Precision Agriculture: Technology and Economic Perspectives

282 Pages·2017·5.03 MB·English

by  Søren Marcus Pedersen

Progress in Precision Agriculture
Søren Marcus Pedersen
Kim Martin Lind Editors
Precision
Agriculture:
Technology
and Economic
Perspectives
Progress in Precision Agriculture
Series editor
Margaret A. Oliver, Soil Research Centre, University of Reading,
Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
This book series aims to provide a coherent framework to cover the multidisciplinary
subject of Precision Agriculture (PA), including technological, agronomic, economic
and sustainability issues of this subject. The target audience is varied and will be
aimed at many groups working within PA including agricultural design engineers,
agricultural economists, sensor specialists and agricultural statisticians. All volumes
will be peer reviewed by an international advisory board.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13782
Søren Marcus Pedersen • Kim Martin Lind
Editors
Precision Agriculture:
Technology and Economic
Perspectives
Editors
Søren Marcus Pedersen Kim Martin Lind
Department of Food and Resource Department of Food and Resource
Economics Economics
University of Copenhagen University of Copenhagen
Frederiksberg C, Denmark Frederiksberg C, Denmark
ISSN 2511-2260 ISSN 2511-2279 (electronic)
Progress in Precision Agriculture
ISBN 978-3-319-68713-1 ISBN 978-3-319-68715-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68715-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017958136
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
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Preface
This is the first book in the new book series on Progress in Precision Agriculture
established by Springer. The book series was originally proposed because there is
currently no such series devoted to this topic and there are few books devoted to
specialist topics in precision agriculture (PA). The one on Geostatistical Applications
for Precision Agriculture has been successful and is listed as one of Springer’s most
downloaded books. Therefore, this overall background led to the concept of this
book series. In addition, precision agriculture is becoming increasingly important
with issues of population growth, decreasing availability of adequate arable land
and land degradation that has resulted from the intensive use of land following the
Green Revolution.
The series will provide a framework for a wide range of subject areas and pro-
vide a ‘state-of-the-art’ view of where the research frontier lies. Topics will include
the economic, technological, agronomic and sustainability issues of PA. The books
will aim to provide a teaching resource for university and college course leaders and
a basis for new researchers to develop research concepts and for farm and environ-
mental managers, civil servants and so on.
The first book in the series, Precision Agriculture: Technology and Economic
Perspectives, was selected because there is a lack of material on the economics of
precision agriculture. This is very closely linked to the technology in PA, which
involves major investment by farmers. The book covers a wide range of topics and
will provide a sound basis for many groups in PA such as farmers, advisors, policy
makers, engineers, economists and students that have an interest in precision
agriculture.
Chapter 1 gives an introduction to precision agriculture (PA) with a short histori-
cal review of the development and the status of current available technologies. Part
of this description also provides an overview of some of the economic barriers and
technical obstacles when applying variable-rate application. The aim of the chapter
is to provide readers with a foundation for what is to come in the subsequent
chapters.
Chapter 2 provides an overview of the current smart farming technologies that
are available among farmers or are about to become available in the near future.
v
vi Preface
Smart farming technologies (SFT) cover a range of different aspects of precision
agriculture including data acquisition technologies, data analysis and evaluation
technologies and precision application technologies. Furthermore, the economic
impact that each SFT has in comparison to conventional agricultural practices is
assessed.
Chapter 3 gives a first assessment of the potential economic impact of variable-
rate fertilizer application. It shows that precision farming technologies that aim to
identify the economically optimal input rate often fail to provide considerable eco-
nomic advantages for the farmer. This phenomenon can be explained by flat payoff
functions, which are relevant for many agricultural production processes.
Chapter 4 describes the relevance and profitability of different precision herbi-
cide application technologies; two weed detection technologies and a low-dose
decision-support system (DSS) are analysed.
Chapter 5 focuses on the economics and perspectives of site-specific irrigation
management with a focus on automated furrow irrigation, which is a new technol-
ogy being developed commercially and offered to farmers in Australia. This analy-
sis considers the economics of adopting an improved precision irrigation technology
from two different perspectives: economic and environmental.
Chapter 6 provides an analysis of the feasibility of auto-steering systems and
controlled traffic farming systems (CTF). In this chapter, four different machinery
scenarios were tested in four fields each, and the main objective was to compare two
different route planning systems under economic criteria apart from the best opera-
