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GRDC PAlinks

GRDC PALinks
Precision Agriculture Links

Precision Agriculture, or PA, is a topic of increasing interest and discussion within the Australian grains industry. New varieties and improved methods of agronomic management have enabled growers to progressively overcome many limitations to crop growth, yield and profit. This has resulted in more attention being given to the natural variability in yield present within many paddocks and farms. This variability can be due to: height, slope, or aspect; row direction and drainage; soil type or condition; presence of acidity, salinity, compaction or other constraint to crop growth; presence of soil pests or disease; or to past management practices. PA helps growers to identify and locate the causes of variability at paddock or farm scale, and to decide whether they warrant special management (ie is there likely to be a financial return). Management responses to variable yield could include optimizing profit by adjusting inputs (sowing rate, fertilizer) according to yield zone, avoiding cropping areas with a consistently negative gross margin, or ameliorating soil constraints. There are many examples of grain growers who have made money through adopting PA, but there are also examples where the benefits have been minor or negative (costs exceeded benefits).

PAlinks aims to provide growers and other users of the site with a range of information sources about Precision Agriculture.

To find the latest information on PA Links click below:

What is Precision Agriculture?
How can I tell if PA is likely to work for me?
Technical information about PA and how to adopt it
GRDC Investments in PA

Where can I get more information?

• Grower Organisations Working with PA
• Research Organisations
• PA Service Providers
• Overseas Expertise in PA

Conferences and Workshops in PA
Key GRDC Contacts

 

What is Precision Agriculture?

The term Precision Agriculture (PA) came into widespread use in the early 1990s. In part this reflected the new availability of global positioning systems (GPS) that could locate specified sites within a farm or paddock with an accuracy and price that made the technology practical to use for improving farm decisions. It also reflected the growing awareness that many paddocks are variable, and that a uniform, blanket application of inputs (fertilizer or lime for example) often leaves some areas over-supplied (wasted money) and others under-supplied (potential yield and profit foregone).

At one level PA is about site-specific crop management, that is “decisions on resource application and agronomic practices are improved to better match soil and crop requirements as they vary across the farm or paddock”. At another level it opens up a wide set of opportunities to acquire and integrate information about the farm in order to improve decisions, by developing “an integrated information- and production-based farming system that is designed to increase long term, site-specific and whole farm production efficiency, productivity and profitability while minimizing unintended impacts on the environment”. The potential for product tracing, and for automatic recording of management practices (as part of an environmental management system, for example), are recent opportunities that may become another component of PA.

Australian grain growers are at different stages of adoption of PA, ranging from complete non-adoption to sophisticated use of different types of spatial (across space) or temporal (across time) data to aid decisions. Many growers have now adopted GPS-based guidance systems, which do not themselves constitute PA but which are a key enabling technology that underpins much PA. Far fewer growers, although the number is increasing, have moved further to use “positioned” data to better understand paddock- or farm-scale variability and to incorporate this knowledge into their decision making with the aim of improving both profitability and sustainability.

PA is about using spatial and temporal data to improve decisions and understanding. That data could be about variability in the landscape (slope or aspect), in soil (pH, texture, nutrient level, salinity, water holding capacity), in past crop performance (yield or gross margin maps), in seasonal conditions (rainfall, its variation across the farm), or in past management (crop type, fertilizer application). The essence of PA is capturing and integrating that data to enable better decisions (about crop type, variable rate application of inputs, or segregating harvest based on protein, for example), or a greater understanding of why yield and profit vary (why yield zones flip-flop between seasons, for example). 

How can I tell if PA is likely to work for me?

There are now many case studies of grain growers who have adopted various aspects of PA and been able to increase profit by doing so, but there are also examples where the benefits have been minor or negative (costs exceeded benefits). For most growers it will be important to “get the basics of your cropping program right” before worrying about spatial variability; the basics, like variety selection, rotation, crop nutrition, and weed/pest/disease management, are likely to have a bigger impact on profit. For growers who have done this, but whose paddocks have a low level of variability, the benefits of PA in understanding and managing that variability may be modest when compared to its costs.

A helpful PA economic calculator has been developed by researchers working on GRDC-funded PA projects. By comparing information about the area cropped, the level of variation in yield and the cost of adopting PA, growers can get a sense of whether PA is likely to be a good financial investment and what the “pay-back” period is likely to be. This calculator can be downloaded from the web site for the Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture at the University of Sydney: Go to “Precision Agriculture: Education and Training Modules for the Australian Grains Industry”, and then to “Module H - Economics of Precision Agriculture in Australian Grain Crops” to download the calculator and related information (it is a zipped file of about 37MB). This module provides a description of potential costs and benefits of adopting PA, case studies of grain growers who have adopted PA, and an Excel spreadsheet that can be used to calculate the likely costs and benefits of PA under specified circumstances (you may need to enable Macros to run the spreadsheet fully).

