PHOTO: FOTOPERSBURO DIJKSTRA
VARIABLE RATE APPLICATION ▶▶▶
How precision farming can earn an extra £99/ha
BY RICHARD ALLISON M
ost fields have poorer-yielding areas. It could be an area of heavier soil where germination rates are lower, or perhaps a slug
or blackgrass hotspot. Whatever the reason, by treating the field as a whole with a flat-rate in- put, farmers are never going to get the most from these underperforming areas. So by vary- ing inputs across a field, such as raising seed rates in areas with poorer germination, farmers can raise yields.
Split-field trial However, there is a perception that precision farming does not pay. Or that only very varia- ble soils see any benefit. To find out if this is the case, Hutchinsons established a split-field trial across three farms, comparing their Omnia precision farming approach with normal farm practice in winter wheat. It revealed that preci- sion farming does pay, with an average yield increase across all three sites of 0.6t/ha. The extra yield equates to £99/ha (€ 112) based on a wheat price of £165/t (€ 188), which Nick Strelczuk, precision technology specialist at Hutchinsons, believes is a good return for the
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Nick Strelczuk: “Extra yield of £99/ha (US$125) is a good return for the £5/ha an- nual cost of using Omnia.”
£5/ha (€ 6) annual cost of using Omnia. This subscription enables farmers to generate input application plans using different layers of in- formation, including crop biomass data – from drones, machine-mounted sensors and satel- lite maps showing differing slug and black- grass pressure.
Little soil variation Of particular interest is that a yield increase
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A trial carried out across three farms in the Midlands (UK) shows that precision farming can pay. Even fi elds that farmers believe to be fairly even are seeing yield benefi ts after using the Omnia platform of ‘Agronomy company’ Hutchinsons.
was also seen in a field with little soil variation at Grove Farm, near Borne, Lincolnshire. The trial field of Zyatt wheat consists mainly of ma- rine clay. Half of the field was managed using Omnia precision farming and the other half followed standard farm practice. Total seed and nutrient inputs were kept the same on each half to allow a direct comparison. The starting point was to generate a variable seed rate map. For this field it was based on three layers – soil texture, seed-bed conditions and blackgrass pressure. “Some fields may have up to seven layers, but for this one three was ide- al,” says Mr Strelczuk. Seed-beds were scored by visual assessment (excellent, good or poor) and recorded in the field using a tablet with the Omnia mapping tool. The same had been done for blackgrass pressure. For blackgrass, upping seed rates helps to increase crop competition. And for areas where germination may be lower – for example, heavier soils and poorer seed-
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The different layers used at Saltby Farms, the third participant. The soil texture (1), slug pressure (2) and seed-bed condition (3) layers were used to generate the variable seeding map (4). The nitrogen map (5) was based on crop biomass measurements. The resulting yield map (6) shows the benefits of a precision approach. This way of varying inputs reduced the cost of wheat production by £9/t.
26 ▶ FUTURE FARMING | 22 February 2019
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