Precision Farming on the Farm

Don Butcher

Carmen, Manitoba

Introduction

Don Butcher brings a farming background, seven years banking, 17 years in the Manitoba farm supply industry, and three years in Precision Farming to the table. He is a partner in Precision Alliance which is Manitoba's first independent precision farming service provider. Don works from 263 Main Street South, Carman, Manitoba, R0G 0J0 and his telephone number is 204/745-2902.

Modern Precision Farming started approximately five years ago in the American Mid West. It has the absolute latest in technology available to it. Adoption of Precision Farming techniques and management systems in states like Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and Nebraska is growing to reach significant numbers. It is estimated that in 1996, 25% of the acres in these states had some form of Precision Farming applied to them.

Precision Farming is awakening on this side of the border as well. Precision Alliance with McKnight Farms of Roland, MB collected the first geo-referenced yield data in the Province in the fall of 1995 or two years ago. It is estimated that there were 25 combines equipped with GPS yield monitors in operation this past fall in Manitoba. A tremendous amount of technological, agronomic and developmental resources have been and are being poured into Precision Farming in mid west North America.

What is Precision Farming?

The definition and purpose of Precision Farming is to detect and manage variability for profit.

Background

1. Because of numerous factors, crop yield varies significantly over a field. A variation of 100% from low to high yield areas is very common.
2. Every farmer knows some areas in each field yield better than others and many will have a pretty good idea where those areas of variability exist.
3. Farmers do want to make money on every acre of every field.
4. Typically though, mid western commercial farmers have had few opportunities to response on the inputs side to this knowledge of variability in yield. In fact, uniform applications of seed, fertilizer, crop protection, and other field operations on a field basis have been prized farming practices. The necessary technology has not been, until recently, either available or economic for use in commercial farming.
5. On the other hand, typically, a greater effort has been made to respond to yield variability from such landscape variables as drainage, but these efforts have up until now been crude and again hampered by a lack of good, cheap, technology.
6. Most farmers would manage variability in yield if they could because most farmers recognize that if successful, net incomes will go up quickly.
7. Precision Farming techniques enable farmers to change from a uniform application over the entire field to different and appropriate applications on different parts of the field in response to variability in the field.

The movement to Precision Farming does not involve a major rethinking process for most farmers. In a limited way, farmers have been making decisions around variability since the beginning of time. Modern Precision Farming introduced the latest technology to the mix which was previously the fundamental limiting factor. However, it is a requisite of Precision Farming for the individual farmer first make a decision to use available technology to record the location of yield highs and lows (spatial yield data), and the same farmer must second be motivated to respond in some meaningful way to this yield data.

How is Precision Farming Possible?

The technological tools we use in Precision Farming are state of the art, but they largely already exist and have been employed first in the American military and then adopted by the resources industries such as oil, geology and forestry. These technologies have now been adapted to the agricultural industry.

1. GPS (Global Positioning Systems) allow us to collect and store geo-referenced data (spatial data). The volume of spatial data in the new world economy will exceed 80% of the whole shortly. Spacial data will be collected in every walk of life from political, merchandising, statistical, agricultural, transportation, and resources.
2. Remote Sensing (satellite) technology has also been adapted and developed for the Precision Farming market. Allows for the collection of appropriate spatial data which can range from the very current to historical.
3. Variable Rate Technology (VRT) allows crop inputs to be applied at different rates on to different parts of a field. GPS systems, VRT controllers, and prescription maps make this possible.
4. GIS (Geographic Information Systems) are computer programs which already exist and adapted to agriculture which enable us to compare and analyze lots of spatial data pertaining to a certain piece of land usually in "map layers".
5. The Profit Map or geo-referenced financial data presented in map format is the tool which allows us to evaluate economic returns before and after Precision Farming techniques are applied.
6. Precision Farming brings more spatial data to the natural Farming Cycle which already exists.

The Annual (Precision) Farming Cycle

Farming works on an annual cycle. From a management perspective, the cycle starts with a knowledge of last year's results. Take that information and think about it. Make your cropping plan and then throughout the growing season, execute the plan making some minor modifications as you go. Finally harvest the crop and assess the results. Now you are ready to go through another cycle. The typical farmer goes around the cycle 40 times or so in his/her farming career. To be a Precision Farmer, add geo-referencing (long/lat) to certain key elements of the information cycle. The principal of Precision Farming is with better information and with the use of enhanced technology in developing and executing crop plans, the bottom line is better because limited resources are placed to best advantage.

Precision Farming Works in Two Steps

Step One: To Detect Variability

To detect variability you need to obtain spatial yield data. It takes two forms:

1. GPS Yield Data (geo-referenced yield data) collected by the combine or harvester.
2. Remote Sensing Data (geo referenced satellite data - using either light reflection (spectral imagery) or more the more immature technology of using moisture readings by satellites).

