- DatesSeptember 2016 – August 2018
- SponsorInnovate UK, and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Funded£744,664 total project
- PartnersAg-Space Ltd, Agri-EPI Ltd, James Hutton Institute and Courtyard Agriculture
Precision farming involves dividing farmed land into management zones which have specific characteristics – soil being the most important. Using such precision data has been proven to lead to better yield results when compared with traditional and conventional farming. However, to date, the perceived high cost of entry has proved a barrier for many small-scale farmers.
We are part of a new collaborative project which aims to make precision farming more affordable to arable farmers and landowners, drawing together a unique set of data to produce meaningful soil management zones.
We will integrate high resolution satellite data, together with the UK’s most comprehensive soil datasets, to produce a new ‘precision soil map’, presenting an economically viable alternative to the current labour intensive methodology of field soil surveys.
This represents an exciting opportunity for arable / vegetable farmers to embrace precision farming; growers will be able to increase yields with lower input costs and reduced environmental impact.