Site-specific agriculture workshops: assist farmers to understand and manage soil-landscape variability

摘要

Private industry and government agriculture departments have collaborated sine 1994 to provide workshops on precision agriculture in Alberta. The 2-day workshops have been completed by 424 participants,79% of whom are farmers. The goal of the workshops is to enhance understanding of land resources and precision-farming technology. The participants use enlargements of aerial photography to map field variability. The variability maps are used, along with soil survey information, to develop managementzones and soil-sampling strategies. The components of precision farming technology are discussed. The farmers work with agribusiness personnel and consultants to develop a site-specific management plan most suitable for their land base, economic situation, and management scheme. course evaluations indicate the most valuable features of the workshops include the practical mapping exercises, the explanation of soil and landscape variability, the discussion of strategies for site-specific management, in particular soil sampling, and the building of awareness for implementing precision farming.