Variable Rate Application (VRA, using Variable Rate Technology or VRT) of crop inputs, especially fertilizer, is one popular use of PA on Australian grain farms. The aim is to better match nutrient inputs to crop needs by delineating zones of differing potential yield (or of differing soil nutrient supply), and then varying the amounts of fertilizer applied across the paddock (or farm). This might require inputs to be reduced from the uniform rate on zones of below-average potential yield, and increased on those of above-average potential yield; the total applied might stay the same, or it could vary depending upon the relative sizes of the zones. Use of VRT can increase profit by making better use of expensive inputs, as well as improving sustainability. VRT can also be applied for other inputs such as lime or gypsum.

A Fertilser Optimiser calculator has been developed to enable growers and advisors to examine the potential benefits of VRA for fertilizer when compared with a blanket, uniform application. It is based on data from wheat crops grown in the WA wheatbelt, but as the potential yield, soil nutrient supply and other data inputs can be varied in the Calculator, it will also provide guidance about the scale of benefits that might be obtained from using VRT elsewhere. The calculator can be downloaded from this page:
http://environmentagriculture.curtin.edu.au/staff/rmandel.cfm  
You will need to download either the Excel 2003 version or the Excel 2007 version (also works with 2010 version)- the file size is about 800KB. Before you try to run the Calculator you must install the Solver add-in to your Excel, and you will also have to enable macros (a message about this comes up just above the data sheet). The Solver is a Microsoft Office Excel add-in (add-in: A supplemental program that adds custom commands or custom features to Microsoft Office.) program that is available when you install Microsoft Office or Excel. To use it in Excel, however, you need to load it first.

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.
2. Click Add-Ins, and then in the Manage box, select Excel Add-ins.
3. Click Go. 

Technical information about PA and how to adopt it

This section provides links to a range of technical information about PA, including the grain industry’s PA Manual, similar manuals or guidelines developed by other rural industries, and education and training materials developed with GRDC support.

PA Manual
The grain industry’s Precision Agriculture Manual contains a range of information about global positioning systems, understanding the causes of, diagnosing, and managing variability, designing on farm experiments using PA, and standards for electromagnetic induction (EM or EMI) mapping. The Manual is interactive enabling users to access other sources of information about PA. It can be accessed here:
http://www.grdc.com.au/pamanual/  

A detailed book about Precision Viticulture can be accessed at:
https://winetitles.com.au/bookstore/bookstore.asp?action=details&item=325  

Information about the use of PA in the Australian cotton industry, “Precision Decisions for Quality Cotton: A Guide to Site-Specific Cotton Crop Management” can be found at:
http://www.usyd.edu.au/agriculture/acpa/publications_references/acpa_publications  

 

Technical Publications About PA:

• Where does PA Pay? - WA Crop Updates 2011
• Barriers to PA Adpotion - WA Crop Updates 2011
• When does VRT Fertiliser Pay - WA Crop Updates 2009
• Using PA to Identify Nutrient Hotspots
• Designing Farm Trials with PA Equipment

Other GRDC publications
Ground Cover Issue 88 - Precision Agriculture Supplement

• Adoption need not be complicated
• The dollar return from variable rate
• Next steps in PA Trials not tribulations
• Soil scientists tap into the radio waves
• Variable rates for constrained subsoils
• Site-specific management of weeds
• A third eye for canopy management
• Precision placement for disease control
• Selective grain harvesting
• Flexible approach to PA education
• PA beyond guidance

SPAA Publications
Contains SPAA Newsletters, SPAA Precision Ag News, SPAA Event Proceedings, Precision Agriculture Publications, Precision Viticulture Publications, Symposia on PA Research and Application in Australasia, SPAA Papers, PA in Practice, PA Glossary and SPAA Strategic Plan.

Education and training materials
A range of materials for education and training in PA, developed within Australia, is available. For the grains industry, the most comprehensive is “Precision Agriculture: Education and Training Modules for the Australian Grains Industry”, a set of 8 modules describing the core components of PA and how they can be used in broad acre cropping. This set of modules can be freely downloaded for education and training within the grains industry from the website of the Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture (ACPA) at The University of Sydney (www.usyd.edu.au/agriculture/acpa/documents). Although developed specifically for the grains industry with GRDC support, the content is also highly relevant to other rural industries.

Other material suitable for use in education and training is available within the PA Manual and books listed above. Further materials, PA information, or training courses are available from other research and government organizations, including Curtin University and the Department of Food and Agriculture in Western Australia, The University of New England, the Southern Precision Agriculture Association, and the CSIRO. Most are available through organisations’ websites.

