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Agronomy, Controlled Traffic Systems, Precision Agriculture, Projects

LandWISE Gisborne Field Walk

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On 1 December about 20 visitors walked the paddocks at Opou Station, Manutuke, near Gisborne.

This field walk was courtesy of David Clark and gave local farmers and industry people a chance to view his Precision Agriculture program in maize. 8 seasons of controlled traffic have benefited soil structure, biology and profitability at this site, along with a 50% reduction in fuel use. Fuel savings are due to the heavy cultivation operations becoming redundant after wheel traffic was isolated to permanent tracks using GPS.

David and Stuart Briant spoke about their adoption of GPS to control traffic and reduce overlap in their mixed cropping and specialized seed growing operation. They have passed the teething stage and are seeing benefits in efficiency and operator comfort.

Thanks to Clark Farming and F&D Briant for their support of LandWISE and this event.
For further information: Call James on 06 6504531 or 0272 757757, email james@landwise.org.nz or see www.landwise.org.nz for updates.

Agronomy, Controlled Traffic Systems, Irrigation, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Water

Foundation for Arable Research Combinable Crops

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On 3 December 2009 FAR held their Combinable Crops Field Day at their arable trial site in Chertsey in Canterbury.
420 attended and saw presentations on technology, cropping, water and Precision Ag.
Speakers included Carolyn Hedley from Landcare Research on Precision Irrigation, Ian Yule from NZ Centre for Precision Ag, along with FAR presenters, Andrew Curtis from Irrigation NZ, researchers and farmers.

James Powrie and Dan Bloomer, spoke on the Advanced Farming Systems project and strip tillage.
Jim Wilson, Precision Ag specialist and arable farmer from UK was the keynote speaker, on crop sensing, zonal management and variable rate and his presentation is here as a separate posting.

Thanks to FAR for the high quality of this event and for assembling an audience who are showing more and more interest in Precision Ag.
For further information: Call James on 06 6504531 or 0272 757757, email james@landwise.org.nz or see www.landwise.org.nz for updates.

Agronomy, Precision Agriculture, Projects

Precision Ag field day, courtesy of Craige and Ros Mackenzie, Methven

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On 4 December FAR and LandWISE hosted a field walk at the farm of Craige and Ros Mackenzie in Methven. Jim Wilson spoke on Precision Ag and Crop sensors and the application of this technology in his native Scotland.

The session was a general exploration of what Craige has been doing with PA. A demonstration was given of the Weedseeker sensor. This involved a spray boom mounted on a quad and successful spraying of weeds laid out on the yard, after each sensor tripped its adjacent nozzle.

Craige then showed the group some crop sensor trial work he has done with the variable rate application of growth regulants and fungicides to good effect.

Craige has been sufficiently convinced in the value of crop sensors that he has established a Precision Ag equipment company called Agri Optics in partnership with his daughter Jemma. They will supply Weedseeker and Greenseeker products to NZ farmers.

Thanks to Agri Optics, Craige and Ros Mackenzie and FAR for hosting this event.
For further information: Call James on 06 6504531 or 0272 757757, email james@landwise.org.nz or see www.landwise.org.nz for updates.

Agronomy, Controlled Traffic Systems, Drainage, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Water

FAR and LandWISE Precision Ag field day at Lawson’s Organic Farms in Hastings

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On 8 December FAR and LandWISE co-hosted a Precision Agriculture and Advanced Farming Systems session at the Centre for Land and Water. Jim Wilson from Soil Essentials in the UK, gave a presentation on crop sensors and variable rate management to a group of 28 farmers and industry representatives.
Case IH sponsored lunch for the group at the Centre for Land and Water.

After lunch the group reconvened at Lawson’s Organic Farms to view Scott Lawson’s high tech organic operation in Ngatarawa road. Scott is using GPS to guide his cultivation in a seasonal controlled traffic operation in fresh and process vegetables.

Thanks to CASE IH, FAR for support of this event and True Earth Organics for hosting the field walk.

For further information: Call James on 06 6504531 or 0272 757757, email james@landwise.org.nz or see www.landwise.org.nz for updates.

Agronomy, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Soil

Jim Wilson Speaks at the Foundation for Arable Research Combinable Crops Day

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Jim Wilson is a farmer and also runs Soil Essentials, which is a Precision Ag and agronomy consulting company in Scotland. He came to NZ this month to speak at FAR Combinable Crops day and has been hosted by FAR and LandWISE to speak at numerous field walks and events while here.

