Source: AUBURN UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
PRECISION AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGIES TO INCREASE PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY IN ALABAMA
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0215194
Grant No.
2008-38872-19342
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
2008-03476
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Aug 1, 2008
Project End Date
Jul 31, 2011
Grant Year
2008
Program Code
[RX]- Precision Agric./Tenn Valley Res & Ext, AL
Recipient Organization
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
108 M. WHITE SMITH HALL
AUBURN,AL 36849
Performing Department
AGRONOMY & SOILS
Non Technical Summary
Alabama's natural-resource-based industries, including agriculture and forestry, are facing pressures from foreign producers of agricultural products, skyrocketing energy costs, and the need to preserve and maintain environmental quality. This project has and continues to focus on the utilization of geospatial technologies to improve the profitability and efficiency of agronomic and other natural resource based enterprises. The project evaluates the effectiveness of a Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) as a source of real-time correction for tractors equipped with Real Time Kinematic (RTK) level auto-steer. To further investigate guidance options for producers, mid-level (approx. 1 ft pass-to-pass accuracy) guidance systems will be compared to traditional techniques to evaluate product application efficiencies. By evaluating soil properties of long-term conservation systems versus traditional agronomic practices, a better understanding of the sustainability of our soil resources will be obtained. Sensor technologies will be evaluted for use in nitrogen management of cotton, corn and wheat. The sensor technologies can be used with variable rate technologies to make real time site-specific applications that reduce cost and improve efficiency of agrochemical applications. Irrigation effects will be assessed using TIR data, which provides synoptic assessment of the crop-soil-water continuum. This could provide an additional tool for water management. The final component of the project is the Automated Response System (ARS), which will allow producers to respond to questions posed by members of the Precision Agriculture Team, who will then compile the responses to ensure that the producer needs are being addressed through research and extension efforts.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1010110206118%
4022410202046%
4055360202012%
4057210202010%
9016010302014%
Knowledge Area
405 - Drainage and Irrigation Systems and Facilities; 901 - Program and Project Design, and Statistics; 101 - Appraisal of Soil Resources; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
0110 - Soil; 6010 - Individuals; 2410 - Cross-commodity research--multiple crops; 5360 - Drainage and irrigation facilities and systems; 7210 - Remote sensing equipment and technology;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 3020 - Education; 2061 - Pedology;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of the project is to continue development of site-specific management practices and tools for Alabama agricultural row crop production. The following are objectives for this project: 1) To implement and evaluate use of a Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) for use in agricultural row crop production and forest management, 2) To characterize long-term effects of conservation and conventional agronomic practices on soil properties and quality in the Tennessee Valley region of Alabama, 3) To assess Precision Agriculture adoption and determine areas of emphasis for research and education, 4) Evaluation and comparison of precision guidance systems to determine benefits for on-farm applications, 5) To evaluate sensor technologies for nitrogen management in the Tennessee Valley, 6) To utilize thermal imagery for site-specific management of cotton and subsurface drip irrigation in the Tennessee Valley of Alabama. Several project outcomes are proposed. The first is to understand the potential of CORS as a source of GPS correction for agronomic and forestry operations, along with a review of the appropriate uses for different guidance systems. The second outcome would be to document the long-term effects of conservation compared to conventional agronomic practices on soil quality. Another outcome is to determine if sensor technologies provide a satisfactory method for nitrogen application in the Tennessee Valley. Thermal imagery will be evaluated as a tool for crop management, and the assessment of Precision Agriculture adoption will help direct future research and education efforts. Results will ultimately be reported in the appropriate scientific publications, along with delivery of results to farmers through timely information sheets, field days and production meetings.
Project Methods
Objective 1 will consist of a dynamic CORS assessment to compare the accuracy, signal strength and repeatability of the system's correction data. Each tractor will communicate with RTK base stations as well as have a cellular modem to receive correction data from a CORS station. Objective 2 will compare the physical and chemical properties of Tennessee Valley soils under long-term conservation and conventional agronomic management to determine the effect of management practices on soil quality and carbon dynamics. Soil map units will be utilized to block sampling sites, and several soil physical, chemical and microbiological properties related to soil quality will be measured. Objective 3 will collect survey data by using an audience response system during precision agriculture field days and other associated meetings. Survey questions will: 1) assess the use and adoption of precision agriculture tools, 2) determine why certain tools are used more than others, and 3) identify the benefits and limitations of PA adoption as viewed by producers. Objective 4 will use the guidance system's "as-applied" mapping features to determine it's efficiency for reducing product overlap and minimizing application skips. Herbicide applications will be applied using both standard application and precision guidance tools. "As applied" data will be imported into a geographic information system (GIS) to determine the percent overlap. Objective 5 will evaluate the feasibility of using an optical sensor to tailor nitrogen applications specifically to cotton, corn and wheat crops. For each of the three crops, an experiment will be established based on: 1) N rich strip; 2) standard pre-plant N rate; and 3) split N applications. Sensor readings will be collected four times during the growing season. Plant tissue samples will be collected to compare N values with sensor readings. Cotton yield data will be collected with a yield monitor. Objective 6 will be conducted on an on-going conservation system, continuous cotton experiment. Treatments include winter cover/no cover with and without subsurface drip irrigation. Thermal infrared (TIR) will be collected approximately 90 days after cotton planting between the critical first flower to peak bloom cotton growth periods. Data collected will include volumetric soil water content and cotton stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, yield and fiber quality. Analyses will spatially assess temperature/moisture differences based on landscape position, SDI water distribution across the landscape, and the relationship between TIR emittance and cotton yield.

