Agronomy, Soil, Tillage, Uncategorized, Water

Risk Management for Good Practice

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The future hasn’t happened yet. Today we make educated guesses and do something. Later, we’ll discover if our choices were good.

We use “good agricultural practice” even though it is no guarantee. What seems right today turns out not to be. Hindsight is easy. Its value is in building knowledge for foresight the next time around. Foresight is part gamble, but greatly enhanced with local knowledge, historical context and good advice.

Growers need to make a profit. And they are expected to keep people, property and the environment safe. This is central to good agricultural practice. With so much uncertainty about so many factors, and so many things to consider, getting it “right” is a big ask.

Good agricultural practice applies deliberate choices based on good information, acknowledging and accounting for unknowns. It weighs the likelihood and implications of possible events against potential costs and rewards. Much attention has been placed on the financial side, but increasingly the environmental aspects must be taken into account.

Implementing a formal risk management approach enhances good agricultural practice. Risk management involves identifying hazards, assessing associated risks and implementing interventions. Things will go wrong, but the frequency and consequence are reduced.

Hazards are things that can cause or lead to events with undesirable consequences. Heavy rain, frost, pests and market collapse are hazards.

Risk combines the likelihood of the event happening with the severity of consequence. There will be heavy rain events, but how often? They can destroy crops, leach nutrients, wash away soil and damage infrastructure. What are the immediate and on-going severe consequences? How much will they cost? What effect on waterways?

Interventions are actions that avoid, minimise or mitigate the event or consequence. The size of risk and effectiveness of intervention help determine the investment that is justified.

Good practice has always had an element of risk management. Making it explicit helps demonstrate that the potential impacts of adverse events have been considered and appropriate management applied.

Who should decide what good practice is? Should it be prescribed, or should farmers have choice?

We prefer to have choice. Every site on every farm is unique – yes, your soils are different! By assessing our own situation and making our own justified plans, we can get the best fit for site, fit for purpose good practice.

Creating a full risk management plan for every aspect of farming is a daunting task. The same process can be followed to manage any risk. But it will be harder if we are dealing with unfamiliar topics or are not sure of the possible problems and solutions. We want to make it easier.

As part of the “Holding it Together” project, we scoped a risk management process to address soil quality and loss. We saw resources to help farmers work efficiently through a robust process, identifying and quantifying hazards and risks, and sifting through potential interventions would be useful.

A book or website with checklists and supporting information would make things much easier. Imagine clicking on a “hazard” and seeing a list of risks and image sets showing relative severity and ideas on avoiding the impact. Follow the cues relating things to your farm. Click “Print” and your Good Practice Risk Management Plan is complete.

Dan Bloomer and Phillipa Page, LandWISE

Agronomy, Uncategorized

Resilience

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Resilience is the ability tobounce back from adverse events. When we are generally happy and healthy we can handle most things nature (or life) throws at us. If we are run down, tired and sick, the slightest thing seems to knock us for six.

Farms are very much the same. They handle adverse events better if the soil is healthy, water available, and infrastructure (and capital) in place. And the reverse is true too. Beaten up soils, lack of water, inadequate or poorly maintained infrastructure and high gearing leaves a farm (and its people) at higher risk when bad things happen.

Resilient Cropping Workshops

Building resilience into cropping farms is the aim of our “Resilient Cropping” project. A joint venture between LandWISE, Foundation for Arable Research, Horticulture NZ and Tahuri Whenua the Maori Vegetable Growers Collective, it is funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

A main focus of Resilient Cropping is preparing for adversity such as extreme weather events, fuel cost spikes and restricted access to irrigation water. In-field workshops across the country involve local growers sharing experience and ideas and proposing local solutions.

Among the topics covered are soil quality, irrigation efficiency, nutrient management and energy use. A common question is, “what can we do to best prepare for uncertainty?” An alternative is, “How should we farm knowing that adverse events will certainly happen sometime, and possibly more often?”

Is resilience an issue?

The first stage of the Resilient Cropping project was a survey of growers about the impact of adverse weather on farming businesses.  101 replies were collected.  Some respondents were offended by the survey and made the point that managing the impacts of the weather on their farming businesses was what farming was all about.