The FAR Combinable Crops day is an annual event, and is a great place for Arable farmers to catch up on new technology and research in agronomy. Over 420 people attended the event at Chertsey this year, which is a new record.

Jim’s take home message was simple:

“Precision Agriculture (PA) is common sense.  Fields and crops are variable, yet we tend to ignore this when managing them.  I first got interested in the early 90’s when harvesting a field of spring barley.   The yield could change from 3 tonnes/ha to 10 tonnes/ha within 20 metres.  As it had cost the same to grow the low yielding as the high yielding area, I was losing money on the low area.  How can we change this?”

Jim spoke about how fields are variable and crops are variable and yet we treat them with blanket prescriptions of fertiliser and agrichemicals. This means we are losing money and wasting inputs on low yielding areas.

Low yielding areas cost the same to grow as high yielding ones. The other side of this is that we are under applying on the high yielding areas.

Some variability is inherent (e.g, variable depths of subsoil and topspoil) and some is man-made (like heavily fertilised areas where the truck is loaded, where mistakes are made or the where last part load is repeatedly spread in a paddock). In areas where crops grow better year after year, they remove more nutrient.

Poor yielding areas can lead to surpluses of unused nutrients in the soil. These can lead to problems in some cases. In all cases the surpluses represent waste. In high yielding areas removals can lead to a deficiency and if can lead to the nutrient in question becoming a limiting factor. This can lead to high yielding areas becoming low yielding areas.

These effects can add to the variability, and result in lower average yields per unit of input. Precision Agriculture offers some new options and Jim explained how we can use our eyes and other tools to create zonal management to address this variability. When we address variability with Precision Agriculture, we make improvements into the future.

Yield mapping

This is an excellent tool to quantify and locate limiting factors in your crops. Yield maps are useful for strategy, especially when multiple years are layered together. Their limitation is that they give you information too late for the crop they represent. Yield maps are excellent when reviewing what works or doesn’t work on your land.

Soil sampling

This can be used as an aid to finding limiting factors.  A basic strategy is to sample known high and low yielding areas. If you find significant variation between these you may choose to sample on a grid and then use the resulting map to program variable rate fertilising. A start point may be to split each field according to old field boundaries then split each into low medium and high yielding areas for sampling.

Soil EM mapping

Soil EM sensing such as EM38, measures the apparent electrical conductivity of soil. This is influenced by the amount of salt, water or clay in the soil. To achieve the most robust picture of soil texture (and likely water holding capacity) an EM survey is best conducted with the soil at or near field capacity. The EM map can then be used as a basis for placing soil moisture probes and for scheduling variable rate irrigation.

So What can I do once I find poor yielding areas?

Variable rate lime can be applied according to sampled ’tiles’. Jim uses a 50 by 50m grid with a number of samples aggregated from each ‘tile’ in the grid.

P and K variable rate applications can be designed by calculating offtakes from yield maps. Where high soil levels occur, an option is to apply none in that year.

Seed can be variably sown if soil moisture, or pests such as slugs are a problem. This has been found to dramatically increase yields for little cost.

These responses to poor yielding areas can correct variability. In some situations, causes can not be found or are too expensive to correct. In these cases a choice has to be made, either to stop farming these areas, to grow a different crop there, or to reduce the growing costs and bring them back into profit.

What about crop sensors?

Because the tools described above are based largely on crop history, the arrival of crop sensors brings some exciting options. Each plant becomes an indicator of present soil, water and nutrient conditions. The various sensors use a combination of visible and near infra red light. The use of the NIR band means that problems can be seen 7 to 10 days before they are visible to the eye.

A common index called NDVI (normalised distribution vegetation index) is calculated from the difference between red and near infrared bands.  Sensors can be fitted to machinery and gather NDVI data with each pass over the crop and this allows comparison with other maps to record changes during a crop cycle. This is known as scouting.

Before using sensors for making decisions about N applications, it is important to eliminate other limiting factors. If N is not the limiting factor, overapplication can result. This is a waste of money and can lead to increased risk of leaching.

In the UK, variable rate Nitrogen applications have been found to return 25-35 UK pounds per hectare. Another benefit is that crops are much more even and less prone to lodging, which makes harvesting quicker.

Conclusion

Jim suggests you approach Precision Agriculture in a structured, planned way.

