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GPS and Agriculture
FRS 142
Casey McComsey
Traditional Thought
FARMER + TECHNOLOGY = …
Traditional Thought (cont’d)
Utter Confusion
A Brave New World
• Yesterday’s Farmers– Plow Fields With Mules– Rely on Posts and
Outdated Maps– Work Sun-up to Sun-down
• Today’s Farmers– Flip on Autopilot and Take
in the Scenery– Have Real-time Maps on
an LCD Screen– Work 24 Hours a Day if
need be
GPS Applications
• Field preparation, Planting and Cultivation
• Fertilizing and Crop Protection
• Mapping, Scouting, and Sampling
• Harvesting
• Planning and Analysis
Enter GPS…yee haw
The 3 P’s—Prep, Plan, Cultivate
• Increase productivity driving straight, centimeter-accurate swaths
• Save Time driving faster and more accurately, even in reduced light
• Precision Planting of Seeds
The 3 P’s (cont’d)
• Multi-tasking laying drip tape as you create a crop bed
• Create and Maintain Detailed Records
• Overall Best Utilization
Fertilization & Crop Protection
•Optimization
•Less fertilizer or protectant material and apply it only where it's needed.
•More Efficient than the Old Method
Mapping, Scouting, and Sampling
• All About Data and Details
• Optimize Water Management
• Scout Crops and Collect Map Data
Mapping, Scouting, and Sampling (cont’d)
• Map and navigate around field boundaries, point, line, or area features
• Map hard-to-reach features from a vehicle or airplane
• Accurately scout crops and navigate to weeds, pests and diseased areas
Harvesting
• Monitor the quality of harvesting operations
• Minimize fuel and other costs with more accurate driving
• Maintain detailed records of harvest operations
• Create yield maps
Planning and Analysis
• Easy to use software packages
• Eliminate a lot of guess-work
• Accessible when it’s needed—on location
RTK Technology• Real-Time Kinematic• Pioneered by Trimble in
1992• Sub-meter DGPS
Accuracy Not Enough• RTK offers centimeter
level accuracy• Currently also used for
mining, survey, and construction applications.
RTK II—What is Needed?
• Base Station on Known Surveyed Point
• 1 or More Mobile Receivers w/in 10 km Range
• UHF, VHF, or Spread Spectrum Radio Link
• Radios Work Best w/Line of Sight Visibility
RTK II—What is Needed?
RTK III—How does it work?
• Base station transmits corrections via radio to the mobile receivers in the field
• RTK base stations transmit data once per second
• Data in format called CMR (Compact Measurement Record)
• Dual frequency data format transmits data in a more compact and robust way than other formats
RTK IV
• Track the Second Carrier Phase Signal
• This Signal Allows for Trimble RTK to lock into Higher Accuracy
• Also Initializes More Quickly
RTK vs. DGPS
• RTK Requires 5 Satellites to Initialize, Can Work w/4 – DGPS 3, works well w/4
• RTK Requires a Dual Frequency Receiver• RTK needs one minute to initialize/DGPS
immediately• Accuracy of cm’s in 3 dimensions—RTK• Sub-meter accuracy in horizontal position only—
DGPS • RTK must have own base station in 10 km range• DGPS can use base station, correction service
provider, or free radio beacons
Trimble GPS Products
• AgGPS 252 Receiver
• AgGPS EZ-Guide Plus Lightbar Guidance System
• ApGPS EZ-Map Software
• AgGPS Autopilot
AgGPS 252 Receiver
• 12 Channel GPS Engine
• RTK
• Highly Portable
• 5 lb Design
AgGPS EZ-Guide Plus
• Lightbar Guiding System
• LCD Screen
• Eliminates Weather Concerns/Low-Light Worries
ApGPS EZ-Map Software
• Runs on Handheld PCs and PDAs
• Mapping Software Helps at All Stages of Production
• Great Way to Show Proof of Work to Customers/Investors
AgGPS Autopilot
• Steering Assistant
• Must Have Driver Present However
• Connects to Tractor’s Hyrdaulic Power Steering System
Testimonials
“We use the AgGPS PSO for straight guidance, headlands, and A/B lines. Our efficiency before and after getting our PSO is night and day, literally. Optimally, with the PSO we can do 1200 acres a day.”
Darryl and Kyle CochraneCochrane Spraying, Canada
“With GPS, we are quicker and have increased our work-load within an 8-hour workday. The GPS swathing system lets me do more work per day than I was doing before.”
Tommy Barham
JT Barham Farming
