The key to the future: precision
Data & tools will allow farmers to raise more food on less land, using less inputs
The world’s earliest wheat farmers grew their crops in fields as small as a few acres and as large as a couple hundred. Farmers and their workers knew every corner of their fields intimately. Farming was no easy task on these smaller (relative, of course) plots of land. In fact, researchers have found that the earliest farmers burned many more calories growing food than they did hunting and gathering it (NPR, 2013). When a weed grew, they pulled it. They were precise. If locusts invaded, they lost their entire crop and faced a food crisis. They were susceptible.
Today’s farms are much larger in scale, and the current-day farmer is embracing precision on a larger scale to reduce susceptibility, while also reducing chemical input use. Precision farming is now happening on thousands of farms and hundreds of thousands of acres in the U.S., and Washington farmers are leading the way. According to the USDA, precision agriculture is “a management system that is information and technology based, is site specific and uses one or more of the following sources of data: soils, crops, nutrients, pests, moisture, or yield, for optimum profitability, sustainability, and protection of the environment.” (USDA) In other words, it is a system that uses technology, information, and new tools to make our farming smarter. The goal is to increase soil quality and productivity using a series of targeted, specific interventions.
Precision farming reduces “blanket” solutions to generic agricultural problems. For example, in the past a farmer may have said, “We always apply X amount of nitrogen at this time of year, so we’re going to do that.” Instead a farmer will now collect data on the nutrient needs of the crop and apply as needed. Not investing the time or money in applying unnecessary applications. (USDA)
In Colonial America, agriculture was the primary livelihood for 90% of the population and today, farmers and ranchers are only 1.3% of the employed US population. Farmers and farmland must become more productive. In 2012, just over 40% of all U.S. land was farmland, and we lose farmland every year to urban development. The end goal is simple: we must produce more food using fewer people, acres, and resources. By 2050 we must feed more people throughout the world than any other time in history: nine billion. Producing more with fewer resources while maintaining superior quality standards is the goal of farmers in Washington and throughout the U.S. The key to doing this is information, new technology and tools, and precise, site-specific applications.
Researchers in both the private and public sectors are working rapidly to design and create new technologies. Below are a few of the key tools available to farmers today.
GPS technology
If there was a grandfather element to all precision agriculture, it would be GPS, or global positioning systems. Using satellites, GPS information gives farmers the ability to do more than auto steer their tractors. This is the foundation for tracking everything from current moisture levels to historical pesticide and nutrient placements within fields.
Precision steering and sensors
Rather than pulling weeds by hand, today farmers use tractors to implement pest reduction. In the past, farmers also used their own eyes to drive straight lines in the fields. Now they use satellites, computers, and monitors to make their paths straight. Computer systems drive the tractors, and farmers can make adjustments as necessary in the cab. GPS guided auto-steering prevents overlapping when spreading nutrients and pesticides. For example, whenever application equipment crosses an area that was already applied with fertilizer, individual rows or small sections of nozzles on the equipment automatically shut off when they cross that line. This control eliminates double application on end rows and reduces waste.
Satellite steering and driving systems for tractors improve work efficiency, boost productivity, reduce production costs, and save time and fuel. This tech leads to faster and more accurate placement and reduced waste.
Sensors and variable rate technology
If GPS is the grandfather of precision farming, sensors are the grandmother. Using GPS information and sensors, farmers can place pesticides and fertilizers in the exact right place at the right time. Today’s highly advanced sensors are able to record field data and report it to farmers instantly. Sensors can track soil moisture & fertility, plant deficiencies, soil compaction, and insect-disease infestation within fields. Sensors also help eliminate over application of pesticides and nutrients. Farmers can create maps of fields, called “prescriptions.” Those maps are uploaded to a tractor or applicator’s computer. The applicator then tailors the amount of fertilizer applied to small segments of the field. The rate of application can vary in one part of the field compared to others. Using the variable rate prescriptions within irrigation or application systems, sensors are able to transfer nutrient data to the individual nozzles and automatically shut off when they reach areas that do not need the application.
Variable-rate seeding is also an important tool. This allows farmers to match up their seeding rates (seed planting) with field variability (productivity, fertility and water availability of the fields). A farmer can plant the exact amount of seed each section of a field can support in order to maximize crop yields.
Remote management and diagnostics of the equipment
Equipment and tractor management tools allow farmers to monitor a large amount of information from their office such as travel, consumption, daily and monthly work. They can track the health of the tractor, such as speed, engine rpm, work progress, hourly consumption, average consumption, and other data. Proper management using this data can extend the life of the equipment and improve performance.
Drones
Drones allow farmers to view patterns and problem areas from above, which are easily missed from ground level. Farmers still walk fields regularly, but aerials help them easily see the big picture. By adding specific sensor software, drones can also compile mapping information to identify stress factors like nutrient deficiencies, pests, or diseases. Crop advisors use drone imagery to help farmers apply exactly what they need, when they need it.
Satellite crop monitoring
Similar to drone technology, satellite crop monitoring is a tool that allows farmers to constantly monitor the health of their fields. Using a multi-spectral imagery analysis of high-resolution satellite images, farmers can find problem areas quickly and prescribe specific effective management strategies for those areas.
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