Precision Pays

Agricultural engineers Susan O'Shaughnessy and Nolan Clark adjust an infrared thermometer that measures crop canopy temperature as a way of controlling a center pivot irrigation system.

A system that turns irrigation water on and off automatically based on leaf temperature is being developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientist Steven Evett and colleagues in Texas.

Evett, a soil scientist at Bushland, Texas, and cooperators are developing time-temperature threshold (TTT) technology that is based in part on a discovery by Evett’s colleagues at Lubbock, Texas, that plants grow best at certain narrow temperature ranges that vary by crop species.

Later developments by Evett and his colleagues led to invention of an irrigation control system that uses feedback from the crop, in terms of leaf temperatures, to control irrigation and crop water use efficiency.

Evett’s colleague Susan O’Shaughnessy, an agricultural engineer at the ARS Soil and Water Management Research Unit at Bushland, has developed wireless infrared thermometers mounted on center pivot irrigation arms as well as in the field. She is also integrating sensors that can help determine whether to skip watering parts of a field because plants are suffering from disease rather than drought or because no plants have survived in that part of the field.

Ultimately, she and Evett will seek a cooperative research and development agreement with a center pivot manufacturing company that can build the sensors and control system into their equipment.

This research is part of the Ogallala Aquifer Program started in 2004, a partnership between ARS and the Ogallala region’s universities. The Ogallala Aquifer underlies eight states from Texas to South Dakota and is one of the world’s major aquifers. The goal of the Ogallala Aquifer Program is to protect the towns and their livelihoods, including agricultural industries, by stopping the depletion of the aquifer.

Water availability is key to farming in the Ogallala region. Automated irrigation systems are seen as one major way to move towards sustainable use of the aquifer because they can reduce water use while enhancing profitability due to the reduction in pumping costs.

For more details, read on…

Cotton growers looking at precision farming investments should check out the Cotton Precision Agriculture Investment Decision Aid (CPAIDA), created by University of Tennessee Production Economics Analysis Group.

The Cotton Precision Agriculture Investment Decision Aid (CPAIDA) is a stand alone, computerized decision tool for analyzing investments in precision agriculture technologies. It was developed to meet the need for better educational information about the returns required to pay for investments in precision agriculture technologies used by cotton farmers.

Currently available “payback” modules include map- and sensor-based variable rate application of sprayer-applied chemicals, sensor-based liquid nitrogen application, and sensor-based weed control. Additional modules for calculating the cost of gathering spatial information via electrical conductivity, yield monitor, and remote sensing are also provided. A distinctive sensitivity analysis feature allows users to evaluate a variety of “what if” scenarios for these technologies based on their particular farm characteristics.

The decision aid guides users through a systematic analysis of the precision farming investment decision via a set of clickable tabs and expandable menu options. The equipment information tab allows the user to select equipment components and enter purchase price.

Default equipment complements are set for each module, and users can click on cells to change equipment manufacturers or modify prices. The farm data tab lets users personalize the decision aid based on their unique farm situation, information gathering costs, and payback parameters which can include input cost savings, lint yield gain, and reduced equipment operating and ownership costs. The profitability summary tab displays results in the form of enterprise budgets that compare cost and return estimates with and without precision farming.

A final column indicates how individual cost items vary based on the precision farming investment decision and summarizes the expected profitability from adoption of the selected equipment complement.

Finally, a sensitivity analysis tab displays the results graphically. The main figure summarizes the profitability of the proposed equipment complement and provides an estimate of the payback period in years. Here, users can change key cost and return parameters, such as farm size or input savings, and evaluate how changes in these values influence the profitability of the investment decision.

The CPAIDA decision aid is also available at http://economics.ag.utk.edu/cpaida.html. Copies of CPAIDA on a CD ROM may also be obtained by writing James Larson, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2621 Morgan Circle, 302 Morgan Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996. This decision aid was funded by Cotton Incorporated.

Cotton farmers, working with Clemson University, are achieving 30 to 50 percent nitrogen savings by side-dressing–without losing any yield, according to a recent report in Southeast Farm Press.

For the past three years Clemson researchers at the Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville, S.C., have been testing three different options for variable rate application of side-dress nitrogen on cotton. In 2007 and 2008 they reduced total nitrogen use by 30 percent with no yield loss. In 2009, they upped the ante to saving 50 percent on nitrogen use.

The proof of the 50 percent reduction will come after cotton is harvested and yield and quality numbers are in, but so far tests on the research station and with cooperating farmers look good.

