Optimized forecaster farming: a new tool to put accuracy into precision farming

Abstract

Farmers looking at Precision Farming as a tool to better manage fields have found no real way to apply this technology to fertilization and crop production. The misconception between precision and optimization has lead many farmers to feel that the technology was oversold and not able to deliver more yield for less fertilizer dollars. Farmers required a tool to optimize the dollars spent on fertilizer to achieve the highest Net Return per acre. The PRS™ Forecaster is a constrained resource computer model that can forecast the yield potential and fertilizer response site by site through a field. The model was allowed to distribute $2160.00 of fertilizer N, P, and K across 54 acres in a way that optimized the whole field net return. This was compared to a control site where the same $40.00/acre was spent but on a best “average” blend of fertilizer. Field validation of this optimization proved that more net return ($19.50/acre) could be derived with reallocation of fertilizer dollars using the PRS™ Nutrient Forecaster.