Diana Mathers reported that, of 101 respondents, only 9 had not lost money from a climate related event in the last 5 years. Only 7 believed that climate variability would not affect their business in the future.

Severe weather had impacted two thirds of cropping businesses two to four times in the last five years. Weather events affected profitability of more than three quarters of growers. Almost half said the losses were severe.

Farmers in Canterbury, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne said both drought and rain are important regional issues. Those without irrigation ar condisering a change their farming system.  Some are looking to reduce cultivation intensity to reduce soil moisture losses, while others are changing the sort of crops that they grow.

What do undesirable events cost?

Estimating crop yields, their value, and the cost of lower production is made easier by a LandWISE tool called YieldEst. It is an output from our Sustainable Farming Fund project, “Assessing the cost of crop loss at paddock scale”.

Growers and agronomists recognise areas of suppression, damage and loss within crops. YieldEst systematically assesses the financial cost of losses and the contribution of adverse events. Quantifying the cost of lost production and the relative impact of different problems also helps target where efforts will have most benefit.

YieldEst starts by assessing the yield in the main part of a paddock, and comparing that to expected or “potential” yield. Because it can consider multiple grades with different prices, a shift to lower grades will be also identified, along with the monetary implications.

Variable paddocks are assessed by monitoring yield in “Loss Zones”.  Growers are asked to name the “cause” of lower production in each zone and again, multiple grades can be entered.

The project was funded by the MPI Sustainable Farming Fund, LandWISE members and Horticulture New Zealand levy payers through the Vegetables Research and Innovation Board. The YieldEst tool was developed with generous in-kind support from Chris Folkers at ASL Agricultural Software.

Dan Bloomer, LandWISE

Agronomy, Drainage, Irrigation, Soil, Uncategorized, Water

Steps towards Farming Within Limits

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The article was first published in The GROWER magazine.

Farming within limits is the phrase of the year, by-line of numerous conferences, and part of many conversations. Farming within limits is nothing new. Financial constraints, market size, climate and soils, labour . . . you name it.

But farming within off-farm environmental limits puts a new spin on the topic. Both regulators and growers are under pressure to lift performance. Fortunately Horticulture New Zealand took a lead role years ago when it launched New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice.

New Zealand GAP is constantly evolving to meet new opportunities and requirements. And the bar will continually lift as governments, markets and other stakeholders expect ever higher standards from producers. But good agricultural practice is, and will be, the core of farming successfully within limits.

Successful growers already aim for profitable production with environmental stewardship. They have systems that ensure the basics are done well, and for continuous improvement. They measure to manage, they record to report.

These leaders of the pack are prepared for, and often do well from, change. They have a mind-set of adapting management to meet or beat changing situations. They already do a bit extra such as riparian planting and supporting local stream care. They are ready for most, if not all, that “farming within limits” may throw at them.

It is a year since the National Policy Statement (NPS) for Freshwater Management 2011 came into effect requiring councils to set limits on fresh water quality and the amount of water that can be abstracted from our rivers, lakes and aquifers.

Councils have four years left to establish programmes that will give effect to the NPS by 2030. They will need to amend regional policy statements, proposed regional policy statements, plans, proposed plans, and variations. It is a lot of work, and councils are under pressure to have the necessary changes in place sooner rather than later.

Government stated, “We are committed to monitoring improvements in fresh water management from the NPS and reviewing its effectiveness within five years as the complete package of reforms is rolled out.” There is a strong sense of urgency.

Growers can take action now. Both on and off-farm activities are needed, and many things can happen in parallel. There is a need to be involved, and no need to wait to do things better.

The freshwater quality driver points to many things; irrigation and nutrient management, soil conservation, stream enhancement, eel fishery management, and a range of environmental offsets. It is the effect of the combination of all management and mitigation that will determine the outcome.

Of the off-farm activities, Horticulture New Zealand Natural Resources and Environment Manager, Chris Keenan, says, “The key task in front of growers right now is participating in a limit setting process, because that will determine how much effect limit setting will have on the business.” Chris Keenan further notes that if they are going to do this effectively, they will need to be organised. Catchment management groups will be necessary in many cases, if not all cases.

