The main avenue for educating stakeholders on the results and implications of the data driven, integrated precision agriculture and intelligent automation will be working through the comprehensive UGA Extension network. UGA has one of the most well organized, respected, and thorough Cooperative Extension systems in the U.S. UGA currently employs 140 Ag and Natural Resource County Agents (plus 122 4-H and 57 Family and Consumer Science Agents) that culture tight linkages to growers and Extension Specialists. We will work with these agents to ensure that timely and relevant information from this project is provided to producers.
Dr. Wesley Porter’s lab runs the Extension Precision Ag & Irrigation blog. The most recent posts are linked here. Please visit the blog’s homepage to view the archive.
It goes without saying that we are in an extreme situation. We are having to use multiple irrigation events just to get a crop established. Due to the current condition, our pivots are being operated more than normal and it is beyond critical that they are operating correctly and uniformly applying water or it will be evident rapidly this season.
As is typical, we deal with some sort of challenge every production season. It seems at least at this current moment, out biggest challenge is the extremely dry conditions that we are expecting. Thus, I wanted to provide some material and suggestions specifically from our Agronomists on this topic.
There are two main types of liquid fertilizer applicators: continuous and non-continuous or pulsed applicators. These application methods should be calibrated with water before each application to achieve the desired application rate (GPA). Click below to read more from Dr. Lazaro, UGA Extension Precision Ag Specialist.
A colleague of Dr. Porter’s from Kansas State University, Terry Griffin Ph.D., has put together a few concerns, questions, and answers about the upcoming solar storms. The post below was adapted from the article written by Margy Eckelkamp.
There is both an increased desire and an uptick in utilizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for the purpose of spraying or spreading materials in an agricultural setting. However, a few steps must be taken first to ensure each pilot/applicator has all the necessary paperwork to conduct a legal operation.
Spraying is an important pre- and in-season operation that can either make or break a crop. This operation can be costly if done correctly, and very costly if done incorrectly. The cost can be attributed to a monetary cost of chemical and fuel, however, it can become a waste of an operator’s time if not applied correctly, costing the crop by inefficient control of a pest and costing the environment, impacting the local ecosystem and watersheds.
