It s a complex situation...

Transcription

1 2004 Mid Atlantic Crop Management School 17 November 2004 Ocean City, MD Equipment and Technology for Cost- Effective Nutrient Management Jim Glancey, P.E. University of Delaware Newark, DE It s a complex situation...

2 Equipment and Technology Overview... Equipment and Technology Overview... Fertilizer Application Manure Spreading Electronic Gizmos Fertigation Summary

3 Spreader w/ Controller Actual Spread Area

4 Fertilizer Spreader Calibration- Conditions Wind less than 5 MPH Less than 2% ground slope Operation distance 30ft before measurements Field conditions similar to normal use (fertilizer type, humidity, ground speed) Fill spreader within 4 hours of testing Wind Dry fertilizer applicators susceptible, especially the 60 ft spread machines. Even 5 MPH will make a difference in the pattern Driving into the wind may not resolve the problem Uneven ground conditions are also a problem

5 Fertilizer Spreader Calibration- Data Collection Collector Spacing: no more than 10% of the swath width (10 trays minimum) Collector Size: Base Size: 4 x4 max. Height: At least 50% of base size. Tops no more than 4 above the ground. Spread Pattern

6 New Leader Spreader w/ Rawson Controller Spinner Spreader Performance New Leader lbs/a (lbs/acre) (yards)

7 Pattern Sensor Sensor Estimate of Particle Landing Location

8 Gandy Orbit Spreader Gandy Orbit Spread Pattern (lbs/acre) (yards)

9 Precision Ag Fixed Costs

10 Precision Ag: Break Even Analysis (Mid West) Variable Rate Spreading Changing the rate on-the-go Application Rate (lbs/a) Distance Traveled (yards)

11 New Leader- Rate Change Transition Rate increased from 50 to 150 lbs/a Variable Rate Response - Urea (lbs/a) (yards) (yards)

12 Average Measured Error using a Computer Controller (lbs/a) Side Dressing Variable Rate N Side Dressers equipped with rate controllers Fertilizer rate dictated by yield goal within each grid Fertility maps also being created with leaf chlorophyll meter

13 By the way... what about side dressing with poultry manure? 1 ton/acre 2 tons/acre 3 tons/acre Manure Handling Key is calibrating and taking care of the equipment

14 Manure Calibration Methods Tarp Collection Area to Spread One Load Loads Per Field Tarp Method (repeat 3 times)

15 Tarp Method: Manure Spreader Calibration Data lbs of manure collected on tarp x Tarp 8x Size 10x10 Tons manure/acre x Manure Spread Patterns... Acceptable Not Acceptable

16 Manure Effect of Spinner Speed 490 RPM 560 RPM 630 RPM Manure N Volatilization

17 Manure Incorporation Measuring Manure Applied

18 Precision Manure Application Electronics Lightbars Hand Held Devices

19 Manufactures Ashtech John Deere Mid-Tech RHS Outback Satloc Starlink Trimble Others

20 Key Questions Can I make money with a light bar? How do I get a good one? Field Testing Univ. of Kentucky There is some advantage over foam markers There is basically no accuracy difference between light bars User preference is the key

21 Light Bar Spreader Pattern Lightbar Foam None

22 Establishing Boundaries and Buffer Strips

23 Item Foam Marker GPS & Lightbar Lightbar Only 1 Costs Purchase Price, $ $1000 $7000 $3000 Useful Life, yr Annualized Cost, $/yr 2 $300 $3033 $1300 Recurring Cost: Foam, $/yr 3 $ Differential Correction, $/yr 0 $800 0 Annual Cost, $/yr 4 $636 $3833 $1300 Annual Cost, $/acre/yr 5 $0.21 $1.28 $0.43 Benefits in Reducing Overlap: Percent of Area Overlapped 10% 5% 5% Overlap Acres Machine Cost: $/acre6 $4.40 $4.40 $4.40 $/yr $1320 $660 $660 Extra Pesticide and Fertilizer, $/yr 7 $3000 $1500 $1500 Overlap Cost, $/yr $4320 $2160 $2160 Overlap Cost, $/acre/yr 5 $1.44 $0.72 $0.72 Lightbar net benefit, $/acre/yr -$0.35 $0.50 Hand Held GPS Garmin Vista Garmin Camo Garmin GPSMap76 Garmin GPSMap76S Magellan Meridian GPS Magellan Magellan Meridian Colour Meridian Gold Magellan Meridian Marine

24 Details Most ship with cable to connect to PC None of them ship with cable to connect to PDA (can purchase) Bluetooth Wireless connectivity (30 ft) to download information PC/GPS unit (e.g. Trimble) Dell Blue Tooth Transmitter w/ Pocket PC Handheld PC w/ GPS (Trimble) Hand Held GPS Applications The obvious things: wet spots, perennial weeds, finding locations A $200 to $400 unit will provide ~20ft. of accuracy. Some include Differential Correction (free) using WAAS, and accuracy is ~6ft.

25 Fertigation Required Fertigation Setup

26 Fertigation Hardware Fertigation Scheduling

27 Summary Fertilizer Manure Precision Ag Hand Held Electronics Fertigation Questions?

28 Field Storage Precision Ag Variable Costs

29 Effect of Spinner Blade Height 2.5 inch 1.5 inch Lime Distribution

30 Lime Application - Overlap Precision Ag Potential

31 Corn Yield Reduction Cost vs. Machine Size

32 Example Combine Costs Sprayer costs