“If you look at cotton prices, they are about the same as in 2003. However, if you look at the price of nitrogen, despite a drop in price this year, it is still near record highs. The recession has kept prices low, but we don’t know where nitrogen prices will go next year,” says Clemson Researcher Wes Porter.

Porter is a graduate student working with Ahmad Khalilian, a Clemson University Professor of Agricultural & Biological Engineering and guru of precision agriculture for a number of years.

For the past three years Khalilian, Clemson Extension Precision Ag Specialist Will Henderson and a group of dedicated graduate students have tested variable rate technology for use in applying nitrogen and other fertilizers on cotton.

Porter says there are three routes a farmer can go to apply variable rates of nitrogen to cotton. The first is the simplest and least costly: A nitrogen ramp calibration strip (N-RCS) can serve as a simple guide to nitrogen use.

Read more here.

Precision farming techniques and practices are taking center stage at this year’s Beltwide Cotton Conference in New Orleans, January 4-7, 2010.

According to a report in Mid-South Farmer magazine, Bill Robertson of the National Cotton Council says Randy Taylor, Oklahoma State University will set the stage for the precision agriculture theme Tuesday morning at the general production conference with a look at current and future opportunities for cotton producers using precision agriculture technology in their fields.

“From there, the precision agriculture theme branches out in other Tuesday and Wednesday workshops in the New Orleans Marriott Hotel,” he explains. “The general production conference this year — where all attendees gather in one hall — is set in the nearby Sheraton Hotel.”

Workshops include:
1. A collaborative report on several years’ research from across the Cotton Belt concerning site-specific management of nematodes, Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 5.

2. Hands-on sampling for precision agriculture uses, by Jeffrey Willers, USDA ARS researcher in Mississippi, Wednesday morning, Jan. 6.

3. Sensor-based Nitrogen Application, by David Dunn, of the University of Missouri at the Delta Research Station in the Missouri Bootheel, Wednesday morning, Jan. 6.

4. Cotton Irrigation, by Dana Porter, Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Lubbock, Texas.

For more details, visit the Beltwide Cotton Conference website.

John Deere adds a new economy-sized, versatile 4630 self-propelled sprayer to it’s 30-Series lineup that is wired to add valuable precision farming tools.

The new 4630 Sprayer is ideal for cotton farmers who want a low-cost, comfortable, and productive machine that’s simple to operate. It’s also ideal for corn, soybean, or small-grain producers that want a productive yet comfortable machine with advanced options. The 4630 Sprayer replaces John Deere’s discontinued 6700 Sprayer.

For more details you can visit with your local John Deere dealer, or go online and visit the company’s Web site at www.JohnDeere.com.

Southern growers interested or already involved with the efficient tools of precision agriculture should take part in the upcoming January conference in Tunica, Mississippi.

The Southern Precision Agriculture Conference will be held January 12th and 13th, 2010, at Harrah’s Tunica Convention Center in Tunica. It will be part of a joint meeting with the National Conservation Cotton and Rice Conference, the Southern Corn and Soybean Conference and the newly formed Southern Field Crop Alliance (SFCA).

The SFCA conference will examine issues across crops and precision agriculture technologies. And it provides a chance to network with growers and industries from across the south. For more information on SFCA, contact Angus Catchot at acatchot@entomology.msstate.edu or B. Rogers Leonard at rleonard@agcenter.lsu.edu. Conference details are found at http://nctd.net/.

Using GPS guidance and precise metering systems to cut P and K rates 40 to 50% while maintaining good yields is catching on in the south, according to a recent piece in Delta Farm Press magazine.

Glenn and Rodney Mast who farm near Columbus, Miss., say precision farming technology is helping them achieve such efficiencies. “When you put the fertilizer into the bed, it’s right where the plants need it. It gives every plant an equal opportunity for the nutrients needed for good growth.

“With GPS and minimum till, we’re able to go back and bed in precisely the same place each year, and we believe we’re building up fertility levels in the rooting zone with lower rates than if we were broadcasting.”

Rodney says they’ve seen the practice become widespread over the past 10 years in the Midwest, where they have relatives, and “I don’t understand why it hasn’t been more widely adopted here in the South. As expensive and risky as farming is nowadays, we’ve got to try things that can help us cut costs and be more efficient.

“To that end, banding has worked extremely well for us, but the biggest advantage is in more efficient application rates. Every university study we’ve seen, from Minnesota to Florida, and even in the United Kingdom (where it has become widely-used because of environmental restrictions), has shown the practice is tremendously more efficient and effective.

