Digital decision-making tool delivers on-farm efficiency

He runs Low Melwood Farm, in Owston Ferry, in partnership with his father. The 150ha operation grows oilseed rape, winter wheat, spring barley and spring beans. Over the past season, he has been using digital platform xarvio Field Manager, as part of a field-scale trial with BASF, to identify historical productivity trends dating back up to 15 years and in-season field variation on his farm, which has allowed him to alter and target his inputs more precisely.

This software was launched in 2020 as a handy tool for growers and agronomists to improve collection and utilisation of data through satellite imagery, to help inform decisions throughout the season.

Growers can use the tool to access historical biomass maps, called PowerZone maps, which identify high and low performing field-zones, based on satellite data. In the summer of 2021, using these maps, Pat found that there was a fair amount of variation between his crops and was able to manipulate his seeding rates to improve uniformity in the field.

He explained that he was able to use the digital platform to identify historically less productive areas and then apply more seed in those targeted areas. "It is not low hanging fruit for a farm of our size to embrace this technology, it does come at a price, but when you have PowerZones that have 15 years of data you can access, there is a value to that and I was really surprised how much data was on there," he said.

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Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

Source: Agritech Future