Tag Archive for: GPS

Benefits of Applying Precision Ag Management Principles on Nebraska Farmland

Precision Ag

With the advent of satellite technology over the last two decades, many Nebraska farmers are implementing Precision Agriculture (PA) managing techniques on their farmland. Also known as Site Specific Crop Management (SSCM), the practice involves managing land based on observing, measuring, and responding to inter- and intra-field variability in crops.

Precision Ag revolves around the idea that treating an entire field as a uniform area is wasteful, and may use an excess of costly resources in the form of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Since a field can contain wide variations in soil types, nutrient availability, and other important factors, not taking these variations into account can result in a loss of productivity.

As such, producers employing Precision Ag practices are discovering its many advantages, including enhanced crop quality, increased agricultural profitability and sustainability, environmental advantages, as well as the optimized use of agricultural pesticides, fertilizers, seeds, water, and energy. Combined, these advantages add up quickly for producers.

There are several main PA managing components. The first relies on Satellite-Based Auto-Guidance. GPS technology is at the forefront of PA. For instance, Precision planting technology allows farmers to use less seed, plant at the right depth at every part of their field, and use the correct type and amount of fertilizer at a very site specific level. Companies are coming out with ever-improving auto guidance technology each year in order to improve farmers’ knowledge of their fields, so that they can adjust, even despite diverse growing environments. Overall, this makes for better yields.

Another main component of PA is yield monitoring and mapping. This comes during harvest, when growers are able to collect geo-referenced data on crop yield characteristics. A farmer’s yield map will contain specific information about moisture content and yield down to a very small area, thus allowing him to make better growing decisions.

When it all boils down, it’s about the soil, and PA technology measures a variety of soil properties by using on-the-go vehicle-based sensors. These sensors are used with GPS to create field maps, which in turn control variable rate application equipment in real-time. Soil type, pH, soil moisture, and other factors are measured and taken into account during planting, spraying, and harvesting.

PA technology also relies on soil sampling, and as a result, producers are able to choose the right seed, plant at the correct depth, apply the appropriate fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, and water for optimum results.

Finally, PA technology allows producers to manage their irrigation practices more efficiently, saving them significant amounts of money. Probes that monitor soil moisture are utilized, and are able to be monitored from the home computer or tablet.

Overall, PA is really about using the best of technology to save money on inputs and improve yields based on very site-specific field data. The advantages are numerous, not only for the environment, but also the farmer’s bottom line.

Are you considering ways to incorporate Precision Agriculture on your farmland? Are you interested in learning about the latest technology available for producers? Feel free to contact a UFARM land manager. We have lots of experience with various PA practices, and are happy to help you make the most of your farming operation.

UFARM offers a full range of Nebraska land management services, including real estate sales, rural property appraisals, consultations and crop insurance. UFARM has operated in Nebraska since the early 1930’s. Contact us today!

Sources consulted: “Precision Agriculture.” CropWatch. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.  Pfister, Betsy. “What is Precision Agriculture?” Directions Magazine. Directions Media. 01 Dec. 1998. Web. 03 Dec. 2015

Benefits of Precision Agriculture

Precision FarmingWith all the new advances in agriculture cropping up over the last several years—whether it’s advances in equipment or developments in seed hybrids—perhaps none is doing more to change the farming landscape than the advent of precision agriculture. Farmers across the nation are turning toward this technological innovation, and are readily seeing its myriad benefits to their farming operations.

Precision agriculture, also known as site-specific farming, is made possible by combining the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the geographic information system (GIS). By uniting these two systems, it is possible to analyze, interpret, and manipulate large amounts of geospatial data with efficiency and in real time. Farmers are applying this technology—in whole or in part—to nearly every aspect of their farms, including farm planning, field mapping, soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting, variable rate applications, and yield mapping.

What are the potential benefits of adding precision technology to your farm? Naturally, there is a strong economic advantage: Precision technology enables users to increase their farm ROI. This comes from a combination of better efficiency at planting to greater yields at harvest, as well as more effective applications during the growing season. What’s more, it is apparent that these economic advantages are made manifest in a short amount of time—often in the first year.

In addition to greater ROI, farmers who have adopted precision ag technologies in their operations report other benefits. For example, autosteer in tractors and combines lowers stress on both shoulders and minds, as operators are able to pay more attention to what is going on over the whole field, rather than focusing intently on driving in a straight line.

Experienced users of precision technology on their farms will admit to a certain degree of skepticism at first, both in regard to the initial investment and the overall perception of need. However, the cost savings combined with the other more tangential benefits readily eradicate any initial uncertainty. Experts in the field and farmers themselves will admit that one needn’t go “whole hog” when adopting these systems on their farms. Often, taking it step by step is the best and least stressful way of incorporating these technologies. A great example of this is in seed control—an area that has seen significant cost increases. Implementing precision technology in this area alone could cut down on overlap during planting and offer significant savings.