GRDC Investment in PA

Title and Contract Dates	Executive Summary	Expected Outputs
US00044 Next Steps in PA   1/07/2008 to 30/06/2011	It has been well documented that Precision Agriculture (PA) methods could help grain growers lift their profit however the uptake of broad acre PA has been slow. Even so, interest in variable rate technology (VRT) is increasing as growers embrace the use of guidance systems, the cost of PA equipment declines, and the cost of inputs increases. But several factors such as the lack of skill in translating yield maps into meaningful layers of information for paddock management and the perceived lack of profitability of PA beyond guidance systems, still remain, hampering the further adoption of PA techniques. In close consultation with existing grower groups the project will conduct practical PA training workshops on how to utilise yield maps and other data layers to develop meaningful paddock management strategies, how to implement those and then demonstrate the 'on-the-ground' implementation of those strategies in conjunction with an economic analysis. This follows the successful completion of the GRDC SIP09 program on PA. While the SIP09 program was successful in building a substantial knowledge base and developing a number of basic techniques and operational plans for Australian farmers, a number of significant issues were raised at its completion. This project aims to address three of these issues that were identified as important in helping to increase the number of growers who choose to include PA tools or techniques in their farm management. Provide a more thorough analysis of the data farmers are now gathering on spatial variability & improved options for management using PA. Improving the assessment & managerial response to crop-yield variability within paddocks, will help individual growers & the industry as a whole increase the economic efficiency of input use. More efficient use of inputs would ultimately minimise the potential for adverse environmental impact.	Output 1. A better understanding of the required data gathering resolutions and the relevance of individual data layers to explaining crop yield variability is disseminated to growers.   Differences in the spatial support of the data layers that farmers are gathering means that statistically correct comparison/relationships are difficult to build. These layers are the basis of the PA process being used in Australia, so ensuring that the observation resolution and analysis methods match the information requirements of growers and researchers is vital. Successfully achieving this output will increase our identification and understanding of the causes of spatial yield variability and therefore help improve decisions about the management of inputs.   Output 2. A revised site-specific experimentation procedures document and draft software. PA equipment allows growers and advisors to conduct site-specific experiments on every paddock if required. Using already gathered spatial information such as yield and soil maps to help position trial plots, match plot size to equipment to minimise low yield impact and improving spatial analysis will greatly increase the quality of information extracted from each field. By improving the information and minimising impact, the costs for introducing PA are reduced and the confidence in recommendations for input rate-changes will increase.   Output 3. Research, comparison results and preliminary guidelines for use of the in-crop reflectance sensing systems in Australia.   The use of in-season reflectance sensors together with historical data has been proposed as a method for gaining the best value from both sets of data in Australia. The work here will allow us to provide some guidelines for the successful use of this data combination. With this information more growers will be in a position to evaluate the suitability of the technique for their farm, which provides more opportunities for PA to be utilised on Australian farms.
DAS00088 Advancing Site Specific Management of Weeds and Soilborne Diseases   1/07/2008 to 30/06/2011	Australian grain growers will have the ability to use Site Specific Weed Management (SSWM) to reduce the cost and improve the effectiveness of weed control with improved methods for weed mapping. This research will pave the way for future research into SSWM for other weed species. Growers will also be able to make more informed and more profitable decisions about soil-borne disease management strategies, using a decision framework and PA zones. Interest in PA is being driven by greater variability as paddock sizes increase, and increasing costs are forcing more judicious use of inputs such as herbicides, fungicides and fertilisers. This requires robust zone or patch distribution maps, an agronomic decision framework and suitable VRT equipment. GRDC DAS00035 "Managing soilborne diseases using PA" developed methods for mapping soilborne diseases in PA zones and identified opportunities for spatial management of soil-borne diseases, but mapping techniques for weeds in Australian cropping systems still need to be developed. This project will provide grain growers with improved methods to map crop weeds for VRT spraying. This will reduce costs, improve weed control, and reduce unnecessary application of herbicides to non-weedy areas of crops. The project will also use knowledge gained from DAS00035 to develop a decision framework (DF) for management of soilborne diseases using PA methods. This will allow growers and their consultants to measure disease levels within zones and use the DF to devise appropriate management strategies for zones, or the paddock as a whole.	Output 1 Improved digital weed mapping methods for annual ryegrass and wild oats. Research will identify the most suitable sensor type and the best time(s) to use them. Multi-spectral sensors (red/NIR) will be used to map total biomass, but a strong effort will be made to develop a system that excludes the biomass of the crop rows. Lack of efficient weed mapping systems remains one of the major barriers to adoption of SSWM around the world. In Australia there are an increasing number of growers who have GPS guidance and boom section controllers. Development of improved mapping systems will be adopted to close the loop for basic SSWM, especially for control of herbicide resistant weeds. Expected future availability of direct-injection spraying systems will greatly increase demand for mapping systems.   Output 2 A detailed understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution patterns for annual ryegrass and wild oats. Spatial distribution of some weeds may be linked to PA zones, thus allowing indirect mapping using (eg) EM38 and elevation maps. Temporal stability will determine when and how often maps need to be made. Information on the spatial and temporal aspects of weed patch distribution will determine how and when maps need to be collected. Growers using SSWM will adopt and benefit from this output if it is found that indirect PA layers (eg EM38, elevation) predict distribution, or if it is found that maps remain stable for several seasons. While anecdotal evidence suggests that annual ryegrass and wild oats occur in patches, there is little data on the spatial drivers of distribution, or on the temporal stability of patches.   