Penn State Apple Orchard Consultant
From The Furrow, 1990
Farmer feedback. Since 1988,Paul and Gail McPherson of New Park, Pa., have
helped Penn State scientists test prototypes of the PSAOC. The McPhersons grow
45 acres and 10 different varieties of MLF apples.
Since the McPhersons were already using IPM (integrated pest management) and
low rates of pesticides on their Maple Lawn Farms, the PSAOC hasn't resulted in
dramatic reduction of pesticide use. However, they say they're glad they went to
the trouble and expense o putting in the weather station and using the PSAOC
because it helps them fine tune and integrate management of irrigation,
fertilization, pruning, and pest control.
"The system gives quick answers to tough questions so we can control
costs and reduce risks," Paul says. "It also offers a fast way ato
obtain new university recommendations and incorporate them into our orchard
management."
Penn State has seven other ag-related expert systems in various stages of
development, according to McClure. They are form anaging corn and sweet corn,
wheat, grapes, peaches, gypsy moths and alfalfa pest, potato leaf hoppers, and
honeybee diseases….
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Trading in the plows for satellites
Matthew Posey, row crop manager at Maple lawn Farms in New Park, uses the
Rockwell Vision System on the combine.
HIGH TECH FARMS
Local farmers are following trend of using yield monitors and mapping, global
positioning systems, geographic info and grid soil mapping.
By Barb Krebs for the Dispatch/Sunday News July 19, 1998
Today's farmers have traded in their sickles and plows for satellites and
computer tracking systems. The results, they say, are higher and better crop
yields, a more cost-efficient farming operation, and a cleaner environment.
"It's very exciting rapidly expanding field," said Bill Rinas of
Hopewell Pheasantry of Stewartstown, who used computers and related electronics
to map out his fields and monitor crop yields.
It's called Precision Farming and it uses yield monitors and mapping, global
positioning systems, geographic information systems, grid soil sampling and
mapping and variable rate controllers.
Rinas is part of local and nationwide trend of farmers who make up use of
current satellite technology, provided courtesy of the U.S. government.
Paul McPherson and his son Hugh McPherson of Maple Lawn Farms in New Park
also use a yield monitor and global positioning systems to determine the amount
of grain harvested in each field.
The GPS is so exact that it can pinpoint grain yield differences within a
meter and categorizes the production for each section of the field.
The equipment-a yield monitor for the combine and a global positioning
unit-are attached to the farmers' combine.
During the actual harvest time, the equipment "allows the combine to
know how much grain it is harvesting in the fields," said Hugh McPherson.
Just like the grain the combine is harvesting, the yield is gathered and then
stored in the McPhersons' personal computer back at the farm office.
We collect all the data for a day of harvesting, we download the information
on the computer and the software will provide a color-coded yield map, so we can
tell where the yield is high and where we have a low yield, said Hugh McPherson.
The next step is to determine how to improve the yield in specific sections of a
field where the numbers are down.
"If you need to do something in one section of the field, say add more
lime to change the pH, and you don't need to do it in another section of the
field, it saves you time and money if you know which sections you need to work
in," McPherson said.
Kind to environment: The system also is kinder to the environment. "If
we can use less input I think that is a good reason for a lot of farmers to get
into this," he said.
The GUPS unit is used to determine field boundaries, and this season the
McPhersons will use it to accurately pinpoint the site of soil samples.
"We will take the soil sample on a grid across the field and the
software will take the date from the soil labs, and make it look like a
color-coded contour map. They call it surfacing and it shows you what is going
on in the whole field," he said.
With details like the amount of pH, or phosphorous or nitrogen, on any
particular section of a field, will help the McPhersons determine what nutrients
to add to improve yield.
Rinas uses a similar system, not only monitor his crop yields, but to help
determine the amounts of lime or fertilizer that must be added to various
sections of a field.
Rinas also will add a variable rate system to his corn planter, which will
allow him to determine various seeding rates for his fields.
"Right now I am gathering data, using different seeding rates and
various applications to see which results in a better yield," he said.
"Down the line we will get into testing soil samples to determine
various soil types and what to plant to get the best yield," he said.
The various systems use government satellites, and farmers subscribe to a
satellite service.
The satellite systems communicate with the monitor and GPS equipment attached
to the combine.