Naturally, technology moves quickly, and even more exciting innovations in precision agriculture are on the horizon. One such advancement is with planters—including high speed planters and multi hybrid planters, which will allow farmers to micromanage their fields at small areas that would have seemed impossible 10 years ago. These multi hybrid planters will enable farmers to plant a suitable hybrid for each portion of their field, thereby increasing their yields and profitability.

Are you looking to incorporate precision technology on your farm and are not sure where to start? Let the experts at UFARM offer a helping hand. We’ll do all we can to help you choose the best way to optimize your farming operation.

United Farm and Ranch Management (UFARM) is a Nebraska-based company devoted to meeting landowners’ needs. UFARM offers a full range of Nebraska land management services, including real estate sales, rural property appraisals, consultations and crop insurance. UFARM has operated in Nebraska since the early 1930’s.

Sources:

“Agriculture Applications.” GPS.gov. 27 Sep. 2013. Web. 28 Jun. 2014.

Johnson, Jan. “Precision Agriculture: Higher Profit, Lower Cost.” Precision AgWorks. PrecisionAg.com. 01 Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Jun. 2014.

Scott, Jessie. “The Planter of the Future is Here.” Agriculture. Agriculture.com. 15 Jun. 2014.Web. 28 Jun. 2014.

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Emerging Technology Trends in Agriculture

Center PivotAs with any industry, technology is changing the way farmers manage nearly every aspect of their farming operations. New developments in technology are making it possible for farmers to be more productive, from the seeds they put into the ground, to the machinery they use to plant and harvest their crops, to the data they obtain about their fields, to the ways they monitor and grow those crops. Keeping up to date on the latest technology in each of these areas is critical to staying ahead of the curve, and to caring for the land in the best way possible.

Some of the most innovative technological advances in agriculture are in the area of crop biotechnology. Scientists now understand more about seed genetics than ever before in history, and are creating highly specialized seeds that are able to perform in many varying types of fields with an astonishingly high degree of specificity. Faced with a growing world population, farmers in the US and around the world will need to double food production to meet the demand by 2050, according to United Nations figures and reported by Robert T. Fraley, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Monsanto Company.

Speaking to a group at a Farm Journal forum last year, Fraley explained how biotechnology and communication technology will converge to create even more remarkable innovations in the industry. “‘The farm tractor today has more computer power than the first spaceship that went to the moon,’ he said, explaining that DeKalb will launch a FieldScripts program in 2014 that will help farmers vary planting within 10-by-20-meter grids. The program will match the best seed and planting rate with zones on a farm.”

As Fraley reported and many producers can already attest, technological advances in machinery go hand in hand with the types of seeds that are being planted. Farmers are taking advantage of different software programs and GPS technology that work together to help them plot their fields, dividing them into specified groups based on characteristics such as soil type. These software programs also keep track of yields and many other types of data.

Aside from these innovations, farm machinery is also steadily advancing, making planting, spraying, and harvesting more efficient and accomplished with greater ease. For instance, farmers are now able to use direct injection sprayers that can apply different chemicals at variable rates. These sprayers eliminate the need to mix chemicals in a separate tank, thereby eliminating the need to clean the tanks. They also lessen exposure to the chemicals by the operator, and put less excess product on the ground. An in-cab control console allows the farmer to control the rates at which the chemical is applied.

Technological advances are also present in irrigation and drought management practices. Especially after 2012’s drought, farmers are focused on using their water resources as efficiently and economically as possible. They are taking advantage of software that monitors their pivots’ output and texts them when the pivot has completed its circle or has encountered a problem, saving time and money. Innovations that peek under the soil in the form of highly advanced soil moisture probes are increasingly being utilized by farmers to ensure that their crops are getting the right amount of moisture at the correct depth and at the right time during the plant’s growth cycle. These moisture probes are able to communicate directly to a computer or smartphone, so that producers can stay on top of their crop’s progress at all times and from any location. Another developing irrigation technology are variable rate pivots that can be programmed to water less or more based on different aspects of the field.

Today’s advancing farm technology makes it an exciting time to be in agriculture, and farmers are doing important work by using it to grow the crops that feed their families and the world.  Our UFARM managers understand the importance of this emerging technology and can help landowners determine what kinds of technology are valuable to have on their farm.

Sources: (Thompson, Boyce. “Fraley: Technology Will Be Key to Feeding the World Population.”Farm Journal. Agweb.com. 5 Dec. 2013. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.)