MYTH 3: Precision farming will not pay for itself

First of all, Khosla points out that “precision farming is not just the addition of new technologies, but is rather an information revolution, made possible by new technologies that result in a higher, more precise farm management system. To this end, precision farming can be applied at with any level of technology and at any field scale.”

Producers that have used precision farming for several years have paid for the initial equipment investment through increased farm profitability and productivity. How long it takes to pay for itself will depend entirely upon how much capital was initially invested and the type and scale of the farming operation.

A recent study from Colorado State University indicated that precision farming practices can result in as much as $71 more return per acre when compared to traditional farming practices. In their study, the researchers used a method of varying N fertilizer that is based on black-and-white aerial photographs combined with the farmer’s past management experience. Other than the time required to obtain a black-and-white aerial photograph (aerial photos are free-of-charge from the Farm Service Agency or the NRCS District Conservationist) and for the farmer to identify the areas on the photograph that were high and low yielding, very little time and money was required to create a prescription nutrient map. Hence, precision farming can and does pay for itself. Like any technological tool, one needs to assess which particular tool or technique would bring about the most benefit. Again, this depends on the type and scale of the operation. A “one-size-fits-all” approach does not fit in with precision farming.

Read all of Khosla’s article “Myths of Precision Farming” here.

MYTH 2: Precision farming is too difficult to implement

Khosla says it’s not the physical implementation of precision farming that’s difficult, it’s opening one’s mind to change. “There is a steep learning curve with precision farming. But, once in place, precision farming can actually make your farming operation “easier” than it was before adopting it.” Before deciding it is too difficult, he urges farmers to consider the benefits, such as less time in the tractor, lower fuel costs and increased fertilizer-use efficiency.

Every producer knows that the entire field doesn’t yield the same all the way across. There is always that area of the field that just doesn’t yield, no matter how much N and/or water are put on. Agronomists have addressed this and in doing so, have turned traditional wisdom upside down with their unique approach to fertilizer management by viewing each part of the field as a potential investment. Only those areas of the field that are sound investments (i.e., have high productivity potential) receive a high amount of input. In contrast the poor investments (i.e., areas of the field that have a low productivity potential) receive very little, if any input; why invest in something that won’t give you a return? This strategy is known as “site-specific” and has been used widely in conjunction with management zones. The bottom line of this approach is that the total amount of input to be applied to a field is redistributed such that the areas of greatest potential receive the most and visa-versa.

MYTH 1: Precision farming is grid sampling

While it is true that grid sampling was among the first few methods that the precision farming community (i.e., early adaptors) used to develop variability maps of crop production fields, precision farming does not rely on or even require grid sampling. What precision farming could do is precisely and accurately: (i) identify variability and its cause, (ii) quantify variability and its scale, (iii) record variability and its location, and (iv) map variability so that it can be managed. Grid soil sampling is only one such technique of quantifying variability; however, there are many other less expensive techniques available.

Currently there are several precision farming tools and techniques of varying input that do not involve grid sampling. These include, but are not limited to, site-specific management zones, remote sensing, apparent soil electrical conductivity measurements, yield mapping, and smart sampling. In fact, many of these methods were developed specifically to replace grid sampling. These methods run the gambit from low-tech and inexpensive to state-of-the-art sensors that can detect the nutrient status of a crop and vary the rate of fertilizer or other input on-the-go.

More myth-busting to come!

Khosla points out that precision farming is not a new branch or way of farming but “with increased globalization occurring in every sector of our economy, today’s farmer needs to produce better, greater, cheaper, and faster in order to remain viable. Precision farming can help today’s farmer meet these new challenges by applying the Right input, in the Right amount, to the Right place, at the Right time, and in the Right manner. The importance and success of precision farming lies in these five “R’s”.”

Khosla recently addressed some of the most commons myths about precision farming. We’re going to take a look at those in a series of posts coming up here on Precision Pays.

Lawrence Sterling, operations manager, said from a winemaker and grower’s point of view, such variability is “the most challenging” aspect of making wine. The data collected helps the winery chart where and when to pick. It also helps with farming decisions such as irrigation and cover crop planting.

You can watch a video of the story with this link. Or right here:

Of the current options for harvesting/collecting the cobs, Deere is working on the corn cob mix kit (CCM) option. It’s basically an attachment to the combine according to John Deere’s Barry Nelson, who was attending the POET Project LIBERTY field day.

Barry says that this will allow farmers to produce up to 11 percent more ethanol per acre. That’s a pretty good gain in efficiency. He says they’re also looking at other equipment options including a special cart or new combine.

You can listen to my interview with Barry here:

Project LIBERTY Field Day Photo Album

Randall Weiseman with Southeast Agnet recently interviewed Cotton Inc Director of Agricultural Research Ed Barnes about the event being held in Tunica, Mississippi on November 11-13. “We’ll actually have a hands-on seminar on how to do precision fertility management, how to collect soil samples with GPS, ” said Barnes. “For someone who is more experienced we’ll have a detailed seminar on how to transition to zone management and cut down your number of samples.”

More information is available on the Cotton Incorporated website.

Listen to Randall’s interview with Ed here:

Let me point you to Tucker who writes The View From The Tractor. He’s following me on Twitter now and I’m following him (subscribed to each other feeds in case you don’t know about following). I’ve never met Tucker but I already feel like I’m starting to get to know him. I love his personal description:

My name is Tucker. My son’s are also called Tucker. We live on a farm in Nebraska. I drive a tractor. I also have the opportunity to spend a majority of my time intaking podcasts and reading in my tractor (I have GPS autosteer) and then I can come here and share some thoughts with you. It is my wish that you will see in my writings, I really do spend too much time alone think.

Feel free to write, call, email, or just comment. I love the socialality of all of this. Our community exists everywhere, even from a little isolated farm in western Nebraska.

So, “Yeah, farmers are using social networking and new media.” Just ask Tucker.

In 100 pages Best Farming Practices explains how wise stewardship of resources such as soil, nutrients, water and energy can help you cut costs while maintaining or improving productivity. It includes 15 case studies of farmers across England and Wales – from Pembrokeshire to Norfolk and from the Devon hills to the Yorkshire moors. Their stories show how a variety of farm enterprises can reap environmental and economic benefits from a range of simple, low-cost actions.

I’m not so sure about all the political policies of these groups but at least they seem to think precision agriculture is a good thing!

Here’s the precision workshops agenda (pdf):

7:00 AM – 8:30 AM REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM LUNCH