Precision Ag update - a UK & Europe perspective - Part #2

The second part of the CB Norwood’s Precision Ag tour was spent in Europe with machinery companies. First, we visited Vaderstad at Hogstadvägen in Sweden, then Lemken in Germany, Horsch in Germany and finally New Holland in Belgium. All these companies looked after us very well, for which we were most grateful.

Arriving in Sweden, the first thing we noticed was how dry it was and how it was reflected in the stressed crops we saw travelling to the Vaderstad factory. The same could be said of the crops we saw in Germany, but to a slightly lesser extent.

Vaderstad showed us a vast range in cultivation and drilling equipment but from a precision ag point view I was most interested in their E system and Seed Eye technology and what it could mean to us in terms of precision seed placement. The sensors installed in each seed tube on the drill form the basis of the Väderstad SeedEye. This gives the ability to register each seed that is metered and drilling can be controlled down to the exact number of seeds per square metre. 

Figure 1: Vaderstad SeedEye system

Next we went to Germany and visited Lemken, where we looked about their HQ and factory. Again, a lot of cultivation and other equipment but more of the traditional systems with various plough options. However, they too have very accurate seed planting options which would be very useful for precision seeding.

Figure 2: Lemken precision drill seeding system using air pressure

When we got to Horsch we had seen how the other companies worked but I was surprised at the level of trial work and other extensions Horsch were working on and how they were thinking outside the box. They were doing trials on the effect of difference press wheels on root establishment, different row spacing, seed rates and fertiliser rates down the spout. It was a very comprehensive setup and very interesting results.

They ran through their different drilling options including the Avatar with 3 hoppers to put different seed rates and types such as hybrid wheat in different zones plus fertiliser in the third hopper.

Figure 3: The effect of different sowing techniques on root development in Oil Seed Rape

Figure 4: Horsch Avatar drill with 3 hoppers

Figure 5: Trials on seed and fertiliser rates at different row spacing

 All the systems we saw lent themselves well to Precision Ag and accurate seed rates per metre, which can be used in combination with your EM maps, or other sources of spatial data such as yield maps or satellite imagery.

On the second day at Horsch we had a good look around their sprayers and the very impressive pro plus boom system that followed the crop canopy at a height of just 30cm with various nozzle options including 25cm spacing that reduced the effect of wind speed on your spraying window, giving more spray days which is a very useful feature everyone needs.

Figure 6: Top spec nozzle system with 4 nozzles every 50cm and 2 nozzles at 25cm in-between

Figure 7: Off to see the sprayer demos at Horsch

 Michael Horsch also touched on the next stage in their sprayer development, with autonomous machines that sprayed by themselves and the cameras learn the weeds they see in field and can map them. All very exciting and not that far away. High spec sprayers are very useful for variable rate PGR’s (plant growth regulators) or liquid nitrogen for example.

The final company we went to see were New Holland, with their machinery from combines to Foragers. Using their Precision Land Management system on control and measure. Yield maps are the starting point for a lot of people’s journey into Precision Ag.

Figure 8: New Holland combine open for investigation!

If you have any questions or want anymore detail on what we saw, just get in touch. 

On a personal level, it was great to see what machinery is available and what we could do with it in the Precision Ag space and to see that we’re not far behind the northern hemisphere in terms of PA adoption, and in some instances, are actually leading the way.

Chris

Precision Ag update - a UK & Europe perspective - Part #1

Having just spent most of June in the UK and Europe on a tour organised by CB Norwood, looking into Precision Ag, I thought I’d give an overview of what I saw of interest.

The tour group consisted of a great mix of farmers, contractors, CB Norwood’s managers, from both the South and North Island, Tim Myers (CB Norwood CEO), myself and was run by Paul Collins (CB Norwood Partnership Development Manager) - hats off to him for an excellent job managing the whole event and his team back in NZ.

