Post on 15-Apr-2017
transcript
Kengoon Farming
•200ha of mixed vegetable cropping production on 120ha of land
•Carrots, Onions, Green Beans, Sweet Corn
Our path to PA…
2016
• Turning a grazing property to vegetables resulted in significant earthworks
2005
Our path to PA…
Continual adoption of new technologies:•Controlled Traffic•GPS guidance on all machines•Cover cropping/Green manures
…….but we still had crop variability
Where Do We See Variation•Uneven Tasseling of Corn•Uneven Flowering of Green Beans• Inconsistent carrot and onion sizing
What does this Variation Mean•Uneven Maturity at Harvest•Reduced Yields•Reduced Margins
Groundtruthing a carrot greenseeker image –Soil and Leaf testing
Sample type Nutrient % Reduction
Plant Tissue Nitrogen (N) 30%
Potassium (K) 47%
Soil Test Nitrogen (N) 66%
Phosphorus (P)
50%
Potassium (K) 40%
Where is the variability coming from?
•Laser Levelling•Soil Type Variations•Poor irrigation uniformity•Poor drainage
Where are we going with this?
•Despite limited yield information, there is an abundance of other data options
•Several layers confirming trends/zones
Quality VR Spreading Equipment•Landaco Belt spreader•Amazone prill spreader
Barley Greenseeker data VR Map Application map
Barley cover crop prior to sweet cornPrevious bean crop
Summary• Challenges:
•determining value without yield monitoring• complexity could be overwhelming• Inexplicable data
• Is it worth it in horticulture? •Absolutely yes. • In an industry with tightly managed crop inputs, it allows you to investigate and solve variability which delivers increased returns.