Output 3 Decision Framework for management of soil-borne diseases using PA zones. The framework will consider yield potential, zone area, and diseases present to suggest appropriate responses, including fertiliser allocation and VRT disease management. The principles developed will be verified in large-scale paddock experiments. A comprehensive decision framework (DF) for soil-borne diseases will allow growers to follow a pre-determined logical pathway to guide management decisions. The DF is likely to be adopted because it will incorporate important zone information, and also because it will improve the confidence and veracity of decisions. In most cases the decision process involving zones will be superior to decisions made using the paddock average disease risk. The DF will help to reduce the risk of crop losses and reduce input costs, by guiding suitable crop rotation choices and input allocation between zones.
CSA00016 Putting Precision Agriculture on the ground in Western Australia     1/07/2008 to30/06/2011	Uptake of precision agriculture technologies is increasing slowly in WA. While uptake of VRA is slow and has a number of constraints to wider adoption, we believe there are benefits for grain growers to be gained through the application of spatial management using PA tools and approaches, that are not necessarily restricted to VRA alone. This project will continue the development of tools and approaches for diagnosis of yield constraints, started and applied with growers under SIP09. Our approach will include currently available data such as yield maps, soil characterisation, NDVI, gamma radiometrics, EM, and new approaches on the horizon. A key aim for us in this project is to get farmers to recognise the value of changing management when they currently have no trouble in recognising different yield potential zones, and to develop easy-to-use approaches to marrying seasonal variability with zone management. While PA equipment is relatively easy to acquire and use, a commonly-cited frustration with growers who purchase a new piece of PA equipment is that it will often not work with their current equipment and hence is incompatible with their current farming practices. Application of PA systems by farmers can be hindered by a lack of technical support and training to implement PA systems. In this project we propose to involve consultants, equipment suppliers, grower groups and representatives of the main manufacturers as part of the research and development team in each regional location, this improving industry learning and communication through participation. We will work with the industry to determine benefits, and accelerate and support the adoption of PA by looking at technical, research and communication issues that may be hindering the process or that can be implemented to enhance the rate of adoption. The project team recognises that PA technology will not suit the circumstances of every grain grower. Hence a key over-arching objective from the project will be to describe the particular combination of circumstances (farm and paddock sizes, degree and consistency of spatial variation, business structure, input management) that pre-dispose a grower towards adoption of PA technologies and hence the potential area of adoption of PA in Western Australia. However, in general, we believe that conditions in WA predispose PA to be advantageous relative to current practice. This project pulls together the combined forces of CSIRO, DAFWA, Curtin University and key grower groups that have been successfully operating as a team with the SIP09 program. Increased uptake by the Western Australia grains industry (growers, consultants, NRM professionals and researchers) of precision agriculture tools and approaches applied to a range of spatial management issues at paddock, farm and catchment scale. The project will use different entry points to suit individual grower circumstances.	Output 1 Guidelines on the value of various sources, types, applications and scales of PA data linked to diagnosis of underlying causes of spatial variability in soils, crop yield, NRM indicators and profit margins. This output will build upon a successful base developed in SIP09 by DAFWA and CSIRO where diagnostic approaches were developed that used spatial information (yield maps, EM and gamma maps, DEM, soil maps, NDVI, aerial photography), point-scale information (soil characterisation) and crop inspection at various stages of the season. New predictive approaches for mapping soil attributes and unstable zones will be developed.Products will include (1) guidelines for diagnositic approaches, (2) guidelines for acquisition and use of spatial data, (3) a process for capturing farmer spatial knowledge Output 2 Updated and expanded guidelines enabling growers to undertake on-farm experimentation using PA methods. Hypotheses will be tested in on-farm experiments about the benefits of spatial management and where possible the scope for overcoming yield constraints. We will add to current guidelines by including approaches for accounting for seasonal variability, functional soil type attributes (e.g. PAWC, fertility status) using modelling technique and standardisation of techniques for economic valuation on impact. This will allow for greater confidence in extrapolation of results beyond the circumstances (season, soil type, prices and costs) in which the experiment was conducted. Output 3 Methodologies for extension of PA methods to whole-property and catchment scales to improve land management decisions. The exploration will be deliberately targeted where a significant and relevant issue exists that is worthy of examination by growers, and will be conducted in one sub (catchment). Choice of catchment will depend on data availability, grower interest and local NRM issues. We will bring together predictions of soil-landscape attributes, crop modelling, remote sensing and quantification of NRM consequences (e.g. leakage, nutrient losses, erosion, vegetation extent). We will then explore, with growers and their advisors, the scope that PA techniques can help with land management decisions.
More Good, less Bad and Ugly - Extracting additional value from grain production through selective harvesting CSA00024	Study sites have been established in the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and mid-North regions of South Australia. Paddocks have been yield mapped, protein mapped and are presently being surveyed with high resolution soil sensors (EM38, gamma radiometrics). Grain and soil samples have also been taken. The project is still in its early stages, but data from this work, and from subsequent seasons will be used to evaluate the potential for selective harvesting and for mid-season management opportunities for maximising malting barley quality.	Output 1 Results from commercial farms that effectively demonstrate the potential opportunity for growers to increase profit through the selective harvesting of malting barley. Output 2 Identification of the need/desirability of further research on selective harvesting in grains and of any need for changes to grain harvest logistics.