  • Check that you have enough variability to justify the time and money you will spend.
  • Identify and correct as many growth and yield limiting factors as possible, using your eyes, agronomy and other tools available to you.
  • Target your biggest costs first.
  • Reduce crop growing costs in remaining low yield areas.

Once you have the main limiting factors corrected, look at using real time sensors for crop scouting and for programming variable rate nitrogen applications.

For more on this topic and Jim’s services visit www.soilessentials.com, also have a look at the LandWISE website www.landwise.org.nz or for Australian work on the subject, see www.spaa.com.au.

Controlled Traffic Systems, Drainage, Precision Agriculture, Projects

LandWISE Events November-December 2009

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LandWISE, FAR and the Sustainable Farming Fund, invite you to attend the following events:

Monday 16 November 2009

FAR and LandWISE Precision Agriculture and Advanced Farming Systems Field Day Canterbury

(2.00pm – 4.30pm)

Location: Courtesy John Evans, Tregynon, 1723 Mainwarings Road, RD11, Dorie near Rakaia, Canterbury.

Sign posted from Dorie Hall, cnr Mainwarings Rd and McCrory’s Rd

Discussion:

Carrot seed crop establishment trial – differences to date

Mechanical Weeding – demo

Update on NI Advanced Farming Systems farmers – What other NZ farmers are up to with Precision Agriculture

Thursday 19 November

Field Walk NZ Fresh Cuts – Chris Butler

Permanent beds for Fresh vegetables – GPS and controlled traffic farming

(10am – 12pm)

Location: Courtesy NZ Freshcuts, Driveway on left at end of Prices Road, Mangere, South Auckland.

Discussion: GPS protocols

Update on ‘Advanced Farming Systems’ and ‘Holding it Together’ projects

(1.00-2.30pm)

Location: The Franklin Centre, Massey St. Pukekohe.

Discussion: LandWISE GPS protocols

Field Walk: Controlled traffic for potatoes and onions A S Wilcox – Simon Wilcox

(3.00pm – 4.30pm)

Location: Courtesy AS Wilcox, 567 Mercer Ferry Road (on right after Hunter rd if coming from Pukekohe) Pukekawa, South Auckland

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Update on ‘Advanced Farming Systems’ and ‘Holding it Together’ projects

(1.00pm-2.00pm)

Location:   Levin RSA 32 Bristol St. Levin.

Discussion:   LandWISE GPS protocols.

Field Walk on Controlled Traffic farming and Permanent beds for Fresh vegetables

(Furrow diking for improved infiltration and soil protection will also be viewed)

(2.30pm-4.30pm)

Location: Courtesy John Clark, Woodhaven Gardens, Joblins Rd, Levin.

Discussion:   Controlled Traffic farming, Soil conditions, Furrow diking.

Tuesday 1 December 2009

FieldWalk Precision Agriculture, Opou Station – Clark Farming/ F&D Briant

Update: ‘Advanced Farming Systems’ and ‘Holding it Together’ projects

(10.00am-12.00pm)

Location: 190 Papatu Rd Manutuke, Gisborne

Discussion: CTF maize and squash, GPS adoption, LandWISE GPS protocols

Thursday 3 December 2009

FAR Combinable Crops Field Day 2009

(1.30pm to 6.30pm)

Location: FAR Arable Research Site, 2km north of Chertsey, SH1

Key note speaker: Jim Wilson, Precision Ag specialist and arable farmer from UK.

Advanced Farming Systems project update, Strip Tillage presentation.

Friday 4 December 2009

FAR Precision Agriculture and Advanced Farming Systems Field Day

(10.30am – 12.30pm)

Location: Courtesy Craige Mackenzie, Greenvale Pastures, 337 Reynolds Road, Methven.

Discussion:

Nick Poole – MAF/FAR crop sensing project           

Jim Wilson – PA and Crop sensors

General exploration of what Craige has been doing with PA.

Tuesday 8 December 2009

FAR and LandWISE Precision Agriculture and Advanced Farming Systems Field Day

Presentation by Jim Wilson of Soil essentials in UK, on crop sensing and PA at Green Shed

(12.15pm-1.00pm )

Location: Green Shed, Centre for Land and Water, 21 Ruahapia Rd, Hastings

Field walk and discussion on Precision agriculture at Scott Lawson’s organic farm.

