INTRODUCTION
This section of the Precision Farming
course answers the question "What is precision farming?" It will
introduce the student to the concept of precision farming, provide a brief
historical perspective, and discuss the condition that is driving the
development of precision farming. It will consider the potential impact of
precision farming on crop production and examine the scope of farming
operations that are already being influenced by the rapidly emerging
technologies that make precision farming possible.
Assigned Reading:
Please read Chapter 1, "An
Introduction to Precision Farming," in The Precision Farming Guide
for Agriculturists, by Deere & Company.
Precision Farming Defined
In addition to the assigned reading,
consider the following statement in order to appreciate the challenge in
reaching agreement on the name for a field that is emerging as rapidly as
is precision farming. The statement comes from the Second International
Conference on Site-Specific Management for Agricultural Systems, held in
March 1994 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Site-specific crop management (SSCM) refers
to a developing agricultural management system that promotes variable
management practices within a field according to site or soil conditions.
While this technology is only a few years old, various names have been
used to describe the concept: farming by soil; farming soil, not fields;
farming by the foot; spatially prescriptive farming; computer aided
farming; farming by computer; farming by satellite; high-tech sustainable
agriculture; soil-specific crop management; site-specific farming; and
precision farming. Interest in this emerging concept has been featured in
a variety of news media.
There is no broadly accepted definition of
SSCM. We proposed the following:
site-specific crop management is an
information and technology based agricultural management system to
identify, analyze, and manage site-soil spatial and temporal variability
within fields for optimum profitability, sustainability, and protection
of the environment.
SSCM employs a system engineering approach
to crop production where inputs are made on an "as needed
basis," and was made possible by recent innovation in information and
technology such as microcomputers, geographic information systems,
positioning technologies (Global Positioning System), and automatic
control of farm machinery. It is a holistic approach to micro manage
spatial and temporal variability in agricultural landscapes based on
integrated soil, plant, information, and engineering management
technologies as well as economies (Robert et al, 1994).
Study Questions
1. What is precision farming?
2. Why did whole fields become the smallest
management units when agriculture became mechanized?
3. What are advantages and disadvantages of
using whole fields as the smallest management units?
4. What condition is driving the
development of precision farming?
5. Give several examples of crop and/or
soil characteristics that change very little over time. Give several
examples of characteristics that can fluctuate rapidly.
6. How would variability over time affect
precision farming decisions?
7. What is an important factor affecting
virtually every decision a farm manager makes?
8. Precision farming can affect both input
costs and crop production. In terms of yields and costs, what are three
potential outcomes from implementing precision farming?
9. What are three questions that need to be
answered to determine whether precision farming is likely to be
profitable?
10. What farming inputs are currently
applied in a spatially-variable manner?
11. What operations in the typical crop
production cycle can use precision farming techniques?
12. Of all these possible uses of precision
farming techniques, which is the most logical starting point for a farmer
interested in adopting the technology? Why is this the logical starting
point?
Literature Cited
Robert, P. C., R. H. Rust, and W. E.
Larson. 1994. Preface p. xiii. In Robert et al (ed.) Site-specific
management for agricultural systems. American Society of Agronomy,
Madison, WI. |