The first week was spent in the UK, going around farms and visiting the Cereals event near Duxford. There was a real mix of farms from the traditional Estates, to new corporate farms less than 10 years old with huge areas 15,000+ hectares. From the precision ag point of view, it was interesting to see that we are all using the same technologies but for different reasons. EM surveys are used to identify different soil management zones as they are here, but not for irrigation and with little use of the topography data collected at the same time. EM was used for variable intensity of cultivating, and a lot for variable rate seeding. The EM zones are identified and then the soils classified into percentage establishment zones, so then according to your thousand grain seed weight and total population your seed required was automatically adjusted. This combined with using the EM to highlight areas of potentially higher blackgrass burdens - they find much higher levels on heavy soils identified from the EM maps, so they drill at higher seed rates   areas to compete with the blackgrass more. Using variable rate seeding and cultivations the farmers where going far more even looking crops, suppressing the blackgrass marginally more and getting up to 8% increase in yield.

Image 1: Winter wheat VR seed rate from an EM map. 

The EM maps where being used in combination with combine harvester yield maps to create zones for zonal soil sampling rather than grid soil sampling. The advantage there was that you had less samples than grid sampling, so it was cheaper, and you took samples in transects from within each soil zone from the EM map. Most of these farms have no livestock and the fields have been the same size under the same management for a good length of time, which lends itself more to zonal soil sampling.

There was a greater spread use of variable nitrogen from either satellite imagery, drones, N sensor/GreenSeeker type sensors than in New Zealand. The farmers had to use their nitrogen smarter as they had strict limits and timing limitations. This was apparent at the Cereals event on the Yara and Horsch stands to name but two both showing their own real-time sensors.

Image 2: N sensor for real-time VR nitrogen application

Image 3: The Horsch biomass sensor, also for VR N

At Cereals every machinery company seemed to be developing or had its own self propelled sprayer option, from the very basic offering to the other end of the spectrum the Horsch sprayer with its incredible boom technology on the pro plus and nozzle setup, allowing it to follow the crop at a height of just 30cm even on contoured land and almost making it wind proof spraying – with a climate like the UK one, you need to be able to spray at every opportunity you can!

Image 4: The soil pit - a great way to compare root structure in different scenarios

Image 5: There are many different software options in the UK for field inputs and collecting layers of data for smarter farming

It was great to catch up with Jim Wilson and the team from Soil Essentials, one of the few Precision Ag companies who still had a stand at the Cereals Event. The consensus on the Precision Ag front was that there are a lot of interesting and innovative ideas in the pipeline, for growers to use, which is very exciting. 

Image 6: The Soil Essentials team

 All the companies seem to have started from various positions within precision ag but come to the same conclusions on what works best, all of which we are doing here too in New Zealand. Of all the cropping farms there is probably about a 50% uptake in Precision Ag in various forms. Most farms seem to use muck in some form or another to increase organic matter and help with moisture constraints.

The last farm we went to in the UK, was the Beeswax Dyson Farming, owned by the Dyson Company. They had bought over 15,000ha since 2011 and used EM surveys and drones to help them get up to speed on their various soil types to manage them better. They were also heavily involved in environmental schemes like some of the old traditional estates we saw.

Figure 7: Beeswax Dyson Farming, general storage shed

In the next article I will discuss some of the interesting ideas that we came across in Europe. 

Cheers, 

Chris 

EM Surveying - The Uses

In the previous EM survey blog, I ran through the process of conducting the survey, this time I will go through some of the uses.

The data from an EM survey is very useful for irrigation in many ways. The topography data can be used for planning the pivot design itself with your irrigation provider for example working out tower spacing and pivot positioning. The angle of slope can be used to see if the pivot stays within design parameters for insurance purposes as well as design planning.

Figure 1: Contour map on top of elevation map

After the initial pivot or irrigation design plans, we can then look at the EM data itself to determine the amount of variability within the surveyed area. Within the PCT Gateway software we can look at the value and amount of the crop being grown on the area and the cost of installing variable rate irrigation (VRI). The software needs to know the average yield and value of the crop. That way using algorithms it calculates that by not over watering the heavier soli types or under watering the lighter areas you bring the crop yield on those areas up to the average. It looks at the reduction in variability by using VRI as opposed to a blanket application. In the example below the variability from using VRI drops from 30.4% to 4.68%. So, by using the average yield and the price we can see the payback vs the cost of putting VRI on your pivot.