(2.00pm)                             

Location: Courtesy Scott Lawson, Lawson’s Organic Farm, 302 Ngatarawa Rd, Hastings

For further information:

Call James on 06 6504531 or 0272 757757 or email james@landwise.org.nz

Controlled Traffic Systems, Precision Agriculture, Projects, Soil

Stop jumping on the bed! ???

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CTF- Taking the tractor off your beds and onto permanent tracks

As featured in ‘Grower’ October 2009

Controlled Traffic Farming is a simple way to dramatically reduce input costs (time, fuel & machinery) – while sustainably increasing crop yields – towards increased farm profit.

With appropriate agronomy and management CTF is being used in NZ, Australia, South Africa, US and Europe.  Farmers use CTF to maximise the potential of both the cropped and wheeled areas for their specific purposes.   The tracked areas in the paddock become valuable in saving fuel and for bearing traffic in wet conditions, meaning operations can continue or resume sooner after rain.

CTF simply involves confining all field vehicles to the least possible area of permanent traffic lanes to avoid the soil damage and costs associated with conventional cropping.

This makes sense.  Just like us, soils can’t do their work as well if they have been run over by a tractor.  I mentioned this at a LandWISE presentation. A woman in the audience told me about her tractor ‘bite’ and that once was enough for her! 

We have been told all our lives not to walk or barrow on the beds in our vege gardens.  Now RTK GPS technology gives us the ability to stay off the beds in our crops too. 

Dan Bloomer and I, together with a few other Kiwi’s, attended the Controlled Traffic conference and Precision Agriculture Symposium in Australia in September.   Australian adoption of Precision Agriculture and GPS guidance is growing rapidly.  It was a good place to learn what our neighbours are up to.  Their soils have suffered decades of wheel damage.  The Australians have learned that compacted soils shed more water, making the impact of floods and droughts worse.  So they are becoming big fans of CTF. 

We learnt that some 4000 RTK GPS units are in use for tractor guidance over there and nearly 11% of cropping in Australia is under controlled traffic.   Some farmers in Australia have cut their machinery costs by as much as 75% while their crop yields have risen.  With water such a limiting factor it was exciting to hear that CTF farmers were having their crops mature where their neighbours were not able to harvest in drought.  Adoption in this environment is proving rapid.  The SPAA website is worth a look: www.spaa.com.au

Does this apply equally here in New Zealand?  LandWISE project farmers across the country are also working with controlled traffic farming and are teaming up to share information and methods in vegetable production.

Woodhaven Gardens in Horowhenua grow fresh vegetables, supplying markets year round.  John Clarke was very keen to explore the advantages of controlled traffic.  He wants the improved soil structure and increased accessibility to the crop offered by firmer permanent wheel tracks.  And he is keen on less flooding because of better infiltration of water into the soil.  Reduced fuel consumption is a bonus of a CTF system.  

Antonia Glaria is the Agronomist and Production Manager at Woodhaven. She is responsible for trialling the conversion to a controlled traffic system.  “We are happy with how the soil is looking after the changes we have made to the system” says Antonia.

Existing equipment fits with the change and less field operations are needed, because much of the soil compaction has gone.  The tractor is mounted with a Trimble RTK GPS for bed forming and planting.  John plans to add another GPS system in the near future to extend their use of CTF and get the gains of GPS in other operations.

Antonia is sharing her experiences from the changes with Chris Butler at NZ Fresh Cuts. Chris is also a LandWISE project farmer.  He has been using controlled traffic for salad production in Auckland and in the Waikato. The system he has developed is similar to the Controlled Traffic Farming at Woodhaven.

If you would like to learn more about controlled traffic, you can visit the LandWISE website, there is plenty of information, as well as pictures and links to video in the resources section at: www.landwise.org.nz

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Auckland Site Visits

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James has been visiting our Auckland project farmers, NZ Fresh Cuts and AS Wilcox.

The LandWISE focus at A S Wilcox is a trial introducing Controlled Traffic Farming concepts into onion and potato cropping. A split paddock trial comparing conventional practice with a permanent bed controlled traffic system is in its early stages. An onion crop was planted in Autumn, and survival and growth appear similar in both the controlled traffic and conventionally treated areas. At this stage of course, both areas have been treated similarly.

The real tests begin at harvest when significant changes to conventional practice will be required to preserve the beds. Gains are expected in soil structure, operational costs and fuel savings. Matching wheel widths across operations, and especially harvesting, are often challenging but are anticipated to be worth the effort. Watch this space.