Progress 08/01/08 to 07/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The CORS, RTK-correction evaluation for autoguidance has obtained information from guidance manufacturers' along with Auburn researchers on how to properly conduct this study. Results from this study suggested farmers are able to maintain expected accuracy up to 24 miles with little degradation in accuracy up to 40 miles assuming desirable operating conditions. When obstacles such as trees or other structures exist during field operations, accuracy (e.g.
Impacts
Results from this project have increased awareness and adoption of precision agriculture and forestry technologies in Alabama. Survey data has shown that adoption has increased by approximately 30% in the past two years in Alabama with data suggesting non-practitioners considering purchasing technology or implementing site-specific management (e.g. grid or zone management) in the near future. The adoption of automatic section control (ASC) on planters or sprayers can reduce double-application on average by 4.5%. The addition of guidance technology has resulted in farmers reducing overlap between 5% and 32% thereby enhancing on-farm environmental stewardship. Our efforts have assisted Alabama producers in adopting CORS as an RTK-correction service which has reduced investments costs by about 40% to 50%. Thereby, RTK autoguidance technology has become more feasible to Alabama producers thereby increasing guidance technology adoption and improving field efficiencies, and reducing over-application of nutrients and pesticides by up to 8%. The benefits along with others have been disseminated through Alabama Cooperative Extension System activities but also through international conferences. Further, interest in global climate change, soil change, carbon sequestration, soil quality and ecosystem function necessitates the systematic characterization of soil properties as a function of land use for improving soil databases and facilitating development of more accurate and reliable interpretations and management schemes. Our findings indicate many of these management-dependent soil properties are correlated, suggesting a subset of easily measured properties (e.g., carbon pools and bulk density) can describe much of the variability in near-surface properties affected by human impacts. In particular, soil hydraulic properties are paramount to soil survey applications and interpretations, but are difficult and costly to measure. We feel working with land-owners and foresters, that geospatial technologies are starting to be adopted in the forestry industry here in Alabama. Our logging logistic study indicated nearly 15 percent reduction in total delivered miles for typical conditions thereby decreasing transportation time and ultimately costs.

