ARS | Publication request: PRECISION FARMING TECHNOLOGY FOR WATER QUALITY PROTECTION

Submitted to: Annual Missouri Water Quality Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: September 15, 1995
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: In precision farming (or site-specific management), electronic sensors, computers, and digital information systems are used to determine the optimum amount of fertilizer and pesticide needed for each location within a field and to automatically control the delivery of these chemicals. A major emphasis of our precision farming research effort has been the development of electronic sensors and measurement systems for soil properties and crop yields. Soil sample collection procedures have been enhanced through the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to locate sample points for subsequent map development. The effects of GPS operating mode and receiver type on sample point accuracy have been studied. Electromagnetic induction (EM) measurements of soil conductivity obtained with a commercial sensor were highly correlated with topsoil depth. An automated, on-the-go system combining GPS and EM sensing gwas developed and used to map topsoil depth over several claypan soil fields, with good results. Grain yield sensing technology has been implemented to quantify yield variations within fields. Four combines have been equipped with GPS receivers and two different commercial grain flow sensors. The data from the commercial grain flow sensors were well correlated to batch combine hopper weights, but instantaneous yield data exhibited considerable noise, due to combine and sensor operational characteristics.