Jesse Blasi recalls when his dealer came to the farm to demonstrate a new targeted sprayer. Using blue dye and water, the dealer did a run through the field.
“It doesn’t miss weeds,” said Blasi who farms in Kansas. “We saw a patch of blue dye, but didn’t see the weed. I found it behind a soybean stalk the size of a pencil. It had been nailed by the sprayer. It took me three minutes to find the weed the sprayer hit.”
Blasi spoke at a panel during the 2025 Commodity Classic, and was joined by Illinois farmer Max Hodel, who grows non-GMO soybeans, which can complicate weed control. Hodel uses the targeted two-tank spray system, See & Spray Ultimate.
Beyond herbicide savings
Hodel said overlapping residual herbicides controls weeds in non-GMO soybeans and mitigates plant stress. “We’re trying to have a healthier crop overall,” he said. “A big concern for us is carryover on next year’s corn crop.”
Targeted spraying also lets Hodel use harsher herbicides at a lower volume in a post-application.
According to Bryan Young, Purdue weed specialist, a solid preemerge weed program using a full-rate herbicide can significantly reduce weeds. In his research, he found foliar spraying could be reduced by 90% with targeted sprayers. For identity-preserved soybeans treated as non-GMO, that meant the targeted sprayer was hitting only 10% of the field. “Instead of having 40% injury on my soybeans from a broadcast spray, we saw only 4%, according to the injury index,” he said.
Farmers often lament that they don’t have enough time in the season for overlapping residuals. “That’s probably not an overlapping residual program,” Young said. “Your first application probably expired. You have escapes, and now you’re spraying weeds with the foliar herbicide that are 6 to 8 inches tall. You’re just applying another residual herbicide. There’s no overlap.”
With a targeted sprayer, you can enter fields earlier to hit those smaller weeds with a full-rate herbicide, using less product and minimizing weed resistance.
Less product applied during a pass has other advantages, Blasi said. To cover a field, a conventional broadcast sprayer would require refilling every 40 minutes. With the targeted spray system, he starts at 7:30 in the morning and doesn’t look for the tender until 3:30 p.m.
“That guy can be doing another job on the farm. You can eliminate manpower with this system,” he said.
Training and ROI
Hodel used a nozzle system with pulse-width modulation before upgrading to a targeted system. “I think that makes a difference in understanding this new sprayer,” he said. “Knowing how these systems work with boom recharge and other features makes a difference.”
While the learning curve isn’t steep, Hodel said some planning can boost efficiency. “Having the twin-tank system is like two sprayers in one,” he said.
For example, one tank can be for targeted spraying with a herbicide; the other can contain a fungicide for broadcast spraying; or both tanks can be used for a broadcast spray, or targeted spraying.
This approach offers two application passes in one trip. “It definitely added complexity, and we invested in having a second inductor in the field [to tend],” Hodel said. “You have to have a guy that’s invested in understanding the machine to use it to its full potential.”
As for return on investment, Blasi said he saved $123,000 on his 4,500-acre farm in 2024, versus 2023.
ROI for targeted spraying is found in other areas. In a 415-acre trial by Iowa State University, controlling weeds postemerge in soybeans until full canopy saved 4,700 gallons of tank-mix and $6,500 worth of herbicide.
This technology “could separate guys that make it and guys that don’t,” Blasi said.
Vogt writes from Minnesota.