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Arable Farming
Cropping
Imaging; usefulness, payback, cost/benefit
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<blockquote data-quote="Brisel" data-source="post: 7243802" data-attributes="member: 166"><p>I've tried drones & satellite NDVI imagery for N applications. Other than saving me some money on N in 2018 with some large osr canopies, it has never covered its costs if I value my management time properly. Last year in osr you could vary the N all you wanted but the cameras could not see the CSFB larval burden. Early summer droughts on lighter soils also spoiled any responses to March/April applications. Cereals don't seem to respond particularly well. They already have a N Sensor here in my new job so I'll see how that goes - we've got some very variable wheat where it wasn't put in very well and rained constantly afterwards. There's an opportunity to cut back the spend in wet holes & dodgy headlands. </p><p></p><p>What other imagery did you have in mind? I've tried electroconductivity scanning soils for varying establishment rates & seed. Yes, I got a more homogenous crop but no significant yield lift per field. It did reduce the lodging in parts of the field with a history of going down, so that has a value when you consider the hourly cost of a harvesting team regardless of tonnes/hour as well as yield loss from lodging. Rhiza/Agrii Contour use soil brightness mostly (I think) for creating soil type zones which is cheaper than a scanner over the field. Part of the value is in the ground truthing by a soil scientist or the grower which is used to estimate the seed establishment %.</p><p></p><p>Smart sampling for ph, P, K, Mg etc? Done by soil zone or just a 100m grid? Good in a very big and variable field. Not worth it in more even smaller more fertile fields. A good experienced lime sampler is just as good as, if not better, than a GPS sampler. Send your samples to the lab where they grind up the inert calcareous stones to neutralise the acid soil next to it and you get false readings. SOYL said pH 8.2 in a patch of clay cap with clubroot - lime man said 5.8 and showed me the previous maps he'd done years before. I had a ride around with him to see for myself.</p><p></p><p>So, what is constraining yield? Pigeons, rabbits, drainage, sunlight, aspect, compaction, plant population, canopy, nutrition, moisture etc? A technicolour image doesn't tell you that. It does direct you to the bits that need further investigation with a spade, sample bag, tissue test and an experienced eye. Don't forget to repeat on the good bits as a comparison too. </p><p></p><p>What do you need to justify the expense of all this tech? Big responses in high value/high potential crops IMO. Messing around in a crop of spring barley on 10 acres of sand that might die in June without rain isn't going to get you your money back. </p><p></p><p>Why the pretty pictures? Attention to detail when you can't see with the naked eye or don't have the time to put boots on the ground often enough, I suppose. What questions did it raise with you [USER=153120]@Secret Agronomist[/USER] ?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Brisel, post: 7243802, member: 166"] I've tried drones & satellite NDVI imagery for N applications. Other than saving me some money on N in 2018 with some large osr canopies, it has never covered its costs if I value my management time properly. Last year in osr you could vary the N all you wanted but the cameras could not see the CSFB larval burden. Early summer droughts on lighter soils also spoiled any responses to March/April applications. Cereals don't seem to respond particularly well. They already have a N Sensor here in my new job so I'll see how that goes - we've got some very variable wheat where it wasn't put in very well and rained constantly afterwards. There's an opportunity to cut back the spend in wet holes & dodgy headlands. What other imagery did you have in mind? I've tried electroconductivity scanning soils for varying establishment rates & seed. Yes, I got a more homogenous crop but no significant yield lift per field. It did reduce the lodging in parts of the field with a history of going down, so that has a value when you consider the hourly cost of a harvesting team regardless of tonnes/hour as well as yield loss from lodging. Rhiza/Agrii Contour use soil brightness mostly (I think) for creating soil type zones which is cheaper than a scanner over the field. Part of the value is in the ground truthing by a soil scientist or the grower which is used to estimate the seed establishment %. Smart sampling for ph, P, K, Mg etc? Done by soil zone or just a 100m grid? Good in a very big and variable field. Not worth it in more even smaller more fertile fields. A good experienced lime sampler is just as good as, if not better, than a GPS sampler. Send your samples to the lab where they grind up the inert calcareous stones to neutralise the acid soil next to it and you get false readings. SOYL said pH 8.2 in a patch of clay cap with clubroot - lime man said 5.8 and showed me the previous maps he'd done years before. I had a ride around with him to see for myself. So, what is constraining yield? Pigeons, rabbits, drainage, sunlight, aspect, compaction, plant population, canopy, nutrition, moisture etc? A technicolour image doesn't tell you that. It does direct you to the bits that need further investigation with a spade, sample bag, tissue test and an experienced eye. Don't forget to repeat on the good bits as a comparison too. What do you need to justify the expense of all this tech? Big responses in high value/high potential crops IMO. Messing around in a crop of spring barley on 10 acres of sand that might die in June without rain isn't going to get you your money back. Why the pretty pictures? Attention to detail when you can't see with the naked eye or don't have the time to put boots on the ground often enough, I suppose. What questions did it raise with you [USER=153120]@Secret Agronomist[/USER] ? [/QUOTE]
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Imaging; usefulness, payback, cost/benefit
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