On-farm, growers can adapt their management.

Two critical on-farm factors under direct grower control are water and nutrient management. We can’t control the rain, but we can definitely control irrigation and artificial drainage. And we are in control of our fertiliser application and can do quite a lot to keep nutrients in the root zone.

Our evaluation of irrigation systems and irrigation management records shows a wide range of performance. Some growers are highly focused, manage intensely and have high water use efficiencies.  Unfortunately, some don’t.

Without carefully monitoring soil moisture levels, weather forecasts and irrigator performance testing, effective efficient irrigation is impossible. You must know how much is needed, and how much is going on. If the basics are not right, no amount of fancy technology will help.

The same is true for nutrient management where a wide range of performance is evident. Some growers apply excellent soil fertility testing, nutrient budgeting and planning, and fertiliser spreader calibration; essential steps to maximise nutrients use.

Water and nutrient management are closely linked. Too much water will cause unnecessary nutrient loss to freshwater, just as will too much fertiliser.  Too little water reduces crop growth which leaves unused nutrients in the soil, often also increasing losses that end up in freshwater.

Fortunately, efforts to manage water and nutrients better can improve farm profitability as well as environmental performance. So it can be a win-win. Focus on getting the basic things right. Look for big, easy gains first. Then look at fine-tuning.

Catchment management groups, farmers getting together to manage the overall effect of all activities on the quality of water in each catchment, are a powerful way to make progress. Such groups provide a forum for ideas, a place of co-operative learning, agreement on actions and priorities, and opportunities for benchmarking performance.

If everyone performed at the level of the top quarter, overall performance would rise significantly. Then the community would be able to see the fresh water quality improvements sought.

Agronomy, Controlled Traffic Systems, Precision Agriculture

Site Specific Management – 2012 Conference Summary

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“Collaboration is the key,” Alastair Bisley told 160 people at the LandWISE Site Specific Management; growing within limits conference in Havelock North.

The “limits” that gave the LandWISE Conference its focus, are to ensure fresh water quality and quantity are maintained or enhanced. Reporting on the Land and Water Forum, Alastair said collaborative processes identify win-wins and produce more enduring outcomes – with community buy-in.

Collaborative processes place first responsibility on local users, stakeholders and iwi to determine detailed management objectives for catchments. They allow discussion of the benefits and costs of different approaches and determine time frames in which to achieve them.

Precision viticulture was a new event at the Conference. AGMARDT Keynote, Rob Bramley from CSIRO set the scene. A frequent trans-Tasman collaborator, Rob later explained how farmers can (in collaboration with specialists) use smart tools to conduct excellent research on their own farms and fine-tune management for each site.

LandWISE SFF project work with Villa Maria and Mission Estate showed clear benefits of detailed site assessment of soils and canopy vigour. Site specific management raised juice quality and significantly increased winery returns.

Attendees heard how GPS and GIS were used to track and understand the spread of PSA in kiwifruit and leaf roll virus in grapes. The recent fruit fly discovery reminds us just how at risk we are, and how smart we need to be to manage such events.

Tim Neale has collaborated with growers to track harvest vehicles, and to fit yield monitors on to potato, onion and carrot harvesters. The aim: to know where yield and revenue is coming from, and accordingly apply the right inputs at the right rate.

Hydro-Services collaborated with Environment Canterbury and NASA to monitor water use in greater detail using satellite imagery and soil moisture monitoring. FAR collaborated with Plant & Food and growers to develop AquaTRAC for irrigation scheduling with economic considerations.

The final session was a field trip to Hugh Ritchie’s property to view Site Specific Management in action. The site has a variable rate pivot irrigator, a weather station and soil moisture monitoring, and is under-going extensive drainage development.

Without the efficiency gains achievable with variable rate irrigation Hugh could not cover the whole area with the limited water available. The towable pivot has three positions. The VRI avoids overlapping and speeds the machine to reduce return intervals.

One of two drain-laying machines demonstrated uses RTK-GPS, allowing it to optimise fall at multiple grades to maintain depth between pre-set depths. The tile pipe is pulled into the ground, complete with a gravel envelope, as a single operation.