Publications

  • AbdelGadir, A.H., J.P. Fulton, M. Dougherty, L.M. Curtis, E. Santen, C.H. Burmester, H.D. Harkins, and B.E. Norris. 2011. Subsurface Drip Irrigation Placement and Cotton Irrigation Water Requirement in the Tennessee Valley. Crop Management. Online journal.
  • Harbuck, T., J.P. Fulton, M. Dougherty, S.T. Taylor, D.J. Eakes, and J.L. Sibley. 2011. In-field application uniformity evaluation of pressure-compensating subsurface-drip irrigation. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 27(1): 43-50.
  • Hall, J.B., J.P. Fulton, O.O. Fasina, T.P. McDonald, and G. Pate. 2011. Using 3-D simulation to evaluate spinner spreader performance for variable-rate application of poultry litter. ASABE Paper No. 1111193. ASABE Annual International Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky, August 7-10.
  • Sharda A. D.K. Mullenix, J.P. Fulton, R.K. Taylor and R.E.Wolf. 2011. Performance of variable-orifice nozzle for spray applications. ASABE Paper No. 1111533. ASABE Annual International Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky, August 7-10.
  • Ortiz, B. V., K. Balkcom, J. Fulton, G. Vellidis, N. Smith. E. van Santen. J. Beasley. 2011. Evaluation of benefits of using GPS based Auto-guidance on rolling terrain Peanut fields. 2011 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Louisville, Kentucky
  • Torino, M., B. V. Ortiz, K. Balkcom, J. Fulton, W. Wood. 2012. Determination of Differences in Corn Biomass and Nitrogen Uptake At Various Growth Stages Using Spectral Vegetation Indices. In Proceedings ASA Southern Branch, Birmingham, Alabama, February 5, 2012.
  • Ortiz, B.V.,Shaw, J., Fulton, J. 2011. Basis of Crop Sensing. ACES Extension Publication. ANR 1398


Progress 08/01/09 to 07/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project was initiated in August 2008. Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) technology and equipment has been installed at the Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center and a permanent testing location established. Data collection is on-going and its use for agricultural row crop production continues to be evaluated. Prime farmland soils in the Tennessee Valley region of Alabama were sampled under conservation and conventional agronomic systems and pasture. Analyses of select soil physical, chemical, and biological properties indicative of soil function and quality are ongoing. Data has been collected for the Precision Agriculture adoption survey using an audience response system. The survey has been completed at four locations including the 2009 Alabama Precision Agriculture and Field Crops Conference. Data has provided valuable insight on the current adoption status and needs of Alabama producers related to precision agriculture technologies and practices. Information related to the survey and CORS projects have been disseminated through recent extension publications, presentations and interactions at the Alabama Precision Agriculture and Field Crops Conference and the International Conference on Precision Agriculture. Research projects for the sensor technology study has been implemented at the Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. Data analysis and interpretation is on-going for this project. Precision guidance systems have been installed on farms across the state and project information on how to properly conduct this study has been provided. Data collection for this project is on-going. Information which includes both research and experiences for all these study have or will be published on the Alabama Precision Agriculture website to disseminate this knowledge to our Alabama constituents along with producers across the US and globally. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. John Fulton coordinated the day-to-day activities related to this project plus leads the CORS and thermal imagery studies. Dr. Paul Mask assisted with project coordination. Dr. Tim McDonald and Dr. Tim Taylor assisted with the thermal imagery and subsurface irrigation project and provided assistance with data analyses. Dr. Julie Howe is coordinating the conservation and conventional agronomic practices study. Dr. Joey Shaw assists with the agronomic practices study provides assistance with data analysis for other studies. Dr. Anne Adrian coordinated the producer adoption survey. Mr. Daniel Mullenix assisted with field data collection, overall data summary, and publication development for all studies. Ms. Shannon Norwood helped coordinate field data collection and extension activities for the various studies. Ms. Amy Winstead helped coordinate field data collection, publication development, and extension activities for the precision agriculture studies. Alabama Cooperative Extension System helped coordinate all workshops, trainings, and field days during this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Alabama farmers, agribusinesses, foresters, timberland owners, consultants, equipment manufacturers, and government and state agencies through extension field days, workshops, classroom instruction at both the university and K through 12 levels, and training programs were conducted. Faculty and researchers located at other institutions across the US and globally through investigator presentations and participation at professional meetings and conferences. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Over the last decade, agronomic systems in the Tennessee Valley have transitioned towards conservation management. As these systems mature, evaluation of the interaction of increasing soil organic matter with the unique soils of this region is necessary to characterize soil productivity, soil quality, and carbon sequestration. For example, our data indicates conservation systems have 2x the amount of active carbon compared with conventional systems, a measure shown to be indicative of soil quality. Fundamental research addressing dynamic near-surface soil properties associated with these management transitions in this region is necessary for development of successful precision management strategies. Efforts from this project has assisted Alabama producers in adopting guidance technologies, including CORS as an RTK-correction service which has reduced investments costs by about 40% to 50%. Thus, guidance technology has become more feasible to producers thereby increasing guidance technology adoption and improving field efficiencies, reducing over-application of nutrients and pesticides by up to 8%, and enhancing environmental stewardship. Initial results from the producer adoption and needs survey have helped to identify farmer needs, rate of adoption and the benefits and limitations to adoption of precision agriculture technologies. In return, this information has been provided the basis to establish research and extension focus at Auburn to address critical needs for production agriculture in Alabama. Analysis results from the sensor technology study have provided further information for the establishment of an algorithm for nitrogen applications in the Tennessee Valley region of Alabama, thereby enabling producers to more efficiently apply plant nutrients.