Both kinds of data are almost always presented in map form where by the variability can be readily seen by the farmer. This is the first and simplest step in Precision Farming, i.e. to detect variability.

Step Two: To Manage Variability for Profit

The second step is more complex, i.e. to manage variability for profit. The question is: I know the exact degree and location of variability in my crops. Given my individual situation, what is the most appropriate response at this time?

It is here that many potential precision farmers become stalled. This is understandable because the choices of valid responses in any situation can be significant and huge.

The truth is that at this point in time, every response decision made by a precision farmer is no more than an experiment based upon a hypothesis. For example, if I reduce inputs to this low yielding area of my field, I expect there will be no effect on yield and will therefore make more money because I have used less inputs. As we become more mature and experienced in Precision Farming, it is likely that the responses which result in more income will become more and more site specific and not appropriate for a region or even an entire field. In other words, it is likely that good strategies will focus down on to parts of fields or even smaller areas. Appropriate responses will be micro rather than macro in application. This is difficult for many in industry, extension and research organizations to understand.

The issue becomes potentially even more complex when one chooses a different response for parts of fields, but is not sure how to implement the response. Questions emerge like: Can I vary my seeding rate? Does the technology exist? What is the probability that the anticipated benefit will beat the cost (is the risk acceptable to me)?

A third question emerges: How can we evaluate whether the experiment worked and made us more money?

These are the kinds of questions that make even the Innovators and Early Adopters farmers proceed carefully.

Here are Some Answers

1. We are not aware of any valid alternative to Step 1. i.e. Obtain geo-referenced yield data and have it visually represented as a map layer. This is the Alpha step.
2. Step Two - Your Response to variability and therefore Precision Farming itself can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. There is no right approach. Anyone who says otherwise is misinformed.
3. Every Precision Farming plan whether it is the simplest experiment or an entire PF system is valid and may be as unique as the individual farmer who devised it.
4. It is almost a certainty that the technology currently exists to implement virtually any PF plan you can devise. You may need help, but it likely can be done and the cost is dropping.
5. You can accurately determine in a geo referenced way, whether your experiment worked or not. The know how now exists to determine bottom line in a spatial way on any piece of land. Enter the Profit Map - a geo-referenced report on bottom line. We can talk more about this essential tool a bit later.

A Simple Precision Farming Blue Print for a Manitoba Farmer

1. Obtain geo-referenced Yield Data or Remote Sensing Data to identify variability. Where are my good yielding areas and where are my poor yielding areas - exactly.
2. Optionally develop a " Before" Profit Map.
3. Develop a geo-referenced response or experiment. This could be as simple as draining a pot hole to developing an integrated variable rate solution for inputs.
4. Execute the response in a geo-referenced way.
5. Collect yield data.
6. Develop an "After" Profit Map to evaluate.

Expected Outcomes from Precision Farming

1. Precise Spacial Data lends to the concept of Information Farming.
2. There is no more powerful management tool than the geo-referenced bottom line - or Profit Map. You will know what areas of what fields are contributing to your bottom line and exactly what areas are robbing from your bottom line. A valid strategy is to reduce the losses or enhance the profit areas or a combination of both approaches.
3. Better returns will accrue to the Precision Farmer.
4. The PF system is valid from an environmental view point. It offers the best in record keeping, monitoring and for liability purposes.
5. As more money can be made per acre with Precision Farming, the positive impacts on Sustainability in agriculture and on the social structure of rural Manitoba are great. The drive to larger farms should diminish because, through better returns, farm family units are more readily able to gain a good income from fewer acres.

Challenges to Precision Farming in Manitoba

1. The first challenge is for farmers to recognize that individualized spatial responses are possible and profitable.
2. There is currently a risk that the Manitoba Precision Farming Initiative is too influenced by industry and educational institutions. These are not the people who make their living directly from the land, and so therefore, may not recognize that very individualized responses are valid if the process were more precision farmer driven. If Precision Farming is industry driven, it will tend to be artificial and susceptible to self serving influences from industry at least in the short term.
3. It is key to the success and Sustainability to Precision Farming in Manitoba that the PF journey be farmer driven.
4. A recognition of the range of potential complexity in Precision Farming is necessary. A valid PF response can be as simple as a decision to drain a low spot and then monitor the result to an extremely complex one which uses remote sensing information, variable rate technology and a dozen map layers of information to drive a sophisticated Precision Farming Management System.
5. With any change in farm management, it is wise to set up an evaluation process to determine if the change has paid for itself. Precision Farming is no different. In fact because our data is now spatial, we can calculate financial results literally by-the-foot. If a certain area of a field responds better or worse than other parts of the field to a change, we will know it exactly and can take the appropriate action in the next farming cycle. The tool is the Profit Map and forms a GIS map layer. You want to paint your Profit Map all green!
6. Many of us need to walk before we run. Walking is fine, but the sooner we start to walk down the path to Precision Farming, there is no question in my mind, the sooner you start to increase your returns in the annual farming cycle.