Funded by SAGITProject PA 1/04
Project Aims
a) To increase the effective use of precision agriculture systems by grain growers in South Australia.
b) To test the economic value of using variable rate inputs to grain crops to manage both stable and unstable variables.
c) To broaden the application of precision agriculture to include lower rainfall areas.
Project Achievements
Research trials were undertaken at 5 core sites:
1. Crystal Brook -Variable rate phosphorus and nitrogen, according to variations in soil phosphorus
2. Snowtown - deep ripping & gypsum treatments
3. Tarlee - Variable rate phosphorus, according to changes in soil type and yield potential
4. Buckleboo – deep ripping & deep placement of fertiliser
5. Waikerie, Allen Buckley – Variable rate phosphorus and crop types
Details and results of these field trials are available to download below as a Research Report.
A whole farm economic analysis of precision agriculture for these 5 properties was undertaken. In this study the average annual benefit from using precision agriculture was $18/ha. Approximately half of this benefit was from savings due to guidance systems (eg less overlap) and half due to input savings or to crop production increases from variable rate application of crop inputs. The average investment in PA equipment was $65,466 or $35/ha. The economic payback period was 3 years for guidance systems and 7 years for variable rate equipment.
SPAA PA equipment survey
The use of PA technologies by members of SPAA and SANTFA was assessed in 2004. This survey was designed to give SPAA a guide on the type of equipment being used and what problems growers had when using this equipment. This survey was also designed to provide a useful reference point to assess the uptake of PA in the future.
The average number of years that farmers had been using PA equipment was 3. Most of the equipment used came from one of four manufacturers: KEE (33%), Farmscan (23%), gpsAg (18%) and John Deere (17%).
Of the PA equipment used, 74% of farmers were using guidance and autosteer and only 9% were using yield mapping. Other systems included autoboom controllers (7%), spray controllers (5%) and VRT seeding (5%). Most farmers experienced some problems with GPS differential signal reliability but these problems were usually only of short duration. Also, 40% of growers had difficulties with data management and most considered that the operating manuals had insufficient details. Commercial suppliers have been made aware of these findings.
To broaden the application of precision agriculture to lower rainfall areas:
SPAA established research sites at Buckleboo on Eyre Peninsula and Waikerie in the Murray Mallee to measure the benefits of variable rate treatments within paddocks in lower rainfall regions.
Where responses to deep ripping or additional fertiliser occurred they were mostly in the lighter and deeper soil types rather than in the shallower soils in the flats. Further details are in the Research Report .
These sites have also been the focus for field days and have formed part of the basis for regional precision agriculture groups set up in 2007.
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