“In addition to the direct savings for input costs and the reduction in manpower hours, we’ve experienced no yield loss. These advantages, combined with the accuracy that GPS equipment can provide, are among the reasons why almost the entire Midwest has gone to strip-till over the past 10 years.”

GPS has been termed “the killer application” for farmers utilizing no-till/minimum-till and fertilizer banding practices, because its ±1-inch accuracy gives them unparalleled precision in placement of fertilizer and seed.

Track your current and past Growing Degree Days (GDD) to help with crop scouting for pests using a new tool developed through the joint efforts of Monsanto and The Weather Channel.

Since the January launch of The Weather Channel’s ‘Agriculture News & Forecast’ web page, growers who used the site requested the addition of a GDD calculator. To access the tool, simply enter your zip code (or sign in to your Weather Channel home page) and click the Growing Degree Days Calculator link.

“The growth and development of crops is directly impacted by the growing degree days, and having this information available can help farmers make better informed management decisions,” said Boyd Carey, lead of technology development for Monsanto. “TWCi has created an easy way for growers to run those calculations to compare different years at a given location. In a spring like this one where we’ve had so much rain and so many cloudy days across our agricultural production areas, this tool could prove useful immediately.”

Farmers can compare two different years’ GDD (as far back as 2003) for the same date range and location. Additionally, each calculation — one of the most complex on weather.com — includes the 30-year-average GDD for the selected dates and location, alerting farmers to the typical GDD for the selected time frame and location. The calculator uses both forecast and 30-year climatology data from The Weather Channel, allowing for past, present or future calculations. The calculator draws from the most accurate weather data available, using proprietary TruPoint technology created by The Weather Channel. TruPoint forecasts allow for future weather information accurate up to 2 kilometers (1.24 miles). This technology combines traditional weather observations with even more data to create forecasts for more than 1.9 million locations — literally filling in the gaps of the reporting systems used by other providers.

Kudos to the Plains Cotton Cooperative Association in Lubbock, Tex., for launching a new company that is selling eco-friendly denim jeans from cotton grown using the efficiencies of precision farming.

The company Denimatrix will produce jeans in Guatemala made from cotton produced by 25,000 grower-members of American Cotton Growers (ACG) who are focused on developing quality fabric using sustainable practices. To buy them, visit www.SAFEDenim.com.

American Cotton Growers-or ACG-and its farmer-owners are focused on developing high quality denim fabrics for our customers with minimal impact on the environment. We produce an average of 37 million yards of denim annually, enough to make 26 million pairs of jeans, every yard of which is grown, spun, dyed, and woven from the cotton our members produce. This denim process is a true, homespun phenomenon – American cotton literally created from field to fabric.

ACG meets or exceeds all regulations administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. In all possible processes throughout the mill, we use the best available technology to apply the principles of reduce, re-use and recycle and to avoid production of hazardous waste.

Our stewardship carries all the way from the field to the fabric. We like to call it SAFE denim-Sustainable, American and Friendly to the Environment. For us, it’s not just a fad; it’s a multi-generational commitment to ensure our children and grandchildren can farm the land.

We’re protecting our ecosystems for these future generations by remaining good stewards of the land, air and water. We value doing the right thing, in the right place, in the right way, at the right time, and it requires the use of new technologies.

We continually embrace new technologies in irrigation to reduce the volume of water used to grow our cotton. Compared to 25 years ago, our farmers now use 45 percent less water to grow cotton.

Technologies like Integrated Pest Management systems use beneficial insects to control pests and reduce human and environmental exposure to chemicals while lowering input costs. Today, the number of pesticide applications required to produce cotton is half of what it was just 20 years ago.

Advances in seed breeding and farming practices have greatly reduced the amount of chemical inputs required to grow cotton, resulting in substantial environmental benefits.

Precision agriculture uses aerial and satellite infrared photography to identify problem spots in our fields and apply inputs only where they are needed via global positioning systems.

These technologies have dramatically reduced the land area required to produce enough cotton to meet world demand. In 1926, U.S. farmers planted more than 44 million acres and produced almost 18 million bales. By 2004, U.S. cotton acreage totaled just under 14 million acres which produced more than 23 million bales. In other words, an additional 30 million acres are available for food production, conservation and wildlife habitat.

ACG and its 25,000 farmer-owners are committed to continually improving our denim manufacturing processes and farming practices. Sustainable agriculture is the ability of a farm to produce food and fiber indefinitely with minimal impact on the environment.

We don’t need to be told to take care of the land for our children and grandchildren because we learned that from our own parents and grandparents. It is our generational commitment to Sustainable, American and Friendly to the Environment.

