EMBRACING PRECISION AGRICULTURE
Australian farmers are among the most inventive and forward thinking in the world.
Living and working as we do across a broad continent that covers a huge range of environments, with highly variable weather patterns and an unpredictable changing climate, it’s something we tend to take for granted.
Precision agriculture (PA) is one way of harnessing the data that helps us manage, if not tame, this variability.
This book provides a broadly useful compilation of ideas and case studies highlighting innovative approaches and practical strategies for enhancing the PA adoption journey.
It follows a comprehensive review undertaken as part of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) investment – Hands-on Precision Agriculture Training for Growers project (GRDC Project Code SPA2001-001).
During that review we were reminded of the many great farmers across Australia who’ve adopted various forms of PA and generously shared their stories through SPAA’s flagship publication, Precision Ag News, fact sheets and other channels.
Rather than trying to ‘reinvent the wheel’ and recreate this valuable information, SPAA staff and our team of talented writers and project leaders have brought together a collection of these stories in an endeavour to share them more widely and encourage other growers to adopt PA technologies.
We have collected and packaged this material according to four core themes, providing examples of how growers have addressed problems and alleviated the challenges they face.
First, is a glossary of the terms, and their definitions, commonly used in PA, which will be especially valuable for those who are new to it.
There’s also sections on the four themes:
■ The financial pressures PA can help address
■ Soil constraints and sensors to aid identification and
amendment
■ Yield variability and paddock management
■ Weed pressure and spraying.
This collection highlights the many ways PA programs can address different goals on- and off-farm, offering concrete examples of effective programs. It shows what a good PA program looks like, how it is run and how PA can be an important source of triple bottom line gains on-farm.
This book covers and describes all the major factors involved in building successful PA programs and is an important resource for growers, as well as the agronomists and resellers that make up your PA team.