Figure 2: Illustrating the payback from VRI, using an EM map. 

This model just looks at the costs vs savings of VRI from a production prospective. It doesn’t take into consideration savings from reduced water use, power savings, reduced track repairs etc, which will be in addition to this.

The next stage is to make VRI maps up for the pivot, using the different soil zones, predominately we use the shallow EM results. If the area has a lot of variation in topography we can also combine the elevation layers with the EM map to make an application map for the pivot. We can also use other elevation layers to achieve the best solution used for each specific survey, as required.

The map below, shows a three zone EM map, where  red is the lightest soil, green the medium textured soil and blue the heaviest soil. This has been combined with the slope map, where the darker tone indicates a slope of 0-5% and the brighter tone of colour areas where the slope is above 5%.

Figure 3: An EM map and slope map combined to make a VRI application map. Brighter red, green and blue indicate slope for the different soil zones. 

The EM zone maps can also be used for irrigation pod placement, as well as moisture probe placement. If you only have one probe under an irrigation management zone, you want to make sure its under the right area. I will discuss this in more detail in the next blog. In the meantime, if you have any questions about EM surveying please get in touch.

Chris Smith

Operations Manager Agri Optics NZ Ltd.

EM Values - What the data is telling you

Today we've got the second part of a 4 part series on EM Surveying and all it's uses. This week we've been into the EM Surveying over on the West Coast (check out our Facebook page if you want to see more) and it's certainly an important part of the job being out there doing the survey and seeing the physical aspects of the job to help make sense of the data and what it's telling you. Today we look at what the EM data does tell you...

An electro-magnetic (EM) sensor generates a constant electro-magnetic field that penetrates into the soil profile. It measures the bulk electrical conductivity of the soil profile. As we conduct an EM survey the sensor is taking readings at two different depths simultaneously. These two depths are known as the ‘Shallow EM’ and the ‘Deep EM’. The depths the DualEM reads depends on the height the machine is off the ground. With our EM setup we are reading the soil profile depth of 0-50cm for the shallow EM and the deep EM at a soil profile of 0-125cm. So the deep EM values are the same as the shallow plus another 75cm deeper. This is why the deep EM readings are always higher than the shallow as it is reading that extra 5cm.

Figure 1: Shallow EM survey values varying from 2-20 EM units (mS/m)

Figure 2: Deep EM of the same area with values ranging from 14-30 EM units (mS/m)

In this survey the same features are showing in the shallow EM and deep EM results, however sometimes this is not always the case the deeper profile can have a different underlying soil type that the shallow EM doesn’t pick up but the extra 85cm of deeper soil does and it changes the overall structure.

Generally speaking and depending on what part of the country you are in and the time of year the survey is carried out amongst other things, we would class a range in EM in the shallow profile of 1-3 units as low variability, 4-8 units as moderate variability and over 8 units range as high variability in the shallow layer/soil profile. In the deep EM/soil profile layer a range of 1-6 would be low variability, 6-15 moderate variability and over that high. It is often dangerous to generalise like that, but it gives you an idea of the type of ranges we look at, and as previously stated there are a lot of other factories that determine if the readings are low, medium or high variability. You also have to look at the distribution of the values as well, if the majority of the values are within a certain range and a few rogue values outside that but on a minimal area of the total, then the range in variation may not be as much as it first looks. How much the variability is costing you in terms of blanket irrigation applications compared to variable rate irrigation applications be it water, seed or fertilizer is a subject for another day!

For more information on EM Surveying please contact us at Agri Optics NZ Ltd.

Chris Smith.facebook

EM Surveying - it's that time of year again!

With all the early season rainfall we've had the EM Surveying season has started a lot earlier than most years. It's great in a couple of respects: 1) we can get across the ground before it all gets really wet (if that happens) and the potential to make a mess increases and 2) it gives you more time to analyse and incorporate the data into your decision making over the winter months. 