The recent Cotton Incorporated Crop Management Seminar in Tunica, Mississippi featured workshops to help growers learn more about precision management.

Director of Agricultural Research Ed Barnes says they actually had two different precision workshops. “One for people who really had not done any work with precision agriculture. We had a workshop on the basics of how to scout your field, use a GPS and download data back to the computer.”

“Then we had a second workshop for people who are more experienced and wanted to take it to a new level, transitioning to zone management where you manage by soil type a little more,” said Barnes. The workshops concluded with a look at the “Green Seeker” variable rate application and mapping system that can help cotton growers make real time variable rate applications of plant growth regulators and defoliants.

Some 200 growers were able to attend the workshops and Cotton Inc plans to have another at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in January.

It’s less than two weeks to the Cotton Incorporated, 2008 Crop Management Seminar & Workshops. There’s a nice agenda of precision workshops included in the program in case you’re interested. It’s all going to take place at Harrah’s Casino & Resort in Tunica, MS, November 11 – 13.

Here’s the precision workshops agenda (pdf):

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

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM LUNCH

I told you I’d get to see the new John Deere 7760 Self Propelled Cotton Picker in action. This bad boy will be ready for sales next year but growers can call their local dealer to get an on-farm demonstration.

I liked the American flag touch. It was waving in the nice breeze we had all day. There were also field demonstrations with corn, soybeans, hay and peanuts.

If you’d like to see photos from the Sunbelt Ag Expo, I’ve got them in a Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album.

At Sunbelt Ag Expo, the John Deere 7760 Cotton Picker is getting a lot of attention. The new machines should be available for next year but they have several out in the field including one here at this show. I’m hoping to get some video of it in action in just a little while in fact.

This morning I spoke with Annette Bitto, Cotton Marketing Product Manager. She has been out in the field with growers demonstrating the new cotton picker. In fact, she says that one grower told her that when she took it back he felt like a kid who had his toy taken away. Of course the machines are fully precision ready from the factory and allow producers to gather all the information they need to more effectively manage their farm.

“Without ever stopping the machine during picking, the operator can then carry the module to the end of the field to be transported later to the gin. This efficient, non-stop harvesting system eliminates unloading into a boll buggy and processing in a module builder. Ultimately, the producer saves time, fuel and manpower when harvesting and processing the cotton.”

Listen to my interview with Annette here: sunbelt-08-deere-bitto.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Crop input costs are continually rising, but PrecisionAg.com reports that precision farming technology is helping keep overall costs at bay. A recent article suggests farmers are receiving substantial paybacks for investing in precision agriculture technology.

“Research shows that growers are gaining back their investment in precision ag technology faster than we thought – often in just one to three years,” says K. Elliott Nowels, director of the PrecisionAg Institute. “And they are saving from $15 to $39 per acre by using inputs more efficiently with precision ag tools, depending on crop and region of the country.”

• The top benefits growers listed from their use of precision ag technology were 1.) the ability to apply chemicals and fertilizer where needed, 2.) greater profitability due to lower input costs, and 3.) identification of poor producing areas of their fields.

PrecisionAg.com reports that the data from this research was gathered from in-depth written responses and telephone follow-up interviews with corn, soybean and cotton growers.

Click here to view the entire article.

About half of the nation’s cotton growers are practicing precision agriculture. PrecisionAg.com reports that the use of precision technology among cotton growers grew from just 18 percent in 2001 to 48 percent in 2005.

There are a number of reasons for this increase. First, changes in farming practices requires more precision and repeatability, such as the use of subsurface irrigation and strip-till. Guidance products with high levels of accuracy such as real-time kinematic (RTK) with sub-inch repeatability provide the accuracy needed for repeat passes over the same guidance line. Second, rising input costs encourage the use of products that reduce overlap. AutoTrac (automatic steering) reduces pass-to-pass overlap which on average reduces input cost by 5-10%, and GS2 Rate Controller and Swath Control (automatic boom section control capability) products reduce inputs applied to previously covered acres. On average this is an additional 3% reduction in seed and pesticide costs. Third, the growers are looking for increased efficiency of products applied based on site-specific information. Variable rate applications are being utilized to vary seeding, defoliant, growth regulator, and fertilizer rates.

The report also suggests that a growing shortage of labor has influenced growers to look to precision as an alternate means of improving productivity with less man power. PrecisonAg.com says growers are most interested in John Deere‘s ITEC Pro – or Intelligent Total Equipment Control.