US00036 Develop a set of PA education and training modules aimed at Australian graingrowers and others working in the grains industry     1/02/2008 to 31/07/2009	This project will develop PA training materials for Australian graingrowers and others working in the grains industry. The team assembled for this project includes PA specialists from the ACPA, experienced graingrowers and advisors from the Southern Precision Agriculture Association (SPAA) and an experienced technical writer/communicator. The target audiences and requirements for the output from this project can be generalised as:* Graingrowers - understand the technologies and practical application so they may assess the use of PA on their own farm and be able to begin implementation. Know that industry training will allow them to access further competent assistance.* Consultants/Advisors/Agronomists - understand the practical application and technologies so they may begin to use PA in their consulting work. Provide competent assistance and advice to clients.* Product Manufacturers and Retailers - understand the technologies and practical application so they may understand where individual products fit in a PA management system and see how graingrowers are using a range of products and techniques. Provide competent assistance to clients. The Australian grains industry has already derived benefits from the PA research conducted through the GRDC SIP09 program. Many grain growers and commercial entities now wish to use the technologies and techniques being developed. The industry will benefit from the provision of educational material that explains and directs, in simple terms, the practical application of PA, so that many more farms can implement suitable operations to improve economic and environmental efficiency. Greater understanding and adoption of PA technologies and techniques at the farm level through the improved dissemination of information and technical training using the modules developed in this project. Graingrowers, industry advisors, retailers and regulators will be empowered to begin analysing technical and financial options and adopt PA where it can increase efficiencies, profit and/or improve the environmental sustainability of cropping.	Output 1 Detailed program of training modules for consideration by the GRDC A detailed outline of the contents of the training modules will be provided to the GRDC. This output is required to enable the GRDC project panel to provide comments/amendments to the contents and format before development of the training material begins. This output is required to ensure that Output 2 (the training material) meets the GRDC requirements and also to provide a pathway for the developmental work. An agreed framework at this stage will help ensure the final material is suited to the purpose of increasing awareness and adoption of PA tools and techniques on many more farms.      Output 2 Module-based training material and appropriate assessment material provided to GRDC The finalised training material will enable more people in the Australian grains industry to access information on PA and understand the tools, basic operational tasks and implications for crop management. This will provide the potential for increased use of PA across Australia and the industry to realise economic and environmental gains. The target audience is industry-wide and the distribution of the material will match this scope. Adoption across the industry will be through the use of the material in personal and organised training activities.
US00037 Development of Tertiary level education material for Precision Agriculture     1/03/2008 to 10/07/2009	The key objectives of the courses are:- Instill an understanding of the main principles underlying the technologies and methodologies being used in PA, and the limitations and opportunities associated with different technologies and methodologies- Develop analytical skills for PA data sets- Provide examples of the application and fusion of different PA technologies and methodologies into general on-farm management- Promote decision-making processes and problem-solving skills in on-farm situations with PA. The key learning outcomes for students completing the course will be:- Clearly articulate how PA can be beneficial in production, environmental and supply chain systems- Demonstrate an understanding of the principals, applications and limitations of PA technology- Demonstrate an understanding of transforming raw spatial data into useful data (maps)- Demonstrate an ability to synthesise spatial data into agronomic decisions. The key objectives for the entire project are:- to develop a tertiary course that fulfills the above objectives- transfer the course structure, material and knowledge to other tertiary institutions. Increased level of capability in the area of Precision Agriculture from new graduates emerging from tertiary institutions in Australia. This will bolster the capacity in PA among agricultural service providers as well as boost on-farm PA knowledge. Improved service and support in PA should provide growers with the knowledge and confidence to facilitate PA adoption on-farm.	Output 1 Detailed outline of course content and competencies that students should have upon course completion A detailed outline of the structure of the course content and proposed teaching methods will be provided to the project steering group. The document will also summarize the list of skills and competencies that students should attain during the course. Approval of this output is required to ensure that the material and methods used to meet Output 2 are satisfactory to all stake holders.   Output 2 Complete material for a senior tertiary level Precision Agriculture unit of study.  The final course material will include a series of lecture notes, power point slides for lectures (10-25 slides/lecture), practical exercises, background and case study material and example assessments. The material will be tested with a small group of academics and the steering committee before a workshop is held to disseminate the information to other institutions. The workshop will also focus on providing some upskilling for institutions with a low level of corporate knowledge on PA. The project has also budgeted for to support the course with a Web style portal for 1 year.