tional route coverage design criterion. The results show the considerable potential
of advanced route planning designs and further optimization of farming systems.
Chapter 7 focuses on the profitability of controlled traffic in grass silage produc-
tion. From a farmer’s perspective, the potential profitability of converting to CTF is
determined by the existing machinery system and the required investment for a CTF
conversion. Moreover, the on-farm profitability potential will be determined by the
site-specific conditions in terms of yield response from CTF, opportunities to pro-
duce other cash crops and the knowledge and the involvement required in setting up
and maintaining the CTF system.
Chapter 8 examines pre-commercial and autonomous systems that could be
implemented in the near future, namely, robotic crop cultivation systems. The
potential economic benefits from the use of agricultural robots under specific condi-
tions and constraints are described.
Chapter 9 provides a general description of farm management information sys-
tems (FMIS). The state of the art is presented depicting the new functionalities
included in FMIS and how they can connect the farm to the external context and
stakeholders. The authors delve into the functionality of FMIS to understand how
precision agriculture can improve the allocation of costs to the final product by
managing PA in a better way.
Chapter 10 focuses on how precision farming as a sustainable technology can
help to increase yields and reduce the environmental impact of crop farming; a case
study from Estonia is presented in which PF is one of the technologies among
others.
Preface vii
Chapter 11 provides an overview of various studies of the adoption of precision
agriculture. It shows that PA affects the performance of farms positively, even
though its benefits vary according to the size of farms as well as their location.
Chapter 12 closes the book by examining the perspectives of precision farming
in a broader policy context. Agriculture is faced with contrasting opposing require-
ments from society at large. Precision agriculture can be part of the response to
often conflicting issues by the use of technologies in a precise and targeted approach
that reduce resource use and increase yield. Furthermore, the growing demand for
higher-value food products in terms of health benefits and quality requires trace-
ability and information about production processes and resource use. These corre-
spond with the possibilities offered by precision agriculture technology. The general
movement towards greater integration in food supply chains is a natural extension
of the requirements for traceability and product information, which are integral
parts of precision agriculture.
Frederiksberg, Denmark Søren Marcus Pedersen
Frederiksberg, Denmark Kim Martin Lind
Reading, UK Margaret A. Oliver
August 2017
Contents
1 Precision Agriculture – From Mapping
to Site- Specific Application..................................................................... 1
S.M. Pedersen and K.M. Lind
2 Smart Farming Technologies – Description, Taxonomy
and Economic Impact ............................................................................. 21
Athanasios T. Balafoutis, Bert Beck, Spyros Fountas,
Zisis Tsiropoulos, Jürgen Vangeyte, Tamme van der Wal,
I. Soto-Embodas, Manuel Gómez-Barbero,
and Søren Marcus Pedersen
3 Economic Potential of Site-Specific Fertiliser Application
and Harvest Management ...................................................................... 79
Markus Gandorfer and Andreas Meyer-Aurich
4 Economics of Site-Specific and Variable-Dose Herbicide
Application ............................................................................................... 93
Jens Erik Ørum, Per Kudsk, and Peter Kryger Jensen
5 The Economics and Perspectives of Site Specific
Irrigation Management in Australia ..................................................... 111
Robert Farquharson and Jon Welsh
6 Auto-Steering and Controlled Traffic Farming – Route
Planning and Economics ........................................................................ 129
Claus G. Sørensen, Efthymios Rodias, and Dionysis Bochtis
7 Profitability of Controlled Traffic in Grass Silage Production ........... 147
Hans Alvemar, Hans Andersson, and Hans Henrik Pedersen
8 Robotic Seeding: Economic Perspectives .............................................. 167
Søren Marcus Pedersen, Spyros Fountas, Claus G. Sørensen,
Frits K. Van Evert, and B. Simon Blackmore
ix
x Contents
9 Future Perspectives of Farm Management
Information Systems ............................................................................... 181
Zisis Tsiropoulos, Giacomo Carli, Erika Pignatti,
and Spyros Fountas
10 Sustainable Intensification in Crop Farming – A Case
from Estonia ............................................................................................ 201
Rando Värnik, Raiko Aste, and Jelena Ariva
11 How to Model the Adoption and Perception
of Precision Agriculture Technologies ................................................... 223
Giacomo Carli, Vilma Xhakollari, and Maria Rita Tagliaventi
12 Perspectives of Precision Agriculture in a Broader
Policy Context .......................................................................................... 251
Kim Martin Lind and Søren Marcus Pedersen
Abbreviations and Glossary ........................................................................... 267
Index ................................................................................................................. 275