Cardiff Scientific Society Meeting, 22 March 2000

Satellites and agriculture – Down to earth technology.

Dr John V Stafford BSc PhD

Modern arable farming must increase its efficiency but at the same time it must
reduce environmental pollution caused by agro-chemicals and fertilisers. The time
has passed when the considerable variability in fields - in factors such as soil type and
available nutrients – can be ignored and fields treated as a uniform whole with
uniform application of inputs such as herbicides and fertilisers. The new management
concept of precision agriculture seeks to target inputs according to locally determined
requirements within the field. The satellite based Global Positioning System (GPS)
has come to the rescue at the right time! GPS provides positioning tagging of sensed
soil and crop factors so that the spatial variability of such factors can be mapped.
GPS can then be used with accurate application equipment under automatic control to
place inputs such as herbicides just where they are needed. Remote sensed images
from satellites of individual fields can provide information on crop condition to help
direct application of fertilisers. The results of the application of advanced technology
are reduced input costs, more optimal use of inputs and reduced environmental
impact.