The goal of LandWISE work with NZ Fresh Cuts is minimizing inputs while retaining high quality yields. They have adopted a permanent bed controlled traffic system across much of their salad growing operations. Fuel, time and labour savings are proving to be dramatic as the system changes are taking effect.

Next LandWISE and NZ Fresh Cuts are looking at the possibility of using of optical sensors to assist in the management of nitrogen fertilisers. Manager, Chris Butler hopes that quantifying crop greenness will enable best use of nitrogen, avoiding overuse while ensuring high quality green leaf.

Field walks will be held later in November at these two sites, dates to be advised.

Agronomy, Controlled Traffic Systems, Drainage, Precision Agriculture, Soil, Uncategorized, Water

Australian Controlled Traffic Farming Association Conference – September 2009

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Hi-Tech – Low Emissions Cropping – Economical – Energy Efficient – Environmentally Sound

Dan and James from LandWISE attended the Australian Controlled Traffic Farming Association (ACTFA) conference in Canberra.

Australian adoption of GPS

It was estimated that 4000 RTK GPS units are in operation on vegetable and arable farms in Australia.  CTF adoption is estimated at 11% of cropping farmers and is climbing. Growing local networks of CTF farmers are apparent through the presentations and workshops and in talking to farmers we met. 

Aussie Drought

CTF as a solution to many challenges in soil, water and staying in business, has acceptance among the farmers with whom we spoke.

Farmers with experience of CTF spoke in terms of gains in Water Use Efficiency and drought tolerance of their operations.  They spoke of neighbours, unable to harvest droughted crops, asserting that they were getting less rain than CTF farmers.    

One agricultural contractor only has customers that operate CTF systems.  This is a deliberate business strategy; in dry years his customers have harvestable crops and he wants the consistent work.

Dire issues with water shortages sharpen the interest of farmers in Precision Agriculture.  The large holdings and low per hectare yields reported by Australian grain farmers means small per hectare savings are significant.  Margins are tight and grain prices under downward pressure.  Any gains offered by technology are being explored and exploited. 

Water use efficiency (in kg/mm rainfall/ha.) is a common measure of gains from Controlled Traffic Farming in Australia.  Improved infiltration and soil moisture storage are important reasons to convert to CTF.  

New Zealand relevance

Our climate change predictions indicate both increased drought and extreme rain events! Fortunately the soil infiltration and water holding benefits of CTF address both these key issues. While we typically have smaller farms, their productive value is higher.  So an equivalent percentage improvement from adoption CTF would have larger dollar gains per hectare.

CORS Networks

Australia is making a massive investment in CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations). These are permanent GPS signal correction systems that, for an annual subscription, provide RTK correction signals for use in mining, geology, agriculture and construction.  A statewide network in Victoria is 40% towards planned full coverage.  CORS networks offer some billions of dollars in savings over the expansion of private base station networks.  Many conference attendees thought farmers would continue to invest in their own, or local cooperative networks as well so these projections may be overly optimistic.  

Who went?

The usual suppliers of GPS equipment were evident.  There was considerable presence from Precision Agriculture farmer groups (South Australian No-Till Farming Association, Southern Precision Agriculture Association, Conservation Agriculture Association of Australia and NZ, LandWISE).  Private consultants, agronomists and Universities were also well represented.  Of some 83 delegates, 16 farmers were present.  Useful contacts were made on behalf of LandWISE. 

The experience of CTF farmers was that their CTF systems are delivering savings in fuel, fertiliser and time and improved yields and water use efficiency.  Continued extension of the use of CTF is likely, with other spatial technology bringing additional benefits to farmers who are choosing to adopt other Precision Agriculture systems on their farms.

Very brief headlines of the presentations are below.  Full information should be available soon on the ACTFA website – http://www.actfa.net

The Coming Famine: the risks to global food security – Julian Cribb (author of a book ‘The  Coming Famine’ to be published 2010)

Julian opened the conference by letting us know we are at crisis point. Many resources underpinning agriculture are running out.  Peak phosphorous has passed and the level of waste of nutrients in food production is huge.  He predicts major regional food crises leading to conflicts and mass refugee movements.  He sees food security as a national defence issue which suggests urgent diversion of defence spending into R&D for food production. see  http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features-global-food-crisis

CTF- The Proven Solution – Don Yule

Long time CTF proponent, Don showed how CTF is a solution to a host of resource management and productivity issues and that it offers gains in soil resilience to climate variability and social benefits. don@ctfsolutions.com.au

