Agricultural Operations Management 5435

Advanced Precision Agriculture

 

 

 

Course description

AOM 5435 Advanced Precision Agriculture. F. Credits: 3. Prereq: Graduate student standing or permission of instructor.  Principles and applications of technologies supporting precision farming and natural resource data management planning.  Global positioning system (GPS), geographic information system (GIS), variable rate technologies (VRT), data layering of independent variables,  field sensors, and computer software for precision farming.

 

Textbook

 

The Precision-Farming Guide for Agriculturists, by Morgan and Ess, Deere & Company, 1997 & 2003. (Be sure to purchase a copy of the second edition published in 2003. ISBN: 0-86691-287-8). 

 

 

Lecture schedule

This course covers information and technologies that are used for precision farming and their applications.  In this course we would like to

  1. Describe what precision agriculture is and why it is needed,
  2. Explain principles and applications of the Global Positioning System (GPS),
  3. Describe what yield monitoring system is,
  4. Identify current remote sensing technologies,
  5. Become familiar with GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software and be able to utilize it,
  6. Explore principles and applications of variable rate technologies, 
  7. Be able to identify sensing technology for precision agriculture, and
  8. Apply precision agriculture to a real situation. 

 

During the second half of the course, more in-depth topics will be covered such as yield calculation and yield map generation, soil property measurements (spectrophotometer and other devices), comparison of yield and soil test results, sensors for site specific application, VRT system calibration and map generation based on recommended equations, economics and profitability of precision agriculture, precision farming advantages & disadvantages, development of site specific management plans, etc.

 

 

 

 

Laboratory schedule

 

 Lab No.

Topic

1

Introduction to precision agriculture

2

Student presentation about websites related to precision agriculture

3

Introduction to the GPS and the Garmin GPS12 receiver

4

Mapping with DGPS and comparing performance of GPS & DGPS

5

Arcview exercise #1

6

Arcview exercise #2

7

EZ Guide and soil sampling

8

GIS - Interpolation

9

Yield Mapping

10

VRT demonstration

11

Student presentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last modified on Apr. 23, 2010.