As we're already into it this year, we thought it was time to give you a reminder about EM Surveying and how it all works. Today you'll get the first of a two part blog looking at the process, what you get from an EM Survey and what it can all be used for. 

EM Survey – Part 1 - the process.

When we conduct an EM survey we are measuring the electrically conductivity within the soil profile, the values have close links to the soil texture properties, where clay gives a higher reading than silt that in turn gives a higher reading than sand. So, by driving over a block of land you pick up the differences in the soil texture at two different depths 0-50cm and 0-125cm. Other factors have varying degrees of influence on the readings such as soil bulk density and moisture within the profile at the time of the survey. High salinity readings can have a huge influence on readings, but this is only in specific areas of New Zealand. The EM data is logged using 2cm accurate RTK GPS, so not only do we map the relative changes in soil texture, we are also collecting valuable topography data at the same time.

Agri Optics' EM Survey setup with soil profile shown. The measurements penetrate 1.25m into the ground. 

We drive most commonly at 12m swaths across the area, but closer resolution can be used for more intensive situations such as viticulture. Once the survey has been conducted we write a report about the findings from the two different EM layers, we then zone the EM data up into different management areas and run topography generated maps. Once you have had time to read through the report we arrange a meeting to then run through the report with you in person if you so desire. We also supply the client with software to view the data on their own computers and look at the different layers plus make your own management zones if required. From this point we can then focus on the areas of interest for your requirements.

The survey data has many uses, depending on the farming type and location and includes but is not limited to the following;  being the basis of variable rate irrigation application maps, moisture probe placement, used in zonal soil sampling, in dryland farming areas knowing where to put your effluent, to varying your nitrogen use depending on the underling soil types and used for flood modelling. It can also be used in conjunction with other layers of data such as yield maps, biomass maps and as happens frequency used with the topography data. Over the next few blogs I can drill into more detail on these different uses.

The EM season runs form the end of irrigation in the autumn through to Spring, but from now onwards is the ideal timing. For more information on EM surveying or to book one in for this season, please contact one of the Agri Optics team. Cheers, Chris. 

EM surveying - Knowledge is Power... (and Potential profit!)

An Electromagnetic Survey is one of the key layers required on the precision farming journey. Precise location and understanding of soil types is a key piece of information in driving decisions around water use and nutrient placement. Not only can an EM survey be used to reduce water inputs it can form the basis of other decisions related to plant health, production and nutrient uptake. Turning the pretty maps into useful data requires some powerful software. That is where VA Gateway comes in. Gateway allows for in depth analysis of multiple layers, including Yield and EM. All Agri Optics customers have access to VA Gateway and AgCloud the online version.

With the software we create reports on the various layers of data collected. Clients get information on two EM soil profiles, one measuring the conductivity in the top 0-50 cm of soil and the other looking at changes in the top 0-125cm of your soil profile. Our report explains our findings on each layer with an explanation of what you are seeing. Depending on the variability arising from the survey, we then create different management zones based on the range in EM units. These zoned maps can then be imported into your variable rate irrigation (VRI) software if they are used for irrigation or into your VR seed drilling control box if you are using it for variable rate seeding based on your soils.

Figure 1. Top left is a shallow EM map and to the right of it a zoned map of that layer. Below is the same but for the deeper EM (0-125cm).

We also report on topography features. As we log the EM data at 2cm accuracy we are also mapping these features. This data set in its own right is very useful and gives you the surface characteristics of the area surveyed in the form of six additional maps, slope, elevation, landscape change, aspect, any depressions and witness index (which way water will move in a rain or irrigation event). This data can be a powerful management tool. The water movement models can help highlight potential areas of issue, so they can be addressed, be it nutrient movement or run off.

Figure 2. Gateway software generates water movement models based on the topography data.

The elevation data can also be used to create contour maps that can be used in the design stage of your centre pivot system, e.g. when calculating tower spacing's or to help with budgeting for any required earth works.

Figure 3. Gateway software can be used to create 3D contour maps.