A land levelling scraper, also controlled with RTK-GPS was demonstrated. Topsoil is stockpiled, the sub-soil cut and filled to grade, and topsoil replaced. A key innovation of both GPS drainage systems is that all calculations are completed on-the-go in the tractor cab.

The first LandWISE conference in 2003 attracted 70 people to discuss soil quality, cultivation practice and efficient irrigation. The tenth brought 160 people from across New Zealand and from Australia and the UK to talk about doing the right thing, whatever it is, in the right place at the right time.

Future cropping will see each site having specific management applied to ensure profitable production with environmental stewardship. A focus on soil quality and water care, together with the use of smart tools will be critical. LandWISE looks forward to supporting that progression.

Agronomy, Soil, Uncategorized

Assessing Yield Variability

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This article first appeared in The GROWER magazine.

Variability in crops shows that some parts are not performing as well as others. So what?

Variability is a major problem in the vegetable sectors. It is responsible for unknown but very significant financial losses all the way through the value chain. Variability comes in varied forms, from a variety of causes, with variable results and various appropriate management responses.

It may be a timing thing, a size thing, a quality thing or a quantity thing. It could be caused by weather events, soil differences, seed differences, pest or disease effects or some management factor. It may mean missed yield, lower yield, lower price or higher costs.

Process pea crops are a classic example of relatively minor timing variability causing major losses. If plants flower earlier or later, timing the harvest is problematic and both quantity and quality will be affected.  Some plants will not be ready when the harvesters come through. Others will be over mature and downgrade overall quality. Processing, in particular, needs uniform product and reliable supply.

Have you got crop variability? Assume you do, even if it is not at first noticeable. The key is to know if it is significant, what effect is has on your profitability, and whether it is worth fixing. Sometimes the benefits of dealing with it are not worth the cost. But often a cheap fix can avoid an expensive problem.

LandWISE partnered with Horticulture New Zealand to help growers estimate the value of crop yield variation. A spreadsheet calculates the cost of yield variation, based on measurements made in the field.

The three pieces of information needed are the product value, the area affected, and the yields achieved. A small booklet gives guidelines on determining areas and yields and the spreadsheet does the rest. You can download the calculator and guidelines from http://www.landwise.org.nz/projects/crop-variability/.

Why a calculator? While many farmers do observe variability in crops, few spend time quantifying the value (cost). The calculator and guidelines set out a straightforward process that doesn’t take much time, and does the calculations for you. It presents the results as tonnes and dollars in a table, and as graphs showing relative performance.

The Calculator encourages growers to identify the cause of loss in identified parts of the paddock. It then summarises the relative impact each has on yield.

One of the key pieces of information is quantifying the “Yield Gap”. The Yield Gap refers to the difference between the Potential Yield and the Main Area yield. It reflects an overall penalty and often costs more than the obvious losses. But because it affects the whole paddock it is not easily noticed.

If the season has been normal, and there are no obvious seed, equipment or management problems, look to soil condition or irrigation management as possible causes.

The Yield Variability Calculator estimates the value of crop loss. Thinking about how often these losses are suffered, how to avoid them in future what the cost of remediation may be, will help growers determine what, if any, action to take.

Dan Bloomer, LandWISE

Precision Agriculture, Soil, Tillage

My Soil is Different

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This article first appeared in The Grower in March 2012

 

“It won’t work here; our soils are different.” A common response to a new idea.

Two excellent events in Australia had me thinking, “Wow, their soils really are different!” But as to “It won’t work here,” that’s like saying you can’t cook carrot cake in a casserole dish. You can, if you are a bit adaptable. It is principles and processes we need to focus on.

The SPAA Precision Agriculture Expo was held in Port Lincoln in South Australia. The PrecisionAgriculture.com.au conference was in Maroochydore, Queensland. Both were characterised by excellent speakers, strong farmer representation, varied topics, and good industry support.

Speakers discussed nutrient tests we don’t use, plants we seldom grow, pests, diseases and weeds that remain thankfully foreign, and yields most New Zealand farmers would consider disastrous. They talked of soil electromagnetic sensors, pH sensors, biomass sensors, protein sensors, animal trackers and robots.  Of precision farming in Canada, Scotland, England, New Zealand, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

At both events, the farm was the focus, the technologies merely tools to help manage better. Much, much better.

