Computers In Farming  Damien Gallagher  2 nd BSc Information Technology 

Introduction  CASE STUDY:U.S. Department of Agriculture report  Farming as it is  What is GPS?  Future farming  Summary

Taken from The Holland Sentinel Archives “Wired on the farm: Computers, Net are valuable farming tools” “From record-keeping to determining the proper amount of fertilizers and pesticides to use of fields, computers are revolutionizing agriculture.” Case Study

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported recently that 31 percent of the nation's farmers -- including part-timers -- own or lease computers and that 20 percent use computers in day-to- day farm operations….. The Michigan State University offers a software program that uses a farm's soil analysis and recommends which fertilizers to use and how much. In once instance a few years ago, a farmer trimmed $18,000 from his annual fertilizer bill just by using this software…… On the Internet, farmers can track the weather, keep track of commodities futures and check on the latest advances in agriculture.” Case Study

Computer Farming now  Cattle Tagging  Vet Records  AgriData: Farm Management Software Online Calf Registration Milk Manager For Windows

AgriManage Screenshot

What is GPS?  GPS = “The Global Positioning System”  It is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of 24 satellites and their ground stations.  GPS uses these "man-made stars" as reference points to calculate positions accurate to a matter of meters. Basically it's like giving every square meter on the planet a unique address.  GPS receivers are just a few integrated circuits and are becoming very economical.  These days GPS is finding its way into cars, boats, planes, construction equipment, movie making gear, farm machinery, even laptop computers.

How GPS works GPS works in five logical steps: 1.The basis of GPS is "triangulation" from satellites. 2.To "triangulate," a GPS receiver measures distance using the travel time of radio signals. 3.GPS uses very accurate timing 4.Along with distance, you need to know exactly where the satellites are in space. High orbits and careful monitoring are used for this. 5.You must correct for any delays the signal experiences as it travels through the atmosphere.

Autonomous Crop Treatment Vehicle  Uses GPS technology  Treatment device consists of an array of solenoid operated nozzles.  Selective treatment achieved by switching each individual nozzle on or off as the vehicle progresses through the crop.  Tracks crop pattern with onboard cameras  This allows the discrimination of crop - which matches the planting pattern - from weeds which do not.  Result: Treatment of plants, not of weeds

The Autonomous Crop Treatment Vehicle

 Planting pattern of cauliflower crop.  Imaged by onboard mounted camera.  This image also aids in the local treatment map  Real life image of the planting pattern of the cauliflower plant.  The local treatment map used to select spray nozzles to give selective treatment.

Pig Monitoring  Most basic guide to quality control? Weighing pigs Disadvantages: time consuming stressful- to both pigs and farmers Breakthrough: System developed which uses image analysis techniques to monitor pigs growth.  Video camera connected to a computer, mounted over a feeder.  Measures pigs body area, ham width,ham area  Also determines each pig's shape, weight and growth rate.

Growth Rate and Conformation Evaluation System in action Result? Happy pigs Pig slide

Automated Tractor  AutoFarm GPS 5001 AutoSteering System  Uses 3 GPS receivers on tractor and 1 in base station  Base Station gives accuracy between 50 feet and less than 1 inch  GPS receivers on tractor monitor the rolling and swaying motion of the tractor many times a second.  Information passed to the computer then out to the tractor.  This couples directly into the steering system and smoothly controls the vehicles steering.  This system is a one touch operation from the in-cab touch screen to perform all this steering control.

Automated Tractor

Summary  CASE STUDY:U.S. Department of Agriculture report  Farming as it is  What GPS and how it works?  The future of farming  Questions???

Overview

Ideas page 1 Wired on the farm: Computers, Net are valuable farming tools 697/bus_wired.html The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported recently that 31 percent of the nation's farmers -- including part-timers -- own or lease computers and that 20 percent use computers in day-to-day farm operations.

 Advanced forms of GPS can make measurements to better than a centimeter!  Soon GPS will become almost as basic as the telephone. Some people think it may become a universal utility.