Precision farming offers us many exciting opportunities to use new technologies to better manage crop production. In my last article, you will recall I talked about some key technologies and costs associated with the various pieces of equipment needed for an accurate analysis of a field problem and how to respond to those problems in the field, along with the "ground- proofing" necessary to verify the problem. I mentioned the very large amount of data that is generated from the yield monitors and the site specific equipment. Being able to "see through" the pile of data paper is an area where you are likely to have to employ the services of a professional agrologist to help you respond to problems, plan your farming operations, and quantify the expected payback.
These "expert" agrologists are few and far between at present, and are more than likely to appear first at the dealer level in the person of your fertilizer agent or the service that provides you with your chemical crop protection supplies. These dealers will likely charge you a minimal fee for analysis, in the hope they may continue to supply you with your regular farm needs. In this case, you both win. The important thing to remember is thatYou own the data.
Okay, so now you know where to look for help, but how the H........do you get started? First, you should attempt to learn something about site specific farming by reading, going to seminars or through crop management clubs. The Internet is another source if you are connected. You can often acquire the right information from the same source you already use to help you make your decisions in the day to day planing and operation of your own farm, albeit the designated agent who is specializing in precision farming will have a much greater and more applicable knowledge.
One of the first methods suggested is to start by getting a hold of a yield monitor for your combine or asking your custom harvester for the data card from his machine. He may charge you something for the card, but it may still be much cheaper than owning a new combine with a yield monitoring function already built in.
A number of people in the industry seem to think that you need 3 years of data before you can start to analyze your farm and "write a prescription" for fertilizer application, or try something to correct what the problem might be.
I maintain that you will probably begin to realize differences right away from having a knowledge of your fields. You automatically know where old fence lines were or areas of forage were located in the past, and this is simply a matter of proving what you already thought; in other words, you suspect that the old alfalfa ground might produce more yield than a field that was cropped 50:50 for the past 20 years Some common sense tells you things about your farm without all the expense of another electronic gadget. Low areas are also more likely to produce higher yields than hills especially in years of minimal rainfall. Yet, in spite of all this, the dang monitors really capture your attention when you are operating the combine in the field. In fact, some days you can't remember going up and down the field at all, because you spent all day watching the monitor spit out the information on yields. and all the while, recording the stuff on a little bitty card that fits in your pocket
At the end of the day or the harvest you take the card and carry it to a computer set up to do analysis and draw maps to help you visualize just what the results are. This is where the cross reference with "ground -proofing" comes in. The pretty map may show you that an area near a slough yielded 142 bushels per acre, but it didn't tell you that the guy doing the swathing left a big wad of crop right there and tends to throw the results off. Don't get me wrong; the map will likely give you a lot of areas in question, and you may get a very high yield in a certain area. That is the point that you begin to "Put it all together" and figure out just how you achieved the result, (either good or bad) and what you plan to do about it. You can sit down and then begin to plan how to get more yield in the areas that did well and you can possibly adjust to deal with areas of low yield.The name of the game is maximizing yield economically. This concept is merely a tool to help you do just that.
Areas that can be identified include high or low nutrients, rock locations, weed problem locations, possible compaction problem areas, different varieties, slopes in the field, insect pest areas, crop moisture levels and many others. The Global Positioning Systems that can be aligned and attached to the monitor information is capable of generating large amounts of pertinent information about your field or farm. Making use of that information is then the task that falls on you shoulders or between you and your "Geo-Processor" ( the guy that owns the computer and helps you analyse your data)
Develop a field recording system if you don't already have one. A book in your pocket or in the machine will help you remember what happened. Start to form learning partnerships with others that have some knowledge of site specific farming. These could include other farmers, agri-business people, crop consultants, university people etc.
Next time I will tell you more about the many benefits of
precision farming , but in the meantime, here are some questions
to ask that can help you avoid potential precision farming
pitfalls.
1. Can you justify the expense?
2. Will it pay on the farm?
3.How fast do I jump in?
4.How do I start?
5.Will the price of the technology drop?
6. Have I done my homework?
7.Is the yield monitor for my combine user-friendly?
8.Are the electronic pieces compatible?
9.How do I handle and store the raw data?
10. How fast do I change?
Answers to these and other questions will follow in the next articles. Happy Farming.