Some of their Australian soils must be among the most inhospitable places on earth for a plant: three inches of sand on a deep, highly saline and toxic sub-soil; heavy compacting clay on compacted clay with horrid pH levels. In our young landscape the soils are quite different indeed.

But for all that, the messages were strikingly familiar. In essence; know and look after your soil, monitor your crop, and apply inputs where they give the best returns.

After decades working their land, farmers know their soils very well.  From cultivating and observing patterns in crops they learn about areas that perform differently. Most can draw a pretty good “mud map” if asked. They know where their soil changes physically and use nutrient and pH tests to monitor fertility.

There are new tools to help understand variation, such as the EM38 soil electromagnetic sensor and Thorium sensors. Light sensors can pick up organic matter variation. With GPS the variability can be mapped accurately and we can make more detailed maps. But be cautious.

Sensors almost always measure something other than the thing you are interested in. They have been shown to “correlate well” – under certain conditions. But remember, your soils ARE different! The numbers a sensor provides are not necessarily true for you; the sensor needs to be calibrated to your site. And that goes for practically every sensor I know.

Sensors can be very good at identifying differences, and directing our attention to areas worthy of further investigation. EM maps certainly provide evidence of electrical difference. The numbers the sensor generates vary enormously depending on soil moisture, clay content, density and salinity. So the same number in two different parts of a field may be due to different combinations of any of these.

The maps tell us where to investigate further. The most important tool of all is a spade. Decide on a small number of management zones, sample them separately to understand the causes of variability.

Dan Bloomer, LandWISE

Drainage, Soil, Tillage, Water

Coping with Extreme Weather Events

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This article first appeared in The GROWER in February 2012

 

Growers suffered significant losses during recent heavy rain. We cannot handle the most extreme events without suffering losses. But we can do a lot to reduce impact and avoid damage from minor events.

Building resilience will help with adverse events and returning to normal operation once the event is over. Focus on soil and its ability to absorb, drain and hold together when large rain events occur. Soil must be protected and enhanced and suitable drainage designed and installed. Managing traffic, reducing cultivation and managing water movement are critical.

Water needs to be absorbed into the soil and allowed to drain through it. The amount absorbed depends on the soil’s infiltration rate and the time that water stays in one place. Well-structured soil has good porosity, which maximises infiltration and drainage.

Compaction means soil damage: soil is deformed forming solid layers with little or no porosity. Water cannot get through these layers fast enough, so builds up in the soil above, drowning plants and weakening soil aggregates.

The common solution is cultivation; ripping soil to break up wheel track compaction. This is expensive and self-defeating as cultivation further weakens the soil and makes future traffic even more damaging.

About 80% of all compaction happens with the first pass, so keep traffic off paddocks in the first place or keep it to defined “roads” as much as possible. Then there is little if any need to cultivate.

While we need to drive on paddocks to plant and harvest crops, we can control essential traffic and keep the rest away. LandWISE farmers have shown clearly that controlled traffic and permanent bed systems reduce equipment needs, save fuel and labour, reduce time to next crop and enhance soil quality. Win, win, win, win and win.

Water runs downhill. Even seemingly flat paddocks have high and low points. If the infiltration rate is too low, water runs to low spots where it ponds. Slowing water down with surface residues or by ground shaping keeps it in place long enough to soak in and avoid ponding and erosion.  Lots of micro-dams hold rain where it falls, and slow any rivulets that may form.

HortNZ’s SFF Holding it Together project showed the benefits of furrow dyking that slows water in wheel tracks, giving it time to soak in rather than pond in low areas. This reduces soil erosion and protects crops against flooding and drowning. To sport nuts: “stop, trap, control the ball”!

Once controlled, pass it in a timely fashion. Consider artificial drainage if the soil cannot drain fast enough. Mole and tile drains provide extra flow capacity through the soil. Open drains provide a controlled way to take water to a safe disposal point.

A number of innovative drainage options are available. Old ideas linked to new GPS and computer mapping have revolutionised tile laying, surface drainage planning and ground contouring. Each has its place.