We can also create moisture probe placement maps based on your EM and elevation data to find your optimum site within each management zone. These sites can also be used as ground-truthing sites with HydroServices neutron probe to put actual specific values to the different zones water holding capacities and then convert the EM map into a water holding capacity map.

A further report can be created to gauge the likely payback time from the installation of VRI based on your soil variability, the crop you are growing, its value per unit and the cost of your VRI system. This is proving very helpful for those who are unsure as to whether they have enough variability in the surveyed area to warrant VRI.

All our data is collected using strict protocols, with the highest standards in continuity and quality every time. This ensures our clients have powerful, solution-focused information. For more details check out our website www.agrioptics.co.nz.

Post credit to Chris Smith.

Event Reminder: B+LNZ South Canterbury Farming for Profit Technology Expo - August 11th

Farmers in Canterbury and North Otago don't forget to head along to the Phar Lap Raceway in Timaru tomorrow for the B+LNZ South Canterbury Farming for Profit Technology Expo.

There is a great line up of presentations including a number relating to precision agriculture and efficient irrigation. And if you would like to meet some of the connections and contributors to the H2Grow blog in person than be sure to grab a front row seat in the following presentations:

4pm - Variable rate irrigation and the latest irrigation technology from Lindsay, manufacturers of Zimmatic, Growsmart and FieldNET irrigation solutions.

4:30pm - The benefits of EM surveying and precision agriculture products and services offered by Agri Optics NZ.

For full details of the agenda click here.

... and I will give you a heads up that H2Grow will be kicking off an exciting competition from 1pm tomorrow. Entries can be made at the Technology Expo and online, so head along tomorrow or watch this space for more details!!

From your friendly H2Grow Team

Reduce the Cost of Nutrient Loss with Precision Ag (Part 3)

In the last two blogs we looked at how Precision Ag can help with managing the nutrient and moisture levels in the soil profile. This blog looks at how an EM survey can assist in relation to the physical characteristics of the land for your farm environment plan.

As an EM survey is conducted, the readings are logged by 2 cm horizontally accurate RTK GPS. This allows us to not only build a great picture of your soil profile but also the surface of the area surveyed as well. This in its own right can be a very powerful tool for overall land management and also the farm environment plan. As the flow of water can cause the movement of soil and nutrients.

With this layer of data we can make 3D contour or water flow maps. So you can see where water will move in a rain or irrigation event and where potential areas of soil/nutrient issues may occur, so buffer zones may be necessary to mitigate this potential problem.

 

Picture 1: 3D elevation map showing the potential water flow across the area.

Our software platform, VA Gateway, can model the flow of water and we make an animated model of how the surface water will react over time. On the first image (picture 2) below you can see the surface water after a rain event then moving down the images how the water moves from the higher area and ponds in others. This sort of information is of great use to the client for highlighting potential issue zones.

Picture 2: Simulator showing the water flow after a large rain event.

Picture 3: The water is flowing from the higher areas.

Picture 4: The water is ponding in the low lying areas.

With variable rate irrigation application maps on ‘hilly’ land we can combine the EM and slope maps, to take into consideration the severity of slope over the EM. That is to say it may be a soil type that requires a higher water rate but when you take into consideration the degree of slope, then higher application rates would be moving down the slope as well infiltrating the soil profile, so therefore a lower application rate is needed on the steeper sloped areas to reduce the chance of runoff. By managing the potential flow of water across your property you are also managing the movement of soil and nutrients.

 

Picture 5: At the top left the EM zone map, on the bottom left the slope map. On the right the two maps have been combined to form an application map using both characteristics.

In Picture 5, on the right side is the application map where is red low EM, green Medium EM and blue high EM - the matt colours indicate low slope, the bright colours higher slope.

So with the use of Precision Ag you can gather very comprehensive maps showing the levels variability in nutrient levels, in soil characteristics and in topography for your property. By measuring these variables you can then monitor them and manage them, which are prime requisites for your farm environment plan.

Chris Smith

Agri Optics NZ Ltd

Reduce the Cost of Nutrient Loss with Precision Ag (Part 2 of 3)

In the last blog post we looked at nutrients and how Precision Ag can help with your Farm Environment Plans (FEP). This blog post looks at how an EM survey can help with identifying your soil types for your Farm Environment Plan.