Cropping Systems for Climate Change – Jeff Tullberg

Jeff spoke on tillage and traffic options to improve rainfall use efficiency and soil surface protection, and the green house gas balance of cropping.  He says that CTF avoids the inefficiencies inherent in current systems and is a way forward to more productive and resilient cropping. jeff@ctfsolutions.com.au

Spatial Information Research – New Opportunities for Agriculture Communities – Phillip Collier

Spatial technologies support and promote improved farming practices and yield benefits.  The CRC (Cooperative Research Centre) for Spatial information is responsible for ‘spatially enabling Australia’. Agriculture, Natural Resources and Climate change are a focus of this CRC.  P.collier@unimelb.edu.au

What has CTF/Zero-Till done for my farming operation? – Robert Ruwoldt, Glenvale Farms

“Farmers resist change but there is always a better way to do things”     “Soil compaction is holding the world back from going to the next level”  Robert has achieved fewer weed problems, reduced fertiliser use and better water use efficiency since converting to CTF.  “Changing your farming system is the easiest thing to do, but some people make it the hardest” glenvalefarms@bigpond.com

The Farming Business 1992-2009 – Hugh Ball

A total of 15,000 hectares of arable cropping land is in the family business with a further 20,000 hectares under their management.  Key to this are capable core staff, external expertise and a family advisory board. CTF is on 3 meter centres, 12 m implements and 36-48 m boom sprayers. Balls are investing heavily in farming and CTF. “Money is cheap and the world is hungry” hugh@ballfm.com.au

Rural R&D Response – Peter Reading MD GRDC

Adoption by growers comes from Awareness, Tools and Motivation, if any of these elements are missing, adoption won’t happen.  Australian Precision Ag technology transfer is funded by GRDC via packages for growers and advisers in PA.  p.reading@grdc.com.au

Going Straight – A reporter’s run down the tramlines Peter Lewis ABC TV

A TV show on early CTF in 1998 captured Peter’s imagination.  He has enjoyed watching CTF evolve in Australia since then and passes on his enthusiasm for CTF as a non farmer. lewispeter@abc.net.au

A Contract Harvester Perspective on CTF – Peter Bradley

“If a farmer wants a profitable and more sustainable harvest… go for it- create your CTF system and you won’t look back”   Peter encourages his farmer clients to invest in  sustainable low emission cropping systems.  woolaroo@bigpond.com.au

Controlled Traffic Farming System – Australian CTF standard, Industry Proposal – Kevin Platz, John Deere

Initiatives to avoid problems of mismatching equipment include development of CTF standards.  Standards being agreed among farmers and key industry players include proposals for all tractors 150-500 HP to be at 3 m wheel tracks for CTF.  Manufacturing issues are still being discussed.  platzkevin@johndeere.com

Logistics and efficiency of grain harvest and transport systems Greg Butler – SANTFA

A model has been developed to assist grain farmers to reduce machine time, fuel consumption and emissions through better vehicle management. greg@santfa.com.au

Australian GNSS CORS networks – status, issues, challenges, future – Martin Hale

State CORS networks (on 70 km spacings) are at various stages of planning and installation and will offer sub 2 cm accuracy via GPS correction signals.  A national network (Auscope) is being implemented for science and commercial use.  Availability of correction signals to farmers, miners and the construction industry will be an additional benefits of the national network. martin.hale@dse.vic.gov.au

GNSS and Agriculture – Martin Nix, Navonix

This talk covered the national economic benefits of CORS networks vs local arrays of base stations. Benefits come from high accuracy, and using data multiple times and across multiple industries – mining construction, agriculture. Martin referred to ANZLIC and an Allen Consulting report, “The economic benefits of high resolution positioning.” http://www.crcsi.com.au/UPLOADS/PUBLICATIONS/PUBLICATION_348.pdf   martinjnix@gmail.com

Proximal Sensor Technologies – John Rochecouste CEO CAAANZ

Identifying the ‘production issue’ is still a precursor to the deployment of technology.  Farmers have the question, “How does the information relate to what I am doing?  What do we need to research and how do we manage data?  rochecouste@iinet.net.au

(We are interested to meet NZ members of the Conservation Agriculture Association of Australia and New Zealand.)