Two satellite signals are needed to get one meter precision, or in some
areas, farmers use one satellite and Coast Guard Beacons, McPherson said.
"Eventually, this is going to help us not only save money, but increase
our yields and use the land we have as efficiently as possible," he said.
The GPS unit can also be used for fun, too, and the McPhersons used their
system last fall to map out their corn field maze, called Maize Quest, which
draws hundreds of labyrinth enthusiasts to the farm each fall.
McPherson predicts the next step will be satellite imagery that will allow
farmers to see an Infra-red picture of their farm that will show crop stress,
alerting farmers to take corrective measures to save the crop in that section of
the field.
Precision farming tools:
· Yield monitors and mapping: Electronic sensors, mounted within the grain
elevator of a combine, determine grain flow, speed and moisture, used with
harvest swath to compute grain yield. Yield maps can be generated using GPS and
mapping software. Approximate cost, $3500, monitor only.
· Global Positioning Systems (GPS): Electronic receivers that use satellite
transmissions to determine latitude, longitude and altitude, using 24 satellites
to provide information. Typically, a minimum of three satellites is needed to
determine latitude and longitude.
· Differentially Corrected Global Positioning Systems (DGPS): Computer
hardware, mapping software and procedures that analyze date for planning and
management problems. Data may include yield, soil type, mapping, rainfall, soil
fertility tests, insect and weed infestations. Approximately cost, $1000 to
$5000 (software only, would also need computer for mapping and control.)
· Grid soil sampling and mapping: A way of soil sampling that divides field
into grid and used samples from within each grid. Approximate cost, $4 to $6 per
acre, annually.
· Variable rate controllers: Hydraulic and electronic units attached to
applicators which allow changing the rate of inputs on the go. A positioning
method, such as DGPS, tells the applicator where it is on the field and a
computer orders necessary changes. Approximate cost, Planter controller, $3500,
anhydrous ammonia controller, $2000. Portable sensors to monitor soil organic
matter, soil moisture, weeds, soil and plant nitrate are under commercialization
or development.
Source: Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
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Farmer uses monitor, GPS in the field
From THE YORK DISPATCH, YORK WIRED Cover Story 10/2/2000
Technology has been an integral part of Paul and Hugh McPherson's Maple Lawn
Farm in New Park for several years. What they do is called Precision Farming.
A yield monitor and a global positioning unit attached to the combine tell
the farmer how much grain he is harvesting in each field.
The date is collected, downloaded into the computer and the result is a
color-coded yield map.
That information allows the farmer to add things like lime or fertilizer only
where they are needed. It saves the farmer time and money and is kinder to the
environment.
"We've been doing this for three seasons and we've accumulated a lot of
data. The problem now is to make sense and good use of it. With the printed
maps, we can visually see where the yield is up or down and do something to
address those areas that are down," said Paul McPherson, 58.
Paul and Gail McPherson are the fourth generation on the family farm, their
son Hugh McPherson, the fifth. They farm 800 acres of field crops and 125 acres
of fruit on the Maple Lawn Farms, Inc., which is also home to the Maize Quest,
York County's Cornfield Maze Adventure.
Learn more: They wish they could learn more from technology, such as which
areas retain moisture and which need more water. "Here in York County where
the typical field is 4 acres or less, you can have several soil types in that
one field and the water-holding capability of that field changes with the
different soil types, " McPherson said. But the data isn't available yet.
While they are among the few York County farmers who are doing Precision
Farming, it is widely used in the Midwest, where farmers can determine not only
how much to plant but have their corn planter automatically change to meet the
requirements of various fields.
The problem with the technology, so far, is its cost. It can cost $4,000 for
a yield monitor, $2,500 to $4,000 for a global positioning system. And even more
for other related technology: Geographic Information System (GSI) software can
run from $1,500 to $5,000, and variable rate controllers from $3,500-$4,000.
Other high-tech systems also are available these days for farmers, for
example, using satellites to produce infra-red photos of an area to help the
farmer see how much seed and fertilizer are needed. But here, crop prices are so
low that farmers generally don't find it worthwhile.
"When you're getting less than $2 (per bushel) for corn that takes a lot
of the incentive out of it. When they get the cost down to a manageable level
maybe six or eight farmer can go together and pay the cost of the satellite
images," McPherson said.
