Precision Ag in Horticulture A growing Trend Mal Frick

PMA Conference Brisbane May Agenda What PA is not The value of PA in horticulture Where is the variability? Elevation and drainage planning Precision soil sampling Do VR applications make economic sense? Technology supporting PA principles

PMA Conference Brisbane May What PA is not! Only for grains and cotton industries I use GPS guidance so am doing PA I have to be doing variable rate applications to be applying “true” PA principles Unless I am doing CTF or tramline farming I am not doing PA

PMA Conference Brisbane May What PA is and the Value to Production “Precision Agriculture is the precise application of agronomic and management practices that impact positively on overall farm productivity and profitability” (Source: Applying PA, GRDC) “Precision agriculture involves the observation, impact assessment and timely strategic response to fine-scale variation in causative components of an agricultural production process.” (Source: The University of Sydney) Spatially applied advanced agronomy

PMA Conference Brisbane May What PA is and the Value to Production 1.Accept that there is variability in your production system on an intra field level not just between fields 2.Understand where the variability lies 3.Validate that the level of production variability is worth chasing for your production system 4.Investigate what the cause of the variability is 5.Understand the economics of reduction in variability Vs the value of production improvement 6.Spend money only on technology/systems that fit your needs with decisions based on sound investigation and economics 7.Review performance for future fine tuning

PMA Conference Brisbane May EM Survey: Where is the Soil Type Variation

PMA Conference Brisbane May Elevation and Drainage Is water on or water off causing field variability? How significant is this to production economics? What does the ROI look like to make improvements? Any GPS guided tractor using RTK accuracy can collect an elevation map. GPS is a more flexible method for land levelling requirements

PMA Conference Brisbane May

9 Precision Soil Sampling Is a zig zag soil sample collection process representative of variability? Is there significant soil chemistry variability to matter? Is the cost of an additional soil test or two worth it? Is the cost of an additional soil test or two worth the potential yield benefit?

PMA Conference Brisbane May Do VR Applications Make Sense or Will Single Rate Work? Is the crop sensitive to the present nutrient variability? Is there a product cost benefit to managing zones? Is there a productivity gain based on zonal treatments? Gypsum 4t/ha Gypsum 2t/ha Lime 2.5t/ha

PMA Conference Brisbane May Guidance Systems Enabling technology to most other PA system requirements Accuracy from 30-2cm using signal corrections Geolocation and elevation map creation Implement guidance Single or variable rate map application Field finder using historical field boundaries

PMA Conference Brisbane May Rate Controllers Capable of single rate product control Capable of complex variable rate product control Regulates product delivery based on speed and preset rate Even distribution down every row from start to finish

PMA Conference Brisbane May Yield Mapping