Precision Farming

What is Precision Farming?

As the Earth's population continues to climb steadily producers need to use all the tools available to maximize yields to supply our needs as human beings. As the population climes, the land available for producers to use is going down. This causes a dilemma, we need to produce more food with less farmable acres.  This is where the role of new farming technology comes into play.  This new technology is called precision farming. There are many different variables that are included in precision farming.  These different variables include, GPS, AIM command, crop prescriptions and many more. GPA is the main topic of precision farming that I will be writing on today.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

When most of us see the word GPS, we would probably assume that this is the little device that is on the dash of our car. Many of you may be wondering where GPS fits into the agriculture business. As a producer, there are many variables that go into producing a good crop.  One of them that is important, is accuracy.  You may be wondering what I mean by this. When a farmer is seeding or spraying, it is important to be accurate, or drive straight.  Its is important because when seeding, there is a certain number of seeds per acre that provide the field with maximum yield.  

If a producer is not driving straight or he is overlapping land that has already been seeded there is a chance for yield loss which leads to money loss. Driving straight is also important to a producer when he is applying herbicides or fungicides.  There is a certain amount of gallons per acre that are required for proper functioning of the applied chemical, when products are overlapped or land is not adequately applied there is a chance for chemical burn (too much applied) or there is a chance for plants to be overtaken by weeds (skipped application). Applying to much or too little chemical is also important to the farmer because it economically affects the farmer                                                                                           with reduced yield losses.

How does GPS work?

There are are a few different types of GPS (offered by Case IH) that offer three different types of accuracy.  Some examples of these GPS types include  Egnos, OmniSTAR, and RTK.  These GPS systems are listed in order from least accurate to most accurate.  The Egnos guidance system is standard with most new pieces of equipment.  This offers accuracy within 20 cm.  Next is the OmniSTAR which offers accuracy within 10-12 cm.  Finally the last guidance system offered is RTK, which offers accuracy within 2cm.  

The difference between these GPS systems and the reasons for the different accuracy is due to how they obtain their signals.  The first two mentioned, Egnos and OmniSTAR, receive their signals direct from a satellite.  RTK, however receives its signal from a tower located at a "home" station that is located within ten miles.  The signal from the satellite is sent to the RTK tower, which is then sent to the tractor or piece of machinery that is being used.  The main use for RTK is for its superb accuracy.  This guidance system is used mainly in crops that are row crops.  RTK can be used with any piece of machinery set up with this program but it does require a year to year prescription.

Summary

GPS is a system used for producers to overall help them save money.  This system is used for seeding, spraying, spreading and harvesting with supreme accuracy. This system takes away some of the mental stress that naturally occurs with farming.  With one less thing to think about, farmers are able to do their absolute best.