精东传媒app

Farmers have long recognized that variability exists within individual production units. Traditional practices dictate that producers treat the entire area the same. With the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS) it is now possible to vary inputs in accordance with localised conditions. Coupled with the capacity to monitor a variety of parameters, producers are now able to manage variability and optimise production. This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the essential procedures and tools for collecting, organising, interpreting and presenting geographically referenced production data.

This course will investigate the causes of variability in agriculture production and modern techniques for improving yields. Precision agriculture enables the farmer to accurately use resources at the correct location and time to optimise the management of crops. Precision agriculture relies on technology to monitor the crops and GPS tracking to guide equipment to the required location to complete the task. This course will explore how these technologies can be utilised in the pursuit of improving crop production.

The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course. On completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. characterise the magnitude and causes of production variability discuss current objectives and emerging applications of precision agriculture;
2. apply global positioning systems and geographic information systems, to precision agriculture;
3. understand the importance of additional datalayers/technologies (e.g. remote sensing, image processing, variability measuring devices, variable rate equipment, field guidance and controlled traffic;
4. characterise the economic and environmental benefits of precision agriculture, including the economic impact of precision-controlled traffic farming.