SPA00010 Training and Demonstration of PA in Practice     1/07/2009 to 30/06/2012	This project will use on farm demonstration and grower groups to help develop solutions for overcoming local problems. These demonstration trials are an excellent way of educating growers in the process and potential gains of Variable Rate. It also helps the growers take ownership of the groups with input into how the trials are run and what kind of trials they undertake. The training of advisers and agronomists in PA technologies has been identified by SPAA in their strategic plan as one of the major strategies required to increase the adoption of PA in the Australian Grains Industry. For growers to adopt PA practices it is critical that their farm adviser/agronomist understands the benefits of PA and provides advice about how PA data can be used to make better agronomic decisions and sustainably improve crop yields. It is estimated that only 10% of advisers/agronomists in Australia have an acceptable knowledge of PA that would enable them to provide advice to growers about using PA data and technologies such as Variable Rate (VR). An conservative estimate of the direct economic impact of this 3 year project is $9.24 million, based on 150 growers adopting 'PA Beyond Guidance' with an estimated benefit of $22/ha (McCallum and Robertson) over an average farm size of 2800 ha (PA in Practice Case Study average). This project will contribute to increasing the sustainability of the Grains Industry across the GRDC Southern Region through the increased adoption of PA . Growers will realise many economic, social and environmental benefits through adopting PA tools in their cropping systems. The level of adoption and benefits realised will be measured using a range of techniques such as surveys, interviews, on farm trials and observations.	Output 1 Written report showing a measured increase in skills and knowledge in PA, and ability and confidence to apply PA where warranted, among advisers and growers within the project region. Three PA training programs will be conducted each year to increase growers' and advisers' knowledge and skills in PA Presented courses will be linked with the on-ground demonstration trials wherever possible. Each year 1 course will be held in each of SA, Vic and NSW. Evaluations of skills and knowledge (possibly full KASAP surveys) at commencement and at completion of the project will be reported to show the project's impact and identify what further training may be required.     Output 2 Written report demonstrating increased understanding of when and how to use PA ( and where PA may not provide a financial return) among advisers and growers in the project region. 16 grower groups will be facilitated across the Southern Region,. Each group will meet at least 3 times each year of the project to discuss the adoption and use of PA tools, learn about new technologies and to help plan, follow progress, and assess the practical and financial results of their local demonstration trials. These groups will be open to all growers in the region. Guidelines for group session topics and speakers will be developed by the Group's Coordinator and Management Committee for use by FSG group facilitators. All trial results will be collated and summarised by the SPAA.   Output 3 Measured increase in the adoption of PA in the project region Two on farm PA demonstration trials will be undertaken during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons by each grower group. Trials will be chosen, undertaken and reported by the groups using guidelines and protocols developed by the Project Trials Coordinator and Management Committee. Growers in each group will be encouraged and supported as far as possible to test the value of PA to their own cropping program, and to record the costs and benefits achieved. Changes in practice (PA adoption) will be included in the evaluation surveys.
DAW00194 Taking Precision Agriculture (PA) to the paddock- increasing the adoption of PA in the Great Southern of WA   1/07/2009 to 30/06/2012	It has been well documented that Precision Agriculture (PA) methods could potentially help many grain growers to lift their profit but the uptake of broad acre PA has been slow. However interest in variable rate technology (VRT) is increasing as growers embrace the use of guidance systems, the cost of PA equipment declines, and the cost of inputs increases. But several factors such as the lack of skill in translating yield maps into meaningful layers of information for paddock management and the perceived lack of profitability of PA beyond guidance systems, still remain, hampering the further adoption of PA techniques but will be addressed in this project. In close consultation with existing grower groups the project will be conducting practical PA training workshops how to utilise yield maps and other data layers to develop meaningful paddock management strategies, how to implement those and then demonstrate the 'on-the-ground' implementation of those strategies in conjunction with an economic analysis.	Output 1 Minimum of six training workshops (one with each relevant farmer group) in each year (3) working through various aspects of PA and results of on-farm PA demonstrations. It is proposed to start with introductory PA training workshops with each of the relevant farmer groups before the 2009 harvest i.e. October), designed to be hands-on. Participants will be encouraged to bring their own data which will then be used to develop the basis for on-farm PA demonstrations. In the subsequent years (2010, 2011) the training workshop will focus on different aspects of PA i.e. information layers, Variable Rate Technology, Yield mapping, DIY Trials and farm management) and will analyse and incorporate the results from the on-farm PA demonstrations.   Output 2 Minimum of twelve (12) PA demonstration trials (2 with each relevant grower group) in the Great Southern of WA. During the training workshops, growers will be encouraged to bring examples from their own farm that can be used to form the basis of grower groups PA demonstration trials. The treatments to be implemented will be decided, with the appropriate input from the project team, by the grower groups. Implementation of the trials will be done by the individual growers but site characterisation and monitoring of the trials will be done by the project team. Analysis of the results will be done by the growers in subsequent workshops as well as by the project team for wider distribution across the industry.   Output 3 Results of the three years for both, workshops (topics selected, changes in skills and adoption) and trials summarised, with commentary from the project team including the economic analysis, presented as a 'PA Beyond Guidance' publication. Compilation in booklet form of case studies focussing on the experiences of grain growers in the South West of the WA wheat belt implementing PA on their farm with a general overview of the project, the findings from the project from the project team and details of the legacy of the project in terms of the impact it has had on growers and agribusiness in the area of PA.