An EM survey illustrates the relative variability in soil characteristics including soil texture that can be potentially related to water holding properties within that soil profile, this can help you manage water application through the use of variable rate irrigation technology. When combined with the use of soil moisture probes you have the data and technology you need to be able to retain nutrients within the soil profile itself. 

EM surveys can be ground-truthed to find the correlation between the EM value and water holding capacity (WHC).  From that you can create a WHC map and site-specifically place moisture probes to monitor the soil moisture levels within each identified zone.

Ground-truthing sites are identified within each zone (shown on the left). The graph illustrates the correlation between the EM values and WHC in the top 55cm of the soil profile for this paddock.

In the image above we can see the correlation between EM value and WHC at this site has an R2 of 0.97 (R2 quantifies goodness of fit. It is a fraction between 0.0 and 1.0, higher values indicate that the model fits the data better). We can then use the equation in VA Gateway, one of the PA software platforms supported by Agri Optics, to create a water holding capacity (WHC) map out of the EM values map.

The EM map converted into a Water Holding Capacity map

This water holding capacity map can then be used in conjunction with soil moisture probes and VRI to maintain the moisture levels between field capacity and critical moisture. This not only reduces any potential yield loss from moisture stress but it also ensures that you aren't saturating the soil profile, and therefore avoid leaching nutrients out of the root zone.

It’s all about balancing crop requirements, real-time moisture levels, rainfall (when it comes!) and application rates with irrigation return times as precisely as possible to keep everything at an optimum level.

An AquaCheck soil moisture probe graph showing soil moisture levels and how they are affected my irrigation or rain events on this soil profile.

As can be seen above by keeping the moisture between upper and lower readily available water levels you ensure yield isn’t compromised and eliminate leaching. The rooting depth used for the probe profile can be tailored to the crops specific needs on the moisture monitoring website.

Next time we will discuss how the EM maps and topography data can help you with your FEP.

Chris Smith

Agri Optics NZ Ltd

Reduce the Cost of Nutrient Loss with Precision Ag (Part 1 of 3)

Precision Ag can help you in many ways with your Farm Environment Plan (FEP). Precision nutrient management, EM maps, topography data,variable rate irrigation (VRI) and moisture probes are all tools available to help you manage your FEP and mitigate any potential issues you may face - Reducing costs to your farming operation and the environment.

I will be looking at how each of these can help you over the next few blog posts (to make sure you don't miss out pop your email address in the "Follow By Email" box, to the right). In this first blog of three I am looking into precision nutrient management.

Improving Nutrient Management with Precision Ag

The objective here is to maximise nutrient use efficiency while minimising nutrient losses into water. This can be accomplished by looking at the nutrient levels in the soils themselves as well as monitoring the moisture in the soil profile to ensure you don’t leach nutrients out with over watering. Precision Ag can help you in several ways to achieve this, this week I will look at the nutrient levels themselves.

This is done through either grid or zonal soil sampling. Instead of taking one soil sample per field or block, you sample in a grid at a resolution of one site per hectare or take samples within each known soil zone from your EM survey. Whichever way the samples are collected the sites are geo-referenced that means you can go back to the same point every time you sample so you can see how you are managing your nutrient levels over a number of years. At each site 12-15 cores are taken and placed in a bag, labelled and sent off to the laboratory for that sampling point.

Picture 1: Geo referenced sampling points in a field.

When you receive the laboratory results, they look similar to those you normally get however the critical difference is they are all geo-referenced and are at a higher resolution i.e. one per hectare. The data received can then be processed to create a nutrient zone map; with nutrient levels grouped in ranges for the given area and given nutrient.  From that layer of data application maps are made to match the soil and crop requirements.  The main nutrients commonly applied using this variable rate method are potash, phosphate and magnesium as well as lime for pH.

Picture 2: A map showing the varying Olsen P values across a field.

