On the one hand, all agricultural publications write about the «Precise farming». But all the same, many farmers are asking a simple question - where should we start? What exactly needs to be done to make my farm «precise»?
The first step will be to evaluate the existing technologies in one key - what can they give to your farm? To date, a lot of devices, sensors, data collection systems and other things that can be attributed to precision farming have been invented. But to start on one particular enterprise you need something that will give the benefit right here.
To begin with, you need to ask yourself exactly such questions. Immediately you can see the nearest tactical decisions - if there is no money to buy new equipment, then you can do more careful consideration of all expenses. Precise farming is, above all, a type of thinking.
After it became clear what exactly is worth doing on your farm, it's time to look for tools or technology. It is not necessary to immediately look at the most expensive solution on the market, hoping that this price automatically means a payback. perhaps, the work can be done by less expensive brand.
As an example, you can consider the economy on the farm monitoring, which you do not need to do yourself. If we turn to the scientists of the Agrarian Educational Institution, it is quite possible that they will provide the monitoring equipment, they will install it, and will share with you the information they receive. Of course, this will require some transparency from your economy.
For today, UAVs are becoming more widespread. At a relatively low price, they can be used for many tasks related to monitoring.
After you have decided what exactly you want on your farm, evaluate what additional opportunities may be hidden in such technological novelties. For example, when selecting the irrigation system, note that there are models that supply liquid fertilizers in the same time with irrigation. Recent developments in this regard include rather complex aggregates, with water flow sensors. This allows you to change the speed of the fluid supply based on the humidity of the ground at a given location, which should also be determined by special sensors. If you are going to regularly use a similar system, the ability to feed liquid fertilizers through it may be very helpful.
The introduction of new technologies always requires efforts. This is not an easy task and it can require you to rework part of your infrastructure. Some intermediate results can be discouraging at first glance.
An important point is the integration of new items into the overall scheme of the enterprise. It should not be a "princess on a pea", which takes away all the strength of the staff. Simply, all processes should now work a little more economically or efficiently. Be prepared for the fact that such an acquisition will pay off not immediately, but over several seasons. This point you could calculate at the planning stage. Gradually, work with new equipment will become familiar, and you will be ready to introduce one more novelty, if only it can give some benefit.
