WAIKATO FARMING LIFESTYLES AUGUST 2017
13
RURAL CONTRACTORS
Technology cares for the land by Paul Campbell
Technology in the 21st century would no doubt baffle the farmers who broke in the Waikato farms of last century but today it has become an essential tool for the agriculture industry. The Global Positioning System and its spin-offs have advanced out of sight combining real-time data collection with accurate position information that is available on a smartphone . GPS is being used to achieve precision farming enabling the land-owner and the rural contractor to develop the most effective soil/plant treatment strategies enabling higher farm production while GPS mapping allows aerial top dressers and bulk spreaders to carry out the precise application of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers. That’s vital for the bottom line as better control and spread of costly fertiliser, accurate spraying and vegetation control is possible, reducing overall expenses, producing a higher yield, and even more importantly creating a more environmentally friendly farm with strict application controls possible. Precision agriculture is about collecting timely geospatial information on soil-plant-animal requirements and prescribing and applying sitespecific treatments to increase agricultural production. But it is not only ground or aerial spreading that has taken a huge leap forward. All other aspects of farming have benefited, with field-placed sensors in stock paddocks, croplands and orchards sending real time data to phones, i-pads and computers. Farmers are seeing benefits from micromanaging their fields.
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The benefits of precision agriculture are not only limited to the large farms with huge capital investments and experience with information technologies. There are inexpensive and easy-to-use methods and techniques. Information needed for improving land and water use can be collected. Farmers can improve the use of fertilisers and other soil amendments, determining the economic threshold for treating pest and weed infestations, and protecting natural resources for future use. Farm equipment manufacturers are also adopting sophisticated GPS devices to help farmers and agribusinesses become more productive and efficient.
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The accuracy of GPS creates farm maps with precise acreage for field areas, road locations and distances between points of interest. GPS allows farmers to accurately navigate to specific locations in the field, year after year, to collect soil samples or just monitor conditions.
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