Variable Rate Technology

Taking a site-specific approach

Frank D’Emden Technology Development Managerfrank.demden@precisionag.com.au0488 917 871

Overview

Data• Yield• Biomass• Geophysical• Soil

Data interpretation

Innovations arising from UAV technology

Autonomous Livestock Monitoring Systems (ALMS)

Data

Yield• Take time to set up monitor (i.e. paddock names and

calibration)• Copy and securely store raw data from card at end of

day/paddock/season

Biomass• Satellite

• Low cost, inaccurate, unreliable• but watch this space…

• UAV • Moderate cost, highly accurate, versatile acquisition• Data heavy (lots of MB)

Data (cont’d)

Geophysics• Electromagnetics and gamma radiometrics• Objective soil reference layers• Need to be ground-truthed ($)

Soil• Keep going (every 3 years)• Go deep (at least 20cm)• Go back to the same spot (Georeference)

• Measures soil

electroconductivity • Primarily influenced by

salinity• Clay and moisture also

influence EM

Electromagnetics

• Measures naturally occurring gamma radiation

• 90% of gamma radiation emitted from top 45cm of soil.

• Differentiates between sand and gravel (low EM) and different clay types (high EM).

Radiometrics

Interpretation: Ground-truthing

Interpretation: Correlation

0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.80

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40R² = 0.772592224855639

Horizon A Clay% vs Gamma K

Gamma K (%)

% C

lay

0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.850556065707580859095

100

R² = 0.759963560379788

Horizon A Sand% vs Gamma K

Gamma K (%)

% S

and

Extrapolation

Weed mapping for targeted

spraying

Numerical analysis

Buffering

Vector export

Biomass mapping

1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.50

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

R² = 0.962192678263953

Crop Height (m)

Plan

t bio

mas

s (g

/pla

nt)

Autonomous Livestock Monitoring Systems

• Animal tracking

• Behavioural modelling

• Virtual fencing

• Water monitoring

Mark TrotterUniversity of New EnglandPrecision Ag Research Group

Autonomous Livestock Monitoring Systems

• Automatic rain gauges

The Internet of Things

Knowledge

Information

Data