Where can I get more information?

The Agronomy Jigsaw Project - South East Premium Wheat Growers Association (SEPWA) 
Funded by GRDC the project is guided by the spatial variation insights provided by local precision farming consultants Precision Agriculture Australia (PAA) the project is harnessing soil and agronomic knowledge of DAFWA staff such as David Hall, Jeremy Lemon and Paul Galloway to learn more about spatial variation of WUE on the south coast of WA. 
Thsi project has produced several YouTube videos on PA technologies.
- What is a Gamma Radiometic Survey? You Tube Video 
- What is EM survey? YouTube video
- How EM maps soils and how this can be used to make a varaible rate gypsum map, YouTube Video
- What a Gamma radiometirc survey can identify in to soil, YouTube video
- DIY local rainfall graph, YouTube video
- Slotting Gypsum into sodic sub soils for greater water infiltration - YouTube Video
- Other uses for gypsum as a fertilizer and its potential in acid soils - YouTube Video


Grower organizations working with PA
 

Central West Conservation Farming Association (CWCFA)
The Central West Conservation Farming Association is a farmer run organisation promoting farm management practices that improve soil health.

Central West Farming Systems
Central West Farming Systems forms the platform for innovation extension and experimentation within the farming sector of the region. This enables local farmers in the 14 million hectares that the group covers to undertake experimentation in their own geographical environment which varies considerably across the region.

Conservation Farmers Inc (CFI)
Conservation Farmers Inc. is a non profit organisation built on the information and experience shared and collected amongst farmers for profitable and sustainable farming and for environmental preservation.

Corrigin Farm Improvement Group
The CFIG is a strong farmer group committed to the betterment of the farming in the Corrigin area and the nation as a whole. It runs regular field walks, seminars and field trials, and hires out tree planters and a weigh trailer. The Group always looking for ways to improve the service and information that it provides to members.

Facey Group
The Facey Group is an Association incorporated in Western Australia comprising of broad acre farm businesses based in and around the Shire of Wickepin.

Liebe Group
The Liebe Group is a progressive group working together to sustain and enhance the rural environment through a whole systems approach to agriculture

Mallee Sustainable Farming Project
The Mallee Sustainable Farming Project Inc. is a farmer-guided participatory research development and extension organization. Its mission is to increase the adoption of sustainable and profitable farming systems in the low rainfall Mallee regions of New South Wales Victoria and South Australia.

Mingenew-Irwin Group
The Mingenew-Irwin Group promotes and develops economic and environmentally sustainable agriculture through research, planning, monitoring, and demonstrating best practice.