Precision tile-laying maps paddocks with GPS. It automatically surveys elevations while the tractor drives along the next tile line, calculates the depths and grades required, and precisely controls tile laying depth. It is fast and cheap compared to old practices.

Surface drainage planning controls water movement across the surface. It aims to remove excess water safely before it waterlogs the soil, by ensuring a path without ponding areas. New technology allows very detailed surveys and planning, and results in minimal soil movement for optimum drainage.

In extreme cases, surface levelling changes the whole paddock contour, directing water to safe boundaries. Because it typically moves a large volume of soil it is expensive and can have a significant soil impact. But it has other advantages such as avoiding high, dry spots and ensuring even depth to water table.

We often think of water management as irrigation, especially in summer. But we must have our soils and drainage in good order at all times of the year.

Dan Bloomer – LandWISE

Uncategorized

LandWISE News February 2013

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Pukekohe Field Walk with Tim Chamen – 1:00pm Thursday 21 February

Hosted by A.S. Wilcox at Seath’s Block, 567 Mercer Ferry Rd, Pukekawa

We are fortunate to have Tim Chamen in the country on his way to the International Controlled Traffic Conference in Toowoomba later this month. He is keen to join our field walk and keen to share stories.

Tim had a long research career at the Silsoe Research Institute in the UK, looking at the effects of soil tillage and compaction on soil and crop responses. He recently recently received a doctorate covering field traffic, soils and crops.

Since 1996 he has consulted on soil tillage and increasingly on ways of avoiding soil damage from machinery. In 2007 he established CTF Europe Ltd to facilitate controlled traffic farming across Europe. CTF Europe uses a membership scheme and offers consultancy to individuals or groups.

The focus of the day at Seath’s is the Controlled Traffic Farming that the Wilcox team has been running for four years. Having now completed a full crop rotation cycle (onions, potatoes, cereals, onions) they have a good grasp of the issues and have certainly got a good idea of the benefits. Does halving costs have appeal?

We’ll also consider how the programme fits the theme of “Resilient Cropping”, increasing farm capacity to bounce back from adverse events, whatever they may be.

LandWISE 2013 – 11th Annual Conference 15 – 17 May 2013

Put the 15-16 and 17 May 2013 in your diary for the 11th Annual LandWISE Conference.

Debbie Walton has rejoined our team, working to ensure another successful conference. She is contactable via info@landwise.org.nz or Phone 06 650 4531.

Most of our (very loyal) sponsors have already caught up with us, but anyone else can contact Debbie to discuss opportunities.

Part 1: 15-16 May “New Ideas”

The traditional LandWISE Conference on 15-16 May will be held at the Havelock North Community Centre.

We have a few slots left in the programme, which it is looking fresh and interesting. If you have a presentation you would like added, or ideas you want covered, please direct your query to Dan via dan@landwise.org.nz or Phone 06 876 6630. Please be quick as things are filling very quickly.

Part 2: 17th May “Going into Irrigation” LandWISE/IrrigationNZ

Friday 17th May will be a special focus day based in Tikokino, on the Ruataniwha Plains. “Going into Irrigation” is a joint effort with Irrigation New Zealand.

While set firmly in the Ruataniwha Water Study area, the content and contacts apply to anyone thinking of making the jump into irrigation. They may be an independent abstractor or in an existing, new or proposed scheme area.

Registration

Conference registration will be available on-line soon. A notice will be sent to you with details. As usual, discounted rates for paid up members.

LandWISE Video Competition – Cash Prize

Entries are open for the Inaugural LandWISE Farm Video Competition. Don’t leave it too late to grab some clips.

Theme 2013

“Farming is great – it’s good for us all.”

Make a “YouTube” clip video that improves understanding and perception of agriculture among the urban populace. All aspiring Smartphone Jacksons, start planning and grabbing clips while there’s stuff happening down on the farm!

The main message this month is “GET FILMING”. Phone video is just fine!

We know you are hard out at present, but take 30 seconds now and then to capture key farm events. Remind the public that you produce their breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea. Harvest pictures will drive that message. Remind them it takes time, skill and dedication – care at planting, excellent husbandry, crop monitoring, efficient watering – and lots of hard work.

