SPAA Hands-On Precision Agriculture Training Workshop (BCG) – St Arnaud

The first round of workshops held in early 2021 paved the way for farmers to start using some of the PA tools they already have – including mobile devices, computers and machinery-based platforms – and free or low-cost data for yield mapping, remote sensing, soil and pH mapping and in-season monitoring.

Round two of the Hands on Precision Agriculture Training workshops is about to begin across Australia. The aim of the free workshops is to introduce farmers to precision agriculture (PA) techniques they can use to identify and manage variability, and improve productivity and profitability. Information on available software for managing and exporting data will be discussed as well as an opportunity to undertake a tutorial on how to appropriately clean yield data and subsequently create clean yield maps for improved management decisions.

In the survey undertaken at the start of the year prior to the workshops being developed. Growers surveyed indicated that the most common reasons for not creating and using yield maps to make decisions were: not having the right software (34%), never being shown how to use/create them (34%), and because they take too much time/effort (31%). These workshops will attempt to address these stumbling blocks and provide some further examples on using yield data to diagnose multi-year trends in paddocks, develop profit maps for planning.

This second round of workshops will build on that experience and help participants gain a better understanding of how to use proven tools and techniques to devise strategies for forecasting and addressing variability in yield and profit.

BCG, is coordinating the Victorian workshops with assistance from SFS and Riverine Plains. SPAA (The Society of Precision Agriculture Australia is the leading the project on a national front.

This is an investment by the Grains Research and Development Corporation

Cost (in AUD$): Free