Precision farming, specifically spatial analytics, is about making decisions from the data that we can glean from a field. No matter what the crop is, hundreds of types of data can be collected for analysis. Yield is the biggest one. After all, it is the net result, the outcome for the year, the source of […] Read more
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Understanding invisible infrared imagery valuable
Many people are jumping on the unmanned aerial vehicle bandwagon, but that is mainly because of how cool, new and interesting it is to fly the things around. However, what farmers need to worry about the most is imagery. Of course, drones are not the only way to get imagery of a field. Everything discussed […] Read more
Making a case for adopting precision agriculture
Sometimes from my perspective as a precision ag educator, I assume that every grower that knows about precision farming, does precision farming. Ten years ago, only a few farmers had heard the term, and fewer understood it. Now at 25 years into precision ag history, it could be considered mainstream and most farmers know what […] Read more
Trusting technology: when ugly fields yield handsome returns
One of my favourite questions to ask of students in class or growers out in the real world was, “are you trying to reduce or manage your variability?” After some confused looks, I would provide a brief explanation that would lead to some good discussion. This question is at the heart of the meaning of […] Read more
The great detective and precision agriculture
It’s not enough to just analyze the data that is collected by modern agricultural technology. Eventually, producers need to make a decision, whether it is doing the same thing they have done for the last 20 years or doing something different. Computers and software do many things well, such as processing numbers for analysis, but […] Read more
Field data easy to tidy up with yield editor software
Winter is no time to rest for the precision farmer. It’s time for the year-end analysis of yield data, which needs to be done every year. The first step for any yield analysis is getting the data from the yield monitor. I am surprised by the number of farmers who have told me they still […] Read more
Precision agriculture expert eager to provide information
After teaching agriculture for 32 years, I wanted to do something different. Writing a regular column on precision farming was something challenging and different and, at first thought, a bit overwhelming. Not that teaching college students was unchallenging, boring, and underwhelming. Teaching precision agriculture was an exciting field. Exploring new technology is something I love […] Read more