How many boxes of cornflakes does your farm produce? How many salad meals? Hash-browns? Servings of peas? Cobs of corn?

Tip: Good light is important for good video, especially using small lenses.

Entries close 12 noon, Monday 6th May 2013.
Foreign Entries welcome

By entering, you agree that LandWISE can use your video and to post your entry on internet.

Serving suggestions:

  • Maximum length four minutes
  • Provide good quality information about farming
  • Health and Safety are important – avoid Jackass stuff
  • Originality is highly valued, even if it is parody
  • Involve real farm staff (and animals and machines)
  • Sell farming to urban folk (honestly)
  • Soundtrack choice has a huge effect on impact
  • Humour counts a lot
  • Video quality needs to be acceptable, remember it’s YouTube standard, but it should be ok full-screen

Judging and Winners

Top entries will be shown at the LandWISE Conference dinner, where the winners will be announced.

Judges’ decision is final, cannot be appealed, and need not be justified.

Protocols for GPS Guidance

We’ve updated the format of the booklet, Protocols for GPS Guidance so it prints nicely for A5 layout. This makes it a good handbook size with font large enough to read!

See http://www.landwise.org.nz/publications/

LandWISE Membership

SIGN UP ON LINE: Complete a membership application here>

Feedback

You got this far! We’d appreciate feedback on this newsletter, or anything else LandWISE does or could do. Send us a message here>

For all LandWISE communications:
email     info@landwise.org.nz

Precision Agriculture

Smartphones

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In our July 2012 newsletter we opened a discussion about smartphones.

It seems smartphones are driving another massive shift in farmer access to information and use of computing. Almost every farmer walks around with a computer in their pocket. Phones have computer power greater than full size office computers had only a few years ago.

  • How widespread is smartphone use?
  • What systems are preferred?
  • What applications do people find most useful?
  • Who uses smartphones to connect to their office?

We got instant feedback, and more than on any other topic we can recall.

We have asked more groups about smartphone use, and there remains a lot of interest. And a lot of variable response.

Discussions over recent weeks suggest uptake is probably somewhere between 4% and 96% depending on area and sector. The use of potential smartphone capability seems to have a similar spread.

We have continued to receive feedback and see smartphones as an area where some work is urgently needed. We’d be interested to hear from you.

  • Is coverage in your area good enough?
  • What’s your favourite app?
  • Is there a must have widget?

What will farmers be doing with pocket computers in five years time?

Drainage, Irrigation, Precision Agriculture, Soil, Tillage, Water

LandWISE NEWS June 2012

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Conference 2012

The 10th Annual Conference was our biggest gathering with over 160 attendees. We extend our thanks to the speakers, sponsors, trade supporters and delegates that made the event such a success. There were some important issues up for discussion by excellent speakers and we have received very positive feedback.

2012 saw our first Focus on Viticulture, an extra day dedicated to wine growing technologies. Keynote Rob Bramley started the conference and was well supported by the remaining speakers. Rob and Tim Neale both made a number of presentations over the three days, and we are very grateful for their high quality inputs.

The second day investigated implications of the National Policy Statement for Fresh Water Management. Thanks to Land and Water Forum Chair Alistair Bisley, HBRC CE Andrew Newman, LandWISE Chair Hugh Ritchie and the others who presented clear outlines of the concepts, process and possible future.

The field event at Hugh Ritchie’s farm was also extremely well received and we thank Hugh and the other presenters for their work setting everything up – a significant undertaking. The Anderson Road block was transformed into a precision farmer’s perfect sandpit for the day.

Live demonstrations of Trimble surface levelling and Keith Nicole’s GPS tile laying were of much interest. These drainage options were supported by Precision Irrigation’s variable rate irrigation fitted to the towable pivot on-site. and Hydro-Services showing soil moisture monitoring options including neutron probes and electronic sensors and telemetry from WaterForce.

New Board Members

Long term Board members, David Clark and Chris Butler, retired this year.

We have two new Board members, both from Pukekohe. Paul Munro from Peracto and Brent Wilcox from AS Wilcox were elected at the AGM.

Promoting sustainable production