Publications

  • Mullenix, D., J.P. Fulton, T. Harbuck, S. Norwood, and A. Winstead. 2009. GPS Correction Services for Alabama. PA-07-01. Timely Information Web publication, http://www.aces.edu/anr/precisionag/Publications.php.
  • Mullenix, D., J.P. Fulton, T. Harbuck, A. Winstead, and S. Norwood. 2009. Update on GPS: New Civilian Accessible Signals L1C, L2C, and L5. BSEN-PA-09-03. Timely Information Web publication, http://www.aces.edu/anr/precisionag/Publications.php.
  • Winstead, A., S. Norwood, J.P. Fulton, and T. Harbuck. 2009. Application of CORS in Agriculture. Precision Agriculture Series. Timely Information Web publication, http://www.aces.edu/anr/precisionag/Publications.php.
  • Winstead, A., S. Norwood, T. Griffin, M. Runge, A. Adrian, J. Fulton, and J. Kelton. 2010. Adoption and Use of Precision Agriculture Technologies by Practitioners. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture, 18-21 July 2010. Denver, Colorado. 2010 CD-ROM.
  • Arriaga, J.S., J.N. Shaw, J.P. Fulton and R.L. Raper. 2009. Cotton conservation system and irrigation effects on soil carbon pools of Tennessee Valley (Alabama) Paleudults. In 2009 Agronomy Abstracts. ASA, Madison, WI.
  • Fulton, J.P., T. Harbuck, D. Mullenix, B. Ortiz, A. Winstead, and S. Norwood. 2009. ANR-1352: Global Positioning System (GPS): An Explanation of Global Navigation System (GNSS). Circular. Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn University. 2pp.
  • Fulton, J., M. Darr, R. Taylor, and S. Shearer. 2010. Proper Implementation of Precision Agricultural Technologies for Conduction On-Farm Research. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture, 18-21 July 2010. Denver, Colorado. 2010 CD-ROM.
  • Harbuck, T., A. Brooke, D. Mullenix, J. Fulton, A. Winstead, and B. Ortiz. 2010. GPS/GNSS Related Terminology. Timely Information Web publication. http://www.aces.edu/anr/precisionag/Publications.php


Progress 08/01/08 to 07/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: An organizational meeting was held with a focus group of farmers, agribusiness and government agencies in Southwestern Alabama to assess grower needs as they relate to adoption and utilization of precision agriculture. Based on information gathered from this initial assessment, two follow-up activities have been scheduled. The first is a series of three short meetings that will consist of a detailed discussion and utilization of the audience response system (ARS) to further analyze the needs of agribusiness in this region of the state. The second is a field day that will address the needs indicated in the ARS assessment. Precision agriculture team members partnered with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to determine areas of precision agriculture that have been adopted in the state and those technologies that could be adopted to promote environmental stewardship through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Two incentives were developed and NRCS personnel were trained about the precision agriculture technologies during a one-day workshop. Each participating NRCS office received a binder of reference materials to assist them in implementing the program. A study to determine the savings realized by the implementation of section-control technology was completed and results are being disseminated through seminars and meetings. Projects are being initiated. Sites are being evaluated for testing of CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations). Cooperators are being identified for the comparison of precision guidance systems. A graduate student search is in progress. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Approximately 70 NRCS personnel gained the knowledge to implement the state's Precision Agriculture component of EQIP. Farmers are currently signing up for the program and we will report on the number of applications and the number of farmers approved for the program.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period