues to do that is through
precision agriculture.”
He’s immersed himself
in remote diagnostics, auto-
mated controls and the pro-
duction and operational data
gathered by modern farm
machinery, “Connectivity is
really the key,” he said.
In preparation for sell-
ing the AgDrone, Peterson
learned how to do mission
planning — programming
the drone’s flight over
fields. Papé sales reps will
train buyers how to use the
drone system.
Background: Born in Eu-
gene, Ore., bounced around
to other Oregon towns,
graduated from McNary High
School in Keizer in 1982.
Began work for Papé 24
years ago and was named
Integrated Solutions manager
in 2013.
Notable: Not an electrical en-
gineer or software developer.
Realized early on he needed
to be tech savvy and plunged
into the world of computers.
The job puts him at the con-
vergence of agriculture and
technology.
Outlook: When I was
approached to take on the
position, I didn’t know where
I was going to go but I knew
we had to start placing our
focus on this.”
The takeaway: “I love it.
It’s been one of the most
challenging, one of the most
rewarding jobs ever.”
The potential uses ap-
pear endless, Peterson said.
High-resolution
imagery,
mapping and the ability to
geo-tag problem areas in
ields are available to pro-
ducers.
Growers will have an ad-
ditional layer of data to mon-
itor crop health, he said, and
precise GPS data can be used
to pinpoint visual inspection,
guide machinery and provide
variable rate treatment.
“This next step is defi-
nitely a game changer,” Pe-
terson said.
This story irst appeared
Jan. 22, 2016.
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