Precision Farming and Site Specific Management

[ray]

We (LandWise Inc.) are in the process of holding our Precision Farming and Site Specific Management Workshops in March 1999. We received quite a bit of interest at our AgriFuture Booth in Red Deer last week. I'd like to pose a series of questions to our Farm Technology room and get a "reading" from the Agri-ville community as to where precision farming is and where it is going. Firstly, do we have anyone practicing site specific management or using any precision farming technology.

[Mufferaw]

Hi Brenda Just a short message to let you know I am using precission farming practises with the Case AFS system. In the site specific area I have done some soil sampling last fall using bench marks for areas I have chosen from my yeild map and contour elevation information. This is a new process for me and I am moving slowly on this. If you have some info that could help me I would be more than interested in one of your Workshops. Thankyou for your attention.

[Mufferaw]

Hi Dave, thanks for the input. A number of producers have started their site specific management program by using new methods or techniques for soil sampling. Benchmark soil sampling has gained acceptance here in Alberta. I believe it is safe to say, in Alberta, that grid sampling is going nowhere except for research purposes. The workshops being offered may help you in terms of how to bring the information together that you have collected. There are many options and decisions to be made as to how to define your management areas and then make valid economic or environmental decisions for these areas. <BR> <P> Refer to the Agri-ville Press Release for more information on the workshops. There is a workshop scheduled for Foremost on March 15 & 16.

[Mufferaw]

Could you elaborate more on benchmark soil sampling, what it is and how it relates to site specific management?

[Mufferaw]

I'm glad you asked. Sampling strategy is the biggest hurdle in obtaining valuable soil test information. Currently there are three soil sampling strategies in use or developed for site specific management including: Grid Sampling, Benchmark Sampling and Landscape or Directed Sampling.<BR><P>Norwest Labs has been doing considerable research in the area of benchmark soil sampling. The basic principle of benchmark sampling is continued sampling at the same location each subsequent year. By using the benchmark approach a representative site is chosen that is 100 ft by 100 ft in any given field or management area. Fifteen to twenty cores (samples) of the same depth are bulked for an accurate representation of the benchmark site. Year after year that same benchmark location and method is used. The representative area may have more than one benchmark site selected if a complex soil association (eg. Chernozem vs Solonetz) or variable landscape (eg. hummocky) occurs. <BR> <P> The benchmark technique assumes that the benchmark area is less variable than the entire field (because it is smaller). Year to year variations better reflect actual nutrient changes. The benchmark area is treated as a reference area from which all fertilizer recommendations for that field are based. The critical part of this method is in selection of the benchmark area. The advantages of benchmark soil sampling are 1) less sampling error and 2) less time involved (rather than driving all over the field).<BR><P>In site specific management, field management zones are created and then a representative benchmark area would be located in the field management zone. Thanks for the question Rob. Hope that wasn't too lengthy of a response!

[Mufferaw]

Thanks, and response was just the right length