Newton Crouch Inc. sells precision agriculture products from these companies.  Please contact us to find the product that best meet your requirements:

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Precision Farming is the agriculture of today and the future.  The discussion below explains the process in detail.

From Mules to Satellites: A Discussion of Precision Farming
By
Steve Crouch, President of NCI

Agriculture in the United States has evolved literally from mule-drawn implements to satellites in the 20^th century.  It is intriguing to imagine what developments will come in the current century.

Why did technology become so important to agriculture?  Reasons come first, and answers come second.  Farm producers are stewards of the land and are environmentally friendly for three reasons: 

First, Producers want to make a profit on their investment, while feeding and clothing their families. They must maximize their yields while minimizing their expenses through informed decisions

Second, No one is making land. Therefore there is no additional land available for arable use.  In fact the best arable land continues to be lost to homes and manufacturing.  

Third, Producers have a genuine love of the land and enjoy the accomplishment of feeding our Country and the World. They take pride in the fact that less than 10% OF OUR INCOME GOES TO FOOD LEAVING THE BALANCE FOR OTHER CONSUMER.  

Today’s producers are forced to maximize potential while faced with decreasing margins. Therefore they need new answers to meet their reasons of a profit, maximize yield on available land, and pride in accomplishment of supplying food and fiber at a cheap cost to the consumer.

Over the past 10 years the answer has changed as profits dwindled and cost continued to rise. Never has there been a greater need for the facts on how to produce a profitable crop with fewer inputs. What are the answers to best maximize their potential? Just as a manufacturer producing a product must know the cost and inputs on a production item, the farmer must now the facts to insure a profit. To answer this question a technology has evolved. That technology is known as Precision Farming.

Precision Farming

Precision Farming is a multiple step process that requires study and discipline. The process brings many layers of information in to play for one purpose. That purpose is to have our producers achieve their reasons to farm in an environmentally safe and cost effective method.

Now how do we use Precision Farming? Precision Farming generates large amounts of facts called GIS. These facts are only useful if tied to a location called Global Positioning System or GPS. You must understand and use both components of Precision Farming to make a successful system. 

Geographic Information Systems - GIS

Facts are collected to build history and insure a better crop while controlling inputs. A producer will look for facts on where the highest yield was produced as well as each zones production, and he will gather facts on soil types, pull soil samples, look for management zones to generate prescription maps for variable rate applications, and use aerial photography.

This fact gathering is not trivial and requires time, money, good computer skills, good organization, and willingness to learn. These facts are put into a system that is known as Geographic Information Systems or GIS. Each one of these facts would represent a layer of information. These layers yield mapping, soil imagery to identify zones, soil sampling and variable rate application of fertilizer and pesticides all represent facts used to reduce inputs and improve profits.  All of the GIS layers are only useful when associated to a location. The location is recorded through Global Positioning System or GPS. 

Global Positioning System - GPS

GPS is a satellite-based global navigation system created and operated by the United States Department of Defense (DOD).  Originally intended solely to enhance military defense capabilities, GPS capabilities have expanded to provide highly accurate position and timing information for many civilian applications.

Simply stated, twenty-four satellites in six orbital paths circle the earth twice each day at an inclination angle of approximately 55° to the equator.  This constellation of satellites continuously transmits coded positional and timing information at high frequencies in the 1500-megahertz range.  GPS receivers with antennas located in a position to clearly view the satellites, pick up these signals and use the coded information to calculate a position in an earth coordinate system.

GPS is the navigation system of choice for today and many years to come.  While GPS is clearly the most accurate worldwide all-weather navigation system yet developed, it still can exhibit significant errors.  GPS receivers determine position by calculating the time it takes for the radio signals, transmitted from each satellite, to reach earth.  It’s that old “Distance = Rate x Time” equation.  Radio waves travel at the speed of light (Rate).  Time is determined using an ingenious code matching technique within the GPS receiver.  With time determined, and the fact that the satellite’s position is reported in each coded navigation message, by using a little trigonometry the receiver can determine it’s location on earth.

Position accuracy depends on the receiver’s ability to accurately calculate the time it takes for each satellite signal to travel to earth.  This is where the problem lies.  There are primarily seven sources of errors that can effect the receiver’s calculation.  These errors consist of:

1.      Atmosphere delays on the radio signal

2.      Signal multi-path

3.      Receiver clock biases

4.      Orbital satellite position errors

5.      GPS satellite errors

6.      Tracking biases (position shifts when satellites are lost and re-acquired)

7.      GPS Receiver performance and cost

The combination of these errors and poor satellite geometry can limit GPS accuracy of a high performance GPS Receiver to approximately 5 meters and a low cost GPS Receiver to 10-15 meters.  Many of these errors can be reduced or eliminated through a technique known as “Differential”.

Differential GPS or DGPS

DGPS works by placing high-performance GPS receiver (reference station) at a known location.  Since the receiver knows its exact location, it can determine the errors in the satellite signals.  It does this by measuring the ranges to each satellite using the signals received and comparing these measured ranges to the actual ranges calculated from its known position.  The difference between the measured and calculated range is the total error.  The error data for each tracked satellite is formatted into a correction message and transmitted to GPS users.  The correction message format follows the standard established by a Special Committee.  These differential corrections are then applied to the GPS calculations.  The level of accuracy obtained is a function of the GPS receiver.  There are two other types – Signal Beacon including Omnistar, a satellite based subscription fee service and WAAS, a satellite based free signal.

Now with a location, how do we use the information?

Applying Precision Farming though equipment

Newton Crouch Inc. offers control of one of these layers through an on board computer system in an application unit. This system is made up of a controller and GPS receiver, radar, and input sensors. The controller system allows the operator to monitor many factors while maintaining a constant flow of material over various speeds. Furthermore, the system will locate a management zone and vary the rate to that specific zone on the go. The material spread can be granular or blended fertilizer, lime, land plaster, slurry, clear liquid fertilizer, or litter. Depending on the product, it can be spread, applied, or injected. 

The controller is simply operated by using its components. The controller is the brains of the unit. The controller maintains the application rate or varies the rate as need be to achieve the desired rate in that location. The GPS receiver gives it a sub meter location, the radar gives you a reference speed, and the input sensor gives a reference to the application amount in Pounds/Acre as an example.

The controller requires the operator to input 6 facts then generates the following:

1.            Pounds/ acre applied

2.            Acres cover

3.            Acres in the current field

4.            Pounds applied as a total

5.            Pounds left in the applicator

6.            Speed

7.            Precise guidance

8.            Real time reporting

9.            Records an as applied map on PC card

10.         Verify location to start application

11.         Spot spray applications

12.         Scouting for problem areas and identifying areas.

13.         Marking for hazards

One of these components has received wide acceptance. The component is the Guidance system. These systems can help reduce application error by maintaining a distance called a swath.  This component can also give an applied map and navigation.

Precision Farming is evolving. The concept has formed into a different process than originally thought, as more has been learned.  Rather than looking for the best system, Precision Farming is looking for marginal increase in a number of areas. But we must always remember the number one limiting factor is water. 

Precision Farming is helping producers do a better job at planting and to be better stewards of the land. NCI can help you use Precision Farming by providing you with the equipment to do the job and the training to use your equipment to its best advantage.  Contact us for details at 770-227-1234.  We look forward to serving you.

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