Riverine Plains Inc
Riverine Plains Inc is a vibrant farmer group promoting excellence in farming systems by providing quality information leading research and sharing ideas for the economic environmental and social benefit of the Riverine Plains, covering North East Victoria and Southern NSW. The group strives to solve common issues through trial work and good communication of results, both from its own trials and from other researchers, to farmers in the Riverine Plains

South East Premium Wheat Growers Association (SEPWA)
SEPWA is a farmer initiated group representing wheat (and barley) growers in the Esperance Port Zone. The major aim of the group is to assist growers in the Port Zone to produce premium quality grain to improve our market position for the future. SEPWA currently has an active membership of 220 farming entities which represents some of the most progressive growers in the region and makes SEPWA one of the largest grower groups within Western Australia.

Southern Farming Systems
Southern Farming Systems Limited is a non-profit farmer owned and operated group exploring the best use of resources, new techniques and technologies for more profitable agriculture beyond 2000.

Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association
A farmer group researching developing and promoting sustainable ways of growing healthy high yield crops based on minimum soil disturbance systems diverse rotations smart chemical usage and maximum stubble retention.

Research organisations

Australian Centre for Precision Agriculture
The Centre, based at the University of Sydney, provides a wide range of tested information relating to Precision Agriculture, including publications, software, links and educational resources. This includes several sets of education and training materials covering all aspects of PA and its use by different rural industries. The set includes “Precision Agriculture: Education and Training Modules for the Australian Grains Industry”, a set of 8 modules describing the core components of PA and how they can be used in broad acre cropping.

CSIRO
The CSIRO undertakes a range of R&D related to PA with different rural industries. Information about this R&D and publications can be found at:
http://www.csiro.au/science/PrecisionAgriculture.html  and also at: http://www.csiro.au/products/PrecisionViticultureSoftware.html  
Additional PA resources (papers, protocols, etc) are available from: http://www.cse.csiro.au/client_serv/paresources.htm

Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information
The Centre’s vision is to be a world leader in spatial information applications that are affordable, usable and readily available - any time, any place. The CRCSI has concluded its first term and has been successful in applying for new funding to 30 June 2018. Its participants, numbering over 100, are currently listed in a transition website. CRCSI supports the Australian Spatial Consortium which seeks to "accelerate the unlocking of the potential of spatial information for economic, environmental and social benefit for Australia within key industries; and the development of tools, technologies and capabilities relating to the fundamental future needs of the nation."

Precision Agriculture Research Group (PARG)
The Precision Agriculture Research Group (PARG) at The University of New England is a multi-disciplinary team of academic, research and technical staff engaged in the development and application of sensors and practices in precision agriculture. The group, initially formed in 2002, runs numerous externally-funded research projects involving organizations as diverse as Cooperative Research Centres for Spatial Information (CRCSI) and Irrigation Futures (CRC-IF), Grape & Wine Research & Development Corporation (GWRDC), Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) and Beltana Highwall Mining. PARG is well equipped with some of the latest (including newly developed) sensors and global positioning systems (GPS) for conducting fieldwork. 

Curtin University - Dpeartment of Environment & Agriculture  
The Department’s research includes aspects of precision agriculture used by broad-acre and horticultural enterprises. It also provides training for farmer and farm consultants/advisors in Western Australia.

Australian Centre for Field Robotics
The Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) is based in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at The University of Sydney, and is dedicated to the research, development, application and dissemination of field robotics principles.

PA service providers

Several private businesses as well as some government organizations provide specialist advice or services in the field of PA. A list of these can be found at the SPAA website at:
http://www.spaa.com.au/spaa/precision-ag-links.php  

Overseas expertise in PA

International Society of Precision Agriculture
The purposes of ISPA are to:
1) Organize and conduct international conferences related to precision agriculture (PA), such as International Conference on Precision Agriculture, European Conference on Precision Agriculture, and other related conferences.
2) Develop and maintain a web-portal to communicate the latest developments in PA with the world, and maintain a member listserv to communicate among society members.
3) Publish a quarterly ISPA e-newsletter for members and other subscribers.
4) Provide members an opportunity for publication original scientific in the society sponsored peer-reviewed journal (International Journal of Precision Agriculture).

The Ohio State University Precision Agriculture
The goal of the Precision Agriculture team is to coordinate and enhance research, teaching and education outreach efforts on behalf of the University in the area of precision agriculture.

Purdue Site-Specific Management Center
The SSMC mission is to develop and disseminate information about site-specific management methods that are profitable and practical for agricultural producers and those who supply inputs or process products. 

The Home Grown Cereals Authority (UK)  
The Home Grown Cereals Authority of the United Kingdom undertakes and reports on R&D relevant to grain producers in the UK, including several aspects of PA.