Grace Flying Services INC., Saint Francis

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Equipment Rental & Leasing Nec

Executives of Grace Flying Services INC, ROBERT GRACE

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At the risk of over-simplifying this complex subject, the basic premise is that a 4 foot-long soil probe is inserted into a carefully selected spot in the field, and this probe has connection to the internet. Probe location is based upon a map of the soil in the pivot-more below.
This soil probe allows the pivot operator to "see" the actual moisture amounts at several levels in the soil, down to 48 inches. This knowledge is very valuable, and results in the ability to use water and fertilizer more efficiently.
This soil moisture data is available in near real-time, and armed with the knowledge of the corn's root depth, the operator can more accurately control watering to allow the plant to maximize the irrigation water usage. Water which moves below the plant's roots is essentially wasted water. But without a soil probe, this waste is frankly inevitable, because of the fear of "getting behind" in the irrigation process and damaging the crop due a lack of water.
We all know that a 2-inch rain that comes in twenty minutes will have an entirely different soil profile than one that comes over two days. With a soil probe, the farmer can "see" the actual results of the rain in the soil. No guessing, no digging. Wait for an hour and pull out your cell phone to know exactly what just happened, and use that same phone to turn off the pivot. More importantly, the cell phone allows you to turn the pivot back on at exactly the right time: not too soon and not too late. The same logic applies to the normal irrigation process.
Similarly, fertigation can be applied so that it is fully utilized by the plant and not leached too deeply. An extra inch of water can lose 4 pounds/acre of nitrogen: enough money to pay for the probe. Fertilizer that is applied with too much water is not only an expensive waste, it can be a danger to the aquifer, a well-known, long standing issue.
A further refinement of the system-called VRI-utilizes the above-mentioned map of the field's various soil types. This granular soil map is used to micro-manage the pivot's speed-and therefore the application rate-in a manner which better utilizes the water and/or fertilizer by varying the watering rate in many pie-shaped wedges in the field. Those wedges are visible in the image above.
The data is solid, based upon many seasons of usage. The system works: you can grow better yields for less money and with less water, because you can precisely target the root zone with both water and fertilizer. The probe allows you to target vertically, and VRI provides (with admittedly limited precision) lateral precision based upon the varying soil types in the field.
CropMetrics has been using this system for many years, and we've personally used their system for half a decade. We endorse the concept, and think that every pivot operator should at least try it for a season or two. ServiTech's entry into the market reinforces our belief that this is an irrigation technique which is here to stay.
The Oberlin CYA conference has excellent content.
Use the article links to download and read it.
Topics include farm financial status, using paraquat, land values, landlord/tenant relationships, and fungicides on wheat.