By only applying what is needed where it is needed means you minimise any over-application of product with financial and environmental implications, and you also maximise the crops potential on a nutrient level. By using this method you can mine nutrient-rich zones reducing nutrient levels in those areas and apply only what is required elsewhere.

Chris Smith

Agri Optics NZ Ltd

Managing Environmental Compliance with Precision VRI and EM Mapping

Farm Fast facts:

Farm Name: Seadown Dairies

Cows Milked: 620

Length of VRI Pivot: 565m

Production: 1705/ha, 278000 KgMS

Pasture Grown/Harvested: 17,000 KgDM /14,500 KgDM

Key Benefits from VRI system: Reduced track maintenance, reduced pugging damage less water wasted.

Sustainable farm management was a major driver behind Brendan Caird’s decision to install Lindsay Growsmart Precision VRI with FieldNET on his 565m pivot. A major feature of the farm is a spring fed stream that flows through the middle of the irrigated area of the property. Totalling an area of approximately 5 ha, the streams and springs add to the visual appearance of the property and have been fenced and planted into a riparian zone. However without VRI effective irrigation management would have been considerably more difficult. By installing the VRI system Brendan is now able to work around mother nature and reduce his farms overall impact on the environment.

Riparian Zone in the middle of the VRI Pivot

The costs of irrigating his races and tracks were also a big part of the equation.

“Stock flows better, track maintenance is reduced and water is not wasted on unproductive areas” says Brendan who uses VRI to improve the conditions on the farm races. Nearly 5Ha of the 93Ha irrigated area is able to be avoided which includes races and waterways which allows Brendan to utilise that saved water elsewhere.

With an allocation of only 3.2mm/ha/Day irrigation practices need to be as efficient as possible at Seadown Dairies to maximise water use for grass production. Brendan also finds benefit in the VRI system to help remove paddocks from the irrigation round that are set to be re-sown. In the case of the 2016 season Caird planted fodder beet and set an irrigation plan to avoid the paddock whilst it was being cultivated. You can see the effects of this below. The yellow is the paddock that was avoided. The pink is for zones that were a part of the avoid zones.

As Applied Irrigation for the season. Note the paddock in Yellow.

Agri Optics conducted an EM survey on the property and the major soil zones were able to be identified see (http://www.agrioptics.co.nz/portfolio/em-survey/ for more info). The next step that Brendan and his team are working on is to begin irrigating to the EM soil zone plan. With multiple soil management zones identified on the property the goal is to water according to the relative requirements of each soil zone. This is aided by soil moisture sensing equipment to give the exact time that irrigation is required. Further to this Brendan can also be sure that soils are not being overwatered and water is not being wasted which Brendan says helps make his farm environment plan more comprehensive.

Blog this week by Nick @ Agri Optics
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FieldNET and EM Surveying. The Ultimate Moisture Management Solution.

Electromagnetic soil surveys (EM) and variable rate irrigation are two tools that when used together can have maximum impact on your bottom line and allows for optimisation of the VRI system. On top of this, systems such as the Lindsay Precision VRI and FieldNET can produce a proof of placement map which can be used for analysis with other layers. This feature adds to the power of the EM-VRI combo.

The EM Survey:

• From the EM survey individual zones of soil type can be created, each with different water holding capacities.
• Zone maps are geo-referenced which allows for further use in mapping programs.
• Ground truthing of EM zones with a neutron probe will build a profile of actual soil water holding capacities.

EM Survey Zones

The VRI plan has multiple features:

• Each soil zone has been added to have a different irrigation rate.
• Tracks have been set as avoid zones. Troughs and low points can also have variable rates.
• Pivot wheel tracks have a reduced irrigation rate.

FieldNET VRI Plan

 Once the plan has been run the FieldNET software will calculate the total mm of water applied over a given time period. This produces a map layer that can be used to further investigate relationships with other data layers such as yield data. The proof of placement map serves as excellent reporting tool as the total amount of water applied to each zone on the farm can be accounted for. It is important to remember that the combination of EM and VRI allows for greater precision and ultimately greater efficiency.

