Shannon Huber Norwood Multi-County Extension Agent Alabama Cooperative Extension System

 Growers are facing increased input costs ◦ nitrogen, fuel  Labor is becoming harder to find ◦ Allows farms to reduce labor needs  Environmentally friendly ◦ Putting inputs precisely where they are needed  Generate farm specific data to increase profits

 Yield Monitoring  Variable Rate Application ◦ Fertilizer, plant growth regulators, defoliant  Sensor Technology  Remote Sensing  Guidance ◦ Boom control

 Sensors on combine or cotton picker determine yield, typically at 1 second intervals  Controller connects GPS data to sensor data allowing for creation of yield map  Typically use 1m accuracy GPS  Cotton pickers use light emitters (Ag Leader) or microwave technology (John Deere)  Yield monitors are report cards for farmers

Ultimate goal is a profit map!

 Technology exists to variable rate apply most crop inputs: ◦ Fertilizer, seed, insecticide, plant growth regulators, defoliant  Fertilizer is probably most frequently applied on a variable rate basis

Seeding Prescription Map Higher seeding rates under pivot. Nitrogen Prescription Map Based on multiple years of yield data

 Greenseeker is a commercially available product that measures NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetative Index), which basically indicates how green the crop is  Why is this important? ◦ Indicator of plant health and growth  What can we use this for? ◦ Nitrogen application was original purpose

 Commercial providers of aerial based NDVI and thermal imagery  In Alabama, primarily for cotton management  Plant growth regulators and defoliant

‘Scouting’ image product from commercial vendor Thermal image product from commercial vendor

 3 levels of guidance products ◦ Light bar/LCD screen guidance ◦ Assisted steer ◦ RTK

Runs on chicken nuggets & mac-n-cheese Runs on baby food and lots of love

 Light bar/LCD screen guidance ◦ 12” pass-to-pass ◦ Burndown of cover crops ◦ Pastures ◦ Golf course/sod ◦ Cost: $ $5000

 Assisted steer ◦ 4-12” pass-to-pass ◦ StarFire 2, OmniStar ◦ Spray applications ◦ Planting ◦ Some products simply attach to steering column ◦ Accuracy, but not repeatability ◦ $2000 (as an add-on to light bar) and up

 RTK ◦ Base station ◦ CORS ◦ Controlled traffic pattern ◦ Controlled tillage ◦ Precise input application

 RTK Costs ◦ CORS Station: approx. $24,000 ◦ $22,000 for third party auto-guidance setup ◦ $12,000 for third-party base station  Base station range is approx. 6 miles line of sight  Line of sight seems to be challenge here (vs. Midwest or MS Delta)  Many farms are spread over large geographic area, would require multiple base stations  Multiple base stations or moving a base station, which would require additional labor.

 Sprayer booms are typically 60 or 90 ft.  Booms can have from 3 – 7 sections  Boom controls allows individual sections to be turned on or off

Field boundary View from behind Top View Slide courtesy Dr John Fulton, AU Guidance – Boom Control

 Private company worked with Chris Johnson at USSRC and Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center to test use of farm RTK equipment using CORS as correction signal  Two brands of equipment were tested

 Farm in Lawrence County acquired Trimble AutoPilot equipment to use with CORS  This farm is located approx. 27 miles from GTAC CORS

 In January, a discussion began between Extension PA program and area farmers to gauge interest in CORS as a possible application for the Conservation Innovation Grants

25 mile radius map

 Farmers inquired about going together to purchase a CORS  DOT was contacted  Grant money secured from Wheat and Feed Grain & Cotton Commission  Word spreads…9 farms buy into the CORS for Courtland

Alabama Cooperative Extension System 9 farms AL Wheat & Feed Grain Producers; AL Cotton Commission Lawrence County Board of Education Alabama Department of Transportation

 Courtland site became operational on March 11

Which one is right for me? Traditional Base Station CORS  Line of sight  Geographic limitations ◦ More base stations ◦ Move station ◦ Some dealers provide network  Depending on factory pre- installs or current equipment, it can be cheaper to upgrade than purchase 3 rd party  Requires cell phone coverage  Not compatible with John Deere GPS - tractor equipped with John Deere RTK can not use CORS for correction signal  Nice that other groups/agencies can use signal

 Further evaluation of CORS for ag applications ◦ Funded by Alabama Cotton Commission  Precision Ag Team plans to apply for Conservation Innovation Grants in 2009 ◦ Require farmer cost-share ◦ Commercially available technology ◦ Further partnership with DOT

 Shannon Huber Norwood ◦ ◦ mobile ◦ ext. 28  Amy Winstead ◦ ◦ ◦ ext. 26