fact vs. myth, what is holding precision agriculture back daniel edmonds cody daft zimbabwe, january...
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N Uptake, Wheat and CornTRANSCRIPT
Fact vs. Myth, What is Holding Precision Agriculture Back
Daniel EdmondsCody Daft
Zimbabwe, January 2008
Communication• German Coastguard
N Uptake, Wheat and Corn
020406080
100120140
N uptake, lb/ac
30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240Day
WheatCorn
• Myth: Variable Nitrogen Rate Application is too difficult
• Fact: Variable Nitrogen Rate Application is indeed difficult, but not overwhelming
• Myth: The only precision agriculture technology that is going to make me money is an auto guidance system
• Fact: There are lots of precision agriculture tools available today that have delivered economic benefits (VERIS, GreenSeeker, Yield Mapping)
• Myth: VRT is only for large farmers
• Fact: This would exclude most of Oklahoma
• Myth: My Grandpa was a good farmer and he applied 100 lbs of N/ac, every year, and we still have the farm.
• Fact: Grandpa wasn’t a very good farmer
• Myth: The YP0*RI=YPN algorithm developed by OSU is only useful in Oklahoma
• Fact: Farmers in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, and Canada have benefited from using this approach
• Myth: The GreenSeeker RT200 equipment is difficult to install
• Fact: Dave Geils, Illinois: “… it was easy to install and only took a few hours. You just attach the sensors, plug it in, and it was good to go.”
• Myth: The NRCS program sounds good (support of VRT), but it is pie in the sky.
• Fact (Jan, 2008): Randy Becker is utilizing the EQUIP program, through the NRCS. In his contract he will be receiving $11.10 per acre on 640 acres for 3 years. Basically the NRCS is paying for his system in full.
• Myth: I just need to get the right flat rate, since my fields don’t have any spatial variability
• Fact: If your fields don’t have any spatial variability, you must already be in heaven
• Myth: The GreenSeeker RT200 isn’t going to make me any money, because it is too expensive ($22,000 retro-fit sprayer)
• Fact: Dave Geils, Illinois. “We saved at least 20 units across the board. The total nitrogen savings was about $24,000. So I paid for the cost of GreenSeeker the first year. ”
• Myth: The government is going to take care of me. Uncle Sam and I go way back and he just isn’t going to let me down.
• Fact: Farmer: “Government programs are not going to keep giving us money if we aren’t good environmental stewards. We might as well get in front of the game with tools like GreenSeeker.”
• Myth: The N Rich Strip and Ramp Calibration Strip were developed separately for different reasons
• Fact: The RCS approach was developed after the SBNRC as a visual diagnostic tool, and potential alternative for farmers. Both hinge on the same concepts.
• Myth: OSU is working in third world countries because farmersin Oklahoma won’t listen to them
• Fact: OSU is working in third world countries because it is the right thing to do.
• Myth: With the advent of the GreenSeeker N management approach, soil testing for NH4-N and NO3-N is now worthless.
• Fact: The N Rich Strip – GreenSeeker and/or RAMP approach is much better than the N soil test. HOWEVER, soil sampling for N, especially 0-2 ft is still incredibly useful.
• Myth: The reason that OSU is pushing the GreenSeeker technology is because it could make OSU a little money
• Fact: The reason that OSU is pushing the GreenSeeker technology is because it could make OSU A LOT of MONEY!
• and the football stadium is overbudget
Ambassador of Agriculture
Fabric
• “One can stand still in a flowing stream, but not in a world of men”
• What we do can impact many far beyondthe reaches ofthose intended
April 16, 2007Dr. Norman BorlaugCiudad Obregon, MX
Endorses GreenSeeker approach for improved N management
• Corn N Management versus Wheat• Graph showing N uptake as a function of
time, show why N preplant (50%) in corn is so important