FieldNET VRI as applied map:

• Irrigates to a set plan which can be dictated by factors such as soil moisture conditions, crop growth stage and available irrigation water.
• Produces the record of water applied. This can be broken down further into water applied per zone. The reporting features enable accurate proof of water applied.
• If a cost is applied over the water applied map a cost per zone can be quantified.
• Further analysis can then be done on gross margin per zone with the cost of water applied factored in. Stay tuned to the blog to see the latest on this front.

FieldNET VRI as Applied Map

Data from irrigation proof of placement maps can be fed into OVERSEER®. The total amount of water applied can be used at a block level. This has in recent cases reduced leaching values at block level. It shows that there is merit in capturing this information and that there is potential for multiple uses for the data in the future. 

For more info see http://www.precisionirrigation.co.nz/en/pages/products/?content=7

Another post from Nick, Precision Ag Technician. 

Agritech and Smart Management Poised to Reshape Farming and Growing

Havelock North played host to the delegates for the 2016 LandWISE “Value of Smart Farming” Conference. Day one started with an Australian perspective and Julie O’Halloran and Ian Layden from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries both spoke regarding challenges with precision ag implementation in the Queensland context. Both are working on a precision ag project with a small group of Queensland vegetable growers.

The key points in their project:

• Identify variability using EM surveys and Trimble GreenSeeker technology.
• Address variability using variable rate nutrients and water.
• Make sure that data is utilised and implemented into management decisions.

For more info on Trimble GreenSeeker and EM Soil Surveys head to www.agritopics.co.nz

The story of Keith Jarret’s successful Koln Concert was the analogy used by Ian make the point that although something doesn’t feel right, e.g a new technology, embracing the change and stepping outside the comfort zone can see great things can happen. Often, this is the case when new technology doesn’t perfectly fit the system. Taking the risk and making it work can end in a great result.

Dan Bloomer of LandWISE spoke about the website www.fertspread.nz, a fertiliser spread analysis and calibration tool. Farmers, growers and contractors that spread their own fert should head there to see some of the tips for accurately calibrating their spreading equipment. The website provides access to some extremely useful and practical resources.

Boosting the growth and development of cutting edge NZ Agritech is the focus of Sprout (www.sproutagritech.com), an agritech incubator that is supported by many big New Zealand agribusinesses. Stu Bradbury, also from Agri Optics North, spoke about the role sprout is playing in developing Kiwi startup agritech ventures. 

Stu Bradbury introducing Sprout Agritech Accelerator

 Justin Pishief presented on the uses of profit mapping from georeferenced yield and topography data. Justin produced mapping layers showing how the topography of a particular paddock of onions was actually limiting the yield and subsequently the profit.

Source: J Pishief, Landwise Presentation

The key steps in utilising profit mapping:

• Capture georeferenced data at harvest.
• Identify the “Yield Gap”. i.e. the potential yield that each area or zone can reach.
• Link this data to the cost of production.
• Create a gross Margin for each zone in the paddock.
• Identify what is causing this loss.

 Agri Optics is able to produce profit maps from captured yield data visit: http://www.agrioptics.co.nz/portfolio/yield-data-mangement/ for more info.

Day two of the conference introduced delegates to the future of smart farming. Big Data, Agricultural Cybernetics and machine learning was some of the jargon used in the morning presentations. However… Big data does not equal information. This was the guts the message from Tristian Perez, Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems at Queensland University of Technology. Farmers now have access to more data than ever but this does not necessarily equate to usable information. The biggest issue facing farmers now is no longer the volume of data but the variety. Data from multiple layers e.g. NDVI, EM and Yield are just some of the variety that farmers are faced with.

Drones in action at the Centre for Land and Water

The micro farm at the Centre for Land and Water (see http://www.claw.net.nz/ for more info) was the setting for demos of drones spreading rice and aerial spraying as well as an autonomous vehicle designed to drive itself around orchards. The level of technology involved in automated ag vehicles is immense and the future of farm machinery will see farmers needing knowledge of increasingly complex machinery and technology.

Autonomous Orchard Robot

By Nick Evans, PA Technician at Agri Optics. @AgriOpticsNick