Remote Sensor Technologies – Eileen Perry DPI VIC

GPS is the enabling technology that allows farmers to fully utilise sensor data.   Selecting the most suitable sensor and mounting it on the most sensible platform (tractor, plane or satellite) is critical.   Using sensor data in combination with other information (e.g. yield, soil or crop data) is key to gaining the most benefit from sensor technology.  eileen.perry@dpi.vic.gov.au

Paul Slatter – John Deere Precision Ag specialist

Paul sees yield mapping as a key step in the Precision Agriculture data cycle.  When combined with input records of factors which influence yield, these show the rewards farmers are getting for their management decisions – varieties, dates, fertiliser etc. slatterpaul@johndeere.com

Gathering Data for Variable Rate Technology is the easiest bit, doing something with it is the challenge.  Ed Cay – gps-Ag

Australian farmers are using nutrient removal maps, water use efficiency, multilayer yield trends and gross margin maps to design and justify variable rate input spending.  Ed sees that the future for variable rate technology will bring easier to use hardware and software, more use of remote data transfer, service industry growth and more industry group support.  ed.cay@gps-ag.com.au

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13th Australasian Precision Agriculture Symposium Armidale NSW, September 2009

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The PA symposium is recognised as the meeting point for Australasian Precision Agriculture researchers.  This year it was at the University of New England in Armidale (1000m ASL), With frost on the ground, the mornings were as chilly as home in Hawke’s Bay. 

There was a strong New Zealand presence (10) with Dan and James from LandWISE.  Ian Yule from Massey Centre for Precision Ag chaired a session.  Carolyn Hedley from Landcare Research and Ina Draganova from Massey University gave presentations.  Two others from Massey also attended.  John-Paul Praat and Canterbury farmers Craige and Jemma McKenzie, were also at the Symposium.

The Symposium had a strong research input, but also included presentations from leading farmers.  Attendance was strong with about 150 delegates. The small number of active farmers present was noted.  Speakers were recognizing need to take PA from research to practice as a mainstream activity. 

There was strong industry support for the conference.  Most technology providers had technical staff present.  James and Dan had useful time with these people building knowledge and networks and sharing information.

The Precision Agriculture Association (Southern has been removed from the title, but it is still known as SPAA) is a key member of the PA community in Australia.  They had a major presence at the Symposium.  We were interested to note that SPAA has 200 members, compared to LandWISE with 130+.  The farmers were enthusiastic and when we explained what LandWISE is, all were keen to share information and to cooperate where practical.

SPAA run training workshops and field days on precision agriculture and assist farmers to accurately setup yield monitoring, crop sensing and variable rate treatment of crops.  SPAA have shifted their focus from individual farmers to farmer groups.  In each of these they train a local Precision Ag leader to aid in regional support for extension of PA techniques.  They are well-funded by GRDC for this extension work. We made contact with past and present leaders and current administration staff.   There is an excellent SPAA website at www.spaa.com.au.

Some highlights

On Nitrogen

Yield mapping with active sensors and managing nitrogen by variable rate application are clearly being researched and adopted in Australia.   The confidence in the active sensors and the ability among farmers to use them to support their agronomy and drive variable rate practices is growing fast. 

Jim Schepers from Nebraska spoke on managing N using sensors in corn.  He describes it as being like driving an old car, you have a choke and a throttle.  Chlorophyll is the driver to production.  But he reminded us that yellowness has more causes than just N, look further before applying more N to correct it, look at soil and crop factors and their interactions.  He advocates the use of N rich strips as a visual tool but also to calibrate N sensors (of which the eye is an important one).  He spoke about sufficiency indexes to determine N applications.

He reminded us to be aware that while N is a critical tool, N excesses are difficult to detect.  N rich levels may not be good to aim for, it may be difficult to sustain the growth of the richest areas as other factors become limiting.  Too much N can limit growth and then go to waste.  Uncertainty about N is a risk to the crop and your business.  Understand it.

Remote Sensing

One speaker Leasie Felderhof, described her company’s work with unmanned aerial vehicles or drones which can now cheaply capture imaging in different bands for zonal management of crops, weed detection and other mapping.  The drone is autopiloted using GPS and follows a preprogrammed flight path to capture the required imagery.  Net landings allow for confined space operation.  It is early days but these tools are rapidly becoming viable for use in agriculture.   www.skyviewsolutions.com.au

The UNE precision Ag team has experimentally installed a crop sensor on a Fletcher Topdressing aeroplane to good effect.   It requires the plane to fly at less than 6 metres while scouting a crop, which apparently isn’t a problem.   Ag pilots in Australia are a similar breed to ours – the sensor had to be mounted behind the nose wheel to prevent it being knocked off. 

The Weedseeker is selling like hotcakes in Australia.  It is an active sensor which, when fitted across a spray boom with individual nozzle control, allows farmers to spray only as a nozzle crosses an area where weeds occur.  Some of the reported benefits of Weedseeker were incredible with system payback of less than one season for some operators, where their weed populations allow for big chemical savings. 

Trimble has purchased the company which manufactures and distributes Greenseeker and Weedseeker sensors.  The Greenseeker sensors are finding application in agronomy especially around nitrogen applications.  Australian farmers are quickly adopting technologies to allow for savings in inputs. 

Roger Mandel – Curtin University, WA

Roger was a presenter at the PA symposium and was also at the CTF Conference in Canberra.  A lecturer at Curtin University in WA, Roger focused on ‘Demystifying Precision Agriculture’.   He generously gave us his full 100 slide powerpoint to use as we see fit.  It is a useful resource and will help us develop suitable resources for LandWISE members. Roger also gave us an Excel based calculator designed to assess the economic case for adopting Precision agriculture and variable rate technologies. We think this needs to be reviewed in a New Zealand context, but it is a very useful template.

Government support for Precision agriculture research in Australia reflects recognition for it as a key response to climate change.  This was shown by the level of funding , research, extension and resultant participation.
The proceedings are available here.
http://www.usyd.edu.au/agric/acpa/symposiums/2009_proceedings.pdf (4.8MB)

A list of presentations is below:

13th Annual Symposium on Precision Agriculture in Australasia – Presentations and Workshops

Managing nitrogen with active sensors
Jim Schepers (USDA – Agricultural Research Service)

Canopy-scale detection of nitrogen in wheat using the Canopy Chlorophyll Content Index
Glenn Fitzgerald (Department of Primary Industries Victoria)

Optimising nitrogen use in cereal crops using site-specific management classes and crop reflectance sensors
James Austin (Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture, University of Sydney)

Evaluating a new proximal sensor for winegrape quality
Rob Bramley (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and Food Futures Flagship)

A producer perspective on the application of precision technologies
Kym I’Anson (South Australian grain and hay producer)

RTK CORS networks – the future of agricultural machine guidance
Tim Neale (FARMpos Pty Ltd)

Linking unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology with precision agriculture
Leasie Felderhof (SkyView Solutions Pty Ltd)

Measuring and mapping crop vigour using an active optical sensor in an ultra low-level aircraft
David Lamb (CRC for Spatial Information and Precision Agriculture Research Group UNE)

Precision nutrient management in China supported by remote sensing and information technology
Ke Wang (Institute of Agricultural Remote Sensing & Information Technology, Zhejiang University)

On-farm carbon and biodiversity: mechanisms and PA tools for the future
Paul Frazier (Eco Logical Australia)

Autonomous tracking and control of livestock in extensive grazing systems
David Swain (CSIRO Livestock Industries)

Water use efficiency indicators for variable rate irrigation of variable soils
Carolyn Hedley (Landcare Research, Massey University)

Ord Irrigation Area – a diversity of precision agriculture applications
Jon Medway (Terrabyte Services)

Producer perspectives of precision agriculture
Richard Heath (Grains Producer and GRDC Northern Panel member)

A survey of Western Australian farmers on the uptake of precision agriculture:problems, issues and a way forward
Roger Mandel (Curtin University of Technology)

Examining the temporal availability of feed and regional turn-off patterns of cattle in Eastern Australia
Graham Donald (CSIRO Livestock Industries)

Integration of operational constraints into management zone delineation methods
Pierre Roudier (Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture, University of Sydney)

SPAA Producer Groups update
Mark Branson (Southern Precision Agriculture Association)

GPS Livestock Tracking Workshop

GPS livestock tracking
Mark Trotter (CRC for Spatial Information and Precision Agriculture Research Group UNE)

Pasture utilisation and nutrient redistribution in intensively managed dairy system
Ina Draganova (Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, New Zealand)

Adaptation behaviour of cattle relocated from the rangelands to a temperate agricultural grazing system
Dean Thomas (CSIRO Livestock Industries)

Sirion, the new generation in global satellite communications: livestock GPS tracking & traceback
Gill